The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said it has named University of Southern California’s Zoe-Vonna Palmrose Deputy Chief Accountant for Professional Practice.

According to USC, Palmrose, who currently teaches at the USC Leventhal School of Accounting and USC Marshall School of Business, will oversee the SEC’s work with respect to audit standards and independence, and will serve as Public Company Accounting Oversight Board liaison.

“Ensuring that appropriate controls are in place to get reliable information to investors is vital,” she said in a statement. “I can’t imagine a better time to contribute to the development of accounting and auditing, or a better position from which to do so.”

Palmrose is an expert on financial reporting and auditing as well as methods used to detect accounting fraud. She is also one of only three academics to be honored twice with the Wildman Medal Award from the American Accounting Association, which is given every year for the most significant contribution to the advancement of the practice of accounting.

Palmrose is also known for her expertise in translating accountant-speak into plain English. Last year, together with co-author Mike Brown, a former NASDAQ Chairman and Microsoft CFO, Palmrose wrote “Thog’s Guide to Quantum Economics: 50,000 Years of Accounting Basics for the Future,” a tongue-and-cheek look at ancient accounting principles and modern science.