Liliana Hickman-Riggs

Liliana Hickman-Riggs has brought her award-winning, dynamic teaching style to the classroom for more than 24 years. She takes so much pleasure in introducing new scholars to the basic principles of accounting at Southern Methodist University, as she has enjoyed teaching juniors at Richland College. Liliana has taught seasoned accounting majors in the Masters/ MBA graduate programs at the University of Texas at Dallas for the past 17 years. She joined Becker in 1998 and since then has held many positions including regional manager, creator-national director final review and contributed editor. In her role of lead instructor - Dallas Metro, she has prepared and continues to prepare candidates for the rigors of the CPA exam at the Becker Professional Education facility in Dallas, Texas.

Liliana has:

Received the Distinguished Professor Award from Beta Phi Chapter of Delta Sigma Pi – Spring 2013 Southern Methodist University.

Received twice Excellence in Teaching Award – Outstanding Instructor of the Year Richland College for the 2006-2007 year, and ten years prior, for the year 1996-1997.

Received twice the Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award at The University of Texas at Dallas, for the 2006-2007 year and again five years prior, for the year 2001-2002.

Received The Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants’ 2004 Outstanding Accounting Educator Award.

Received a Lybrand Award from The Institute of Management Accounting, 2001.

Received the #1 Instructor rating by the students in The Becker CPA national system and has received the Senior Faculty Award.

Nominated –The AICPA Distinguished Achievement for the Accounting Education Award 2005.

Liliana has conducted many CPE seminars for major firms, written articles published in accounting journals such as the Today’s CPA, The Institute of Management Accounting and in the Management Accounting Quarterly. She has co-written accounting textbooks and CPA course materials. She is a contributing editor for the Becker CPA Review. She has owned and managed for many years her own CPA course as well as her accounting firm.

She is a member of the AICPA, and of the societies for which she holds licenses.

Liliana was part of the first group of seven instructors certified and authorized by the Texas State Board to teach Ethics (1996). She frequently is a guest speaker at various organizations including the Texas Society of CPAs and the Annual Texas Accounting Educator Conference.

Her teaching philosophy:
"I realize I cannot force the scholar to pledge time, talents, and skills to the cause of learning __ just as I cannot force a horse to drink after it has been led to the water. However, I strive to make the horse thirsty with tempting pictures of water, hoping to reach the scholar who chooses not to commit."

Uncommon factoid:
Has successfully taught her three small dogs - long coat Chihuahua – very basic journal entries: one bark for debit, two barks for credit. Project in progress: the three main sections of the Statement of Cash Flows.