2019 Telfer Conference on Accounting and Finance: Once again a Great Success
For a fifth consecutive year, the Telfer School of Management hosted the prestigious Conference on Accounting and Finance in partnership with the Father Edgar Thivierge Speaker Series and CPA Ontario.
On May 9th and 10th, more than 150 scholars from Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Queen’s University, McGill University, University of Toronto, and other top-notch universities from around the world joined members of the professional community to share their current research insights and advance research and practice on topics in accounting and finance, including behavioural finance, corporate governance, accounting and finance history, climate change and CSR reporting.
Opening the conference, the keynote speaker in Finance, B. Espen Eckbo (Dartmouth College) presented research into gender balancing of corporate boards in Norway. He questioned the view that quota policies could lead to a decline in firm value. The keynote speaker in Accounting, Baruch Lev (New York University), challenged standard setting and discussed alternative information that could be used by investors and finance professionals.
The conference included a CPA symposium organized by Walid Ben Amar (Telfer School), Director of the CPA-Canada Accounting and Governance Research Centre. Richard MacNeill opened the discussion highlighting the value of collaboration between the University of Ottawa and CPA Ontario. Panelists Dave Clarke (Baker Tilly Ottawa), Pamela Cross (Borden Ladner Gervais LLP), Jim McConnery (Welch LLP), Simon Couvrette (Bank of Montreal) and Peter Jaskiewicz (Telfer School) examined the financial and emotional issues that accountants and other professionals often encounter when advising family firms.
The Telfer School would like to recognize the efforts of the organizing committee, in particular co-chairs, Lamia Chourou, Cheryl McWatters, Father Edgar Thivierge Chair in Business History, and Samir Saadi. The Telfer School also acknowledges the generous support of:
- Father Edgar Thivierge Speaker Series
- CPA-Canada Accounting and Governance Research Centre
Ridhi Khokha tells a story about mental health conversations in the workplace
One in five working-age Canadians will experience a clinical mental health challenge, such as depression and anxiety over the course of their lives. The fear of being labelled, judged, and discriminated against can deter employees from talking about their mental health in the workplace. Yet, personal and voluntary disclosure can help organizations provide employees with needed support and accommodations.
Ridhi Khokha, a student in the M.Sc. program in Management, is working with a group of researchers from the Telfer School of Management who examine how managers can create a supportive climate that encourages employees to discuss their mental health struggles. This research initiative is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). In her master’s thesis, Ridhi is also examining the impact of employer–employee conversations around mental health. To share insights from this research project, she prepared a video that explains how voluntary disclosure can enable employees to receive the necessary support or accommodations in the workplace. Her video received an honorable mention in the 2019 SSHRC Storytellers Competition.
Video credits: Produced by Lisa Chhun
"I always wanted to have an impact on improving the working lives of others. Each person has a story and collectively through research can be transformed into something that may soon help others in workplaces across Canada," explains Ridhi.
Reem El Attar tells a story about her research.
Nicolas Legendre tells a story about his research.
Learn more about the M.Sc. in Management at the Telfer School.
Nicolas Legendre tells a story about federal financing programs
Financing programs are crucial for entrepreneurs, as small business owners often face difficulties in obtaining financial support. For example, around 75% of business owners who receive financing would not have obtained a loan without programs funded by the government, such as the Canada Small Business Financing Program. While the program is a great starting point for many small businesses, they are not all the same. Because of gender and cultural differences, each small business owner may have unique financial needs.
Nicolas Legendre, a Ph.D. candidate at the Telfer School of Management, is trying to understand if this federal financing program addresses the specific financial needs of the very diverse demographic of small business owners. His doctoral research is funded by the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Program. He prepared a video describing the benefits of financing programs for small businesses, and the importance to consider the specific needs of these business owners.
"I have learned that I can no longer meet a small business owner without letting my research curiosity get the best of me and ask them questions about their business. It is those conversations that push me to dig deeper and continue doing research that generates practical implications,” says Nicolas.
Video credits: Produced by Andrew Latte (Lateez Sales and Marketing)
Reem El Attar tells a story about her research.
Ridhi Khokha tells a story about her research.
Learn more about the Ph.D. program at the Telfer School of Management.
Reem El Attar tells a story of immigrants' interpersonal experiences in the workplace
Despite initiatives to promote multiculturalism and inclusion in the workplace, immigrants indicate that they often face a lot of discrimination. In the workplace, for example, they often experience acts of incivilities and other negative interpersonal interactions. Researchers still know very little about how these interpersonal experiences can impact immigrants’ well-being in the workplace.
Reem El Attar, a student in the M.Sc. program at the Telfer School of Management, wanted to uncover this research gap in her thesis. In a short video, she explains how negative interpersonal interactions in the workplace may affect immigrants’ long-term well-being. Reem’s research is funded by the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship Master’s Program.
Video credits: Produced by Anas Abdaljawwad
“I find it very rewarding to know that my research can potentially make a difference and improve the wellbeing of visible minority immigrants,” explains Reem.
Ridhi Khokha tells a story about her research.
Nicolas Legendre tells a story about his research.
Learn more about the M.Sc. in Management at the Telfer School.
An innovative solution to tackle scheduling problems in the production industry
Batch scheduling: a challenge in the production industry
In the production industry, scheduling is the process of sequencing different tasks--also called commands--and launching the production of these tasks on machines. Batch scheduling is used when machines have to handle multiple tasks at the same time. Batch scheduling is an instrumental part of the production process, and a key facet in the overall performance of the organisation.
Certain complex tasks depend on their dimensions, production due dates, the types of machine, and a variety of other parameters that can make batch scheduling very challenging. To tackle these scheduling issues, we need very sophisticated algorithms, but to date such models have not been developed.
What’s the research about?
Who will gain from this research?
Canada’s steel and aluminum industry contributes greatly to the Canadian economy. Professor Ozturk’s work could have a major impact on the steel industry by providing inventive ways to address large-scale optimization problems. Such innovative tools will allow practitioners to optimize decisions in production planning and scheduling.
The Telfer School of Management is committed to developing cutting-edge research in a variety of topics in management. As our faculty continues fostering research excellence, the Telfer School community and partners also benefit from valuable insights with impact. Over the next days, we will give an overview of the three research projects that received the prestigious NSERC Discovery grant in 2019.
