Professor Walid Ben Amar Appointed Executive Director of the CGA-Canada Accounting and Governance Research Centre

Walid Ben Amar has been appointed Executive Director of the CGA Accounting and Governance Research Centre. An Associate Professor of accounting at the Telfer School of Management, Professor Ben Amar will lead a dynamic team of scholars dedicated to producing leading-edge research in accounting and related fields.

Through the generous financial support of CGA-Canada, which was recently extended for 3 years, the Centre makes highly relevant research contributions that shape the accounting profession and corporate governance practices in Canada. It has developed into a true community of professional learning and academic leadership through publication of studies in top peer-reviewed academic journals that further enhance the Telfer School’s research profile; through research symposia and a distinguished speakers’ series that explores emerging issues in accounting and governance, and through the development of productive new academic partnerships.

Professor Ben Amar succeeds Daniel Zéghal, Ph.D. (uLaval), C.G.A., F.C.G.A., who for more than two decades established the excellent reputation of the CGA-AGRC and helped put the Telfer School of Management at the forefront of accounting research in Canada. Daniel recognized and seized the opportunity that presented itself to the School in the early 1990’s to establish a new research centre focused on the accounting field. He put the Telfer School early on the path of excellence in this important and rapidly growing discipline, contributing a wealth of creativity and a tireless dedication to make that vision a concrete reality. During his tenure, he also became a sought-after expert on a great number of subjects related to the production, communication and use of accounting and financial information.

Guiding CGA-AGRC into a new era, professor Ben Amar will focus his energies on developing a dynamic international research program and on fostering and supporting research-based graduate programs in accounting and governance. The research projects supported by the Centre make influential contributions in terms of: a better definition of the role of accounting; an enhanced understanding of accounting issues and challenges, solutions to problems facing the profession and the discipline; and the expansion and clarification of the theoretical, conceptual and practical foundations of accounting.

Walid Ben Amar’s research interests include corporate governance, ownership structures, mergers and acquisitions and corporate disclosure strategies. A certified general accountant (CGA), professor Ben Amar holds a Master's degree in accounting from Université du Québec à Montréal and a Ph.D. in business administration from HEC Montréal. He teaches financial accounting courses at the undergraduate and MBA levels.