Telfer School Professors Present Their Research at European Accounting Association Congress in Paris

Telfer School professors presented their recent findings at the European Accounting Association Congress in Paris this week. Study topics included climate change disclosure and firm performance, corporate risk tolerance in the mining industry, and stock-price synchronicity in offshore firms. The conference program included research contributions by professors Kaouthar Lajili, Walid Ben Amar, Tiemei (Sarah) Li, Philip Mcilkenny, Sarah Ben Amor and Sylvain Durocher.

Sylvain Durocher examined the adoption timing decisions of private firms in relation to the new set of accounting standards for private enterprises published in 2009 in Canada, drawing on the theory of planned behaviour. The study was coauthored by Anne Fortin of Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Professor Durocher also presented, with Claire-France Picard of Laval University, “Meticulous Professionals to Superheroes of the Business World: A Historical Portrait Of a Cultural Change In The Field Of Accountancy,” a study co-authored with Yves Gendron of Laval.

Walid Ben Amar and Philip Mcilkenny discusssed the link between board of directors’ effectiveness and voluntary reporting of climate change related risks in a sample of Canadian firms. Their study highlights the importance of the board of directors’ role in enhancing the transparency of climate change disclosures.

Research by Kaouthar Lajili and Sarah Ben Amor focused on developing a corporate risk tolerance level using the Canadian gold mining industry as an example. They analyzed the risk sources, risk exposure, and risk management strategies disclosed by Canadian listed gold mining firms between 2006 and 2008.

Tiemei (Sarah) Li of the Telfer School and Jeong-Bon Kim, City University of Hong Kong investigated the extent to which firm-specific information is capitalized into stock prices in offshore firms and non-offshore firms.