To support the convergence of people and ideas, a generous gift from Professor Emeritus Swee Goh resumes annual accounting conference from 2025 to 2027.
Swee Goh knows the power of conferences.
As a professor of organizational behaviour and human resource management at the Telfer School of Management for over 30 years, and now a retired professor emeritus, he always enjoyed the opportunity to attend conferences to share his findings, collaborate on projects and hear about new studies in his field. The camaraderie and exchange of ideas is vital to knowledge mobilization.
As he looks back on his career, Swee recognizes it was a highlight to travel around the world to present his research at conferences. His late wife Lilian Goh often enjoyed accompanying him, which is why, when the opportunity came up last year to support an annual accounting conference at Telfer, Swee didn’t hesitate.
Lilian, who passed in 2021, was a chartered professional accountant and had enjoyed a successful career in performance auditing for the federal public service in Ottawa. For more than 20 years, she volunteered her time to establishing, supporting and serving on the board of Telfer’s former Accounting and Governance Research Center. They were the perfect yin and yang; Lilian, the accounting executive and Swee, the professor.
“What amazes me,” recalls Swee, “is that although Lilian was not an academic in my field, OBHR, she would come to my conferences and my presentations. She always pushed me to make connections between advanced research and application. She’d ask, ‘so what’s the practical relevance of what you’re doing?’ and ‘how does that translate into practice’?”
In 2025, thanks to Swee Goh’s generous gift, the Annual Telfer Conference in Accounting, Auditing and Accountability returned after a long hiatus. He is currently supporting the conference over three years as a way of commemorating Lilian’s legacy as a senior government official and her unwavering support for accounting research at Telfer. He also hopes this gift will help to raise the profile of the school.
Bringing people together again, and it feels good
The energy, connections and learning experiences of the 2025 conference, held at the Desmarais building last May, are exactly what faculty organizers had hoped for.
“The conference was widely recognized as an outstanding academic event,” says Professor Lamia Chourou, Conference Chair and lead organizer. The one-day assembly attracted thought leaders from Harvard University, Cornell University, Boston University, University of Toronto, the University of Rochester and the University of Pennsylvania, among others. Through 18 paper presentations and discussions, topics ranged from climate finance and accountability to the intersection of accounting and the environment.
“Hosting presenters and participants from across Canada and the world significantly enriched the intellectual diversity of the conference,” adds Professor Chourou. “These interactions are essential for advancing global research dialogues and for building lasting academic networks. As the convening institution, Telfer plays a critical role in fostering this exchange by providing a platform for high-quality research dissemination and collaboration.”
Professor Wayne Landsman, KPMG Distinguished Professor of Accounting at the University of North Carolina, delivered a lunchtime keynote on contemporary accounting scholarship and the next frontiers of research in the field.
“These interactions are essential for advancing global research dialogues and for building lasting academic networks. As the convening institution, Telfer plays a critical role in fostering this exchange by providing a platform for high-quality research dissemination and collaboration.”
— Professor Lamia Chourou, Conference Chair
The day ended with an industry panel featuring speakers from MindBridge AI, EY, Lumine Group, Tessier Consulting Group and KPMG who were generous with their time and knowledge.
Hosting the event on campus allowed several Telfer graduate students to attend, enabling students to easily participate in a world-class conference on home soil.
“For our first-year PhD students in particular, it was their first opportunity to engage directly with leading scholars,” explains Professor Chourou. “The event also served as a valuable learning environment, reinforcing the relevance of their coursework and exposing them to emerging research trends in the field.”
Parallel sessions offered a high-quality program
Conference participants were impressed at the quality of the parallel sessions that reflected the breadth and depth of contemporary accounting scholarship.
The organizing committee, including Professor Chourou, Walid Ben-Amar, Ian Telfer Research Fellow, Sylvain Durocher, Logan Katz Fellow in Accounting, and Darlene Himick, Father Edgar Thivierge Professor in Financial Inclusion and Vice-Dean, Faculty Affairs, had thoughtfully curated a program featuring both qualitative and quantitative research. Each session was assigned a discussant to enrich the exchange of ideas and constructive comments for the authors.
Swee was thrilled to see such a large turnout of accounting academics and its appeal to a broad audience with the qualitative and quantitative format. “The lively discussions and the excellent discussants for each paper really stood out for me,” he says. “I was very impressed that they took their tasks seriously and provided great feedback to the presenters of the papers.”
Mentorship as a natural part of conferences
In 2016 and 2020, Swee and Lilian Goh directed their philanthropic support towards doctoral scholarships at Telfer as a way of encouraging the next generation of academics as they embark on their careers. Recipients of their award included Marwa Soliman and Nicolas Legendre.
Swee says attending the conference also brought up a sense of gratitude for the mentorship that naturally unfolds in this environment. Experienced researchers can serve as positive role models for junior faculty members and doctoral students.
It’s an exchange he knows well, motivating and encouraging graduate students. “When Lilian and I supported five doctoral students at Telfer, it was wonderful to watch them progress,” says Swee. “I eventually attended their graduation ceremonies—and even met their parents and spouses there! It was our goal to support their academic journeys, and to watch them embark on their careers.”
Celebrating Lilian Goh’s legacy in accounting and auditing
After Lilian Goh completed her MBA at the University of Toronto, where she and Swee met as graduate students, she worked in financial accounting and management consulting.
Her first role in Ottawa was working for the Office of the Auditor General, eventually becoming a director focused on comprehensive auditing for the human resource function of different federal departments and agencies. She also held the position of Director-General of audit operations for the Public Service Commission of Canada while on an executive interchange from the Office of the Auditor General.
In past iterations of Telfer’s annual accounting conference, Lilian was instrumental in organizing the initial offerings and even managed to secure a speaking engagement by the Auditor General of Canada. The conference quickly became a high-profile event for Telfer, attracting a large audience of academics and practitioners.
“Lilian had very high aspirations whenever she was tasked with something to do,” says Swee. “That is, only the best outcome would be her goal.”
Years earlier, when Lilian was on the board of governors for Certified General Accountants of Ontario, she was involved in putting together applications for a new accounting research center in an Ontario university. Through her advocacy and persuasion, Swee shares, the Ontario and federal accounting associations agreed to fund this center at the University of Ottawa—the Accounting and Governance Research Centre. But it didn’t come easily.
“There were a lot of obstacles,” explains Swee. “People would say, ‘why the University of Ottawa? Why couldn’t it be at another university?’ As a board member, she had to present her opinion and knowledge about Telfer and why it should be here.”
Lilian was a determined and courageous person who always saw the silver lining, even during setbacks. “She really fought hard to get that funding. There were so many options for the funders; they could have made the decision to go anywhere,” says Swee.
Once the centre was established, Lilian joined its advisory board until her retirement in 2012. With the constant threat of funding cutbacks at the time, she never let down her guard.
“Sometimes there were budget issues, so she had to go back and fight for them not to reduce too much. She was a constant advocate for the centre and never caved into pressures. She was a fighter,” adds Swee, “and she fought to make sure the centre was properly funded.”
A new platform for networking and advancing knowledge
Today, Telfer’s new conference in accounting, auditing and accountability, supported by the school’s Centre for a Responsible Wealth Transition, carries the torch that was first ignited by Lilian decades ago. In the spirit of scholarly excellence and thought-provoking speakers, the school is once again bringing together the best accounting researchers.
Swee was especially excited to see the energy and excitement that came out of the conference in 2025. Some people approached him to share their memories of Lilian and her advocacy and volunteer work for the school.
“I think last year was excellent,” says Swee. “My hope is that this conference will become an ongoing annual event that will showcase Telfer’s leadership in the field of accounting, auditing and accountability research, and that the organizers continue in this direction.”
He is a little wistful when he recalls the many events and speaking engagements his wife attended at Telfer for more than two decades, featuring visiting academics from all over the world.
“Lilian was always proud of the centre and what it had accomplished.”
The next Telfer Conference in Accounting, Auditing and Accountability will be held on May 8, 2026.
In memory of Lilian Goh, FCPA, FCGA, 1947-2021
