A. (Albert) Dongo

During the past decade-plus, capital market crashes and financial scandals around the world have harshly shown the importance of corporate financial transparency. Companies that fail to clearly communicate with investors on their investments, financial position, and financial performance likely face increased difficulty accessing external financing or an increased cost of financing. Companies that do not report transparently internally may stimulate managers to behave opportunistically by managing earnings and acting myopically. Accounting is the research discipline that examines the role of accounting information in companies´ communications, both externally and internally. Outside providers of financing such as banks and equity investors, as well as top and middle managers, use accounting information for decision making and control purposes. The objective of this Ph.D. project is to identify and analyze innovative research questions in the area of accounting. The expectation is that these questions will be examined using archival (quantitative, database-based) and/or experimental research methods. The structure of this Ph.D project will be as follows. During the first year, the Ph.D student will receive high-quality training in accounting (and finance) research as well as (applied) econometric methods. At the end of the first year, the student will have developed a first proposal for three empirical studies, having much independence in selecting a research focus. During the following three years, these studies will be carried out and gradually developed into three working papers that are potentially publishable in high-quality academic journals. Especially during the early stages of the project, the Ph.D. student will intensively cooperate with the members of the supervisory team.