From May 16th to 17th, NYU Shanghai, in collaboration with NYU Stern School of Business, hosted the inaugural NYU Shanghai and NYU Stern Joint Accounting Research Conference at the New Bund campus. The event brought together over 60 leading scholars from top institutions like Harvard, the London School of Economics, IESE, Duke, the University of Pennsylvania, and HKUST to exchange ideas on the latest developments in accounting research.
The two-day event featured six keynote speakers presenting their work in the field, followed by insightful academic discussions. NYU Shanghai Provost Joanna Waley-Cohen warmly welcomed the global participants from top institutions and emphasized NYU Shanghai’s role as a bridge between China and the rest of the world in her opening remarks. “This conference reflects NYU Shanghai’s enduring mission: to become a comprehensive research university,” she said.
“We wanted this conference to be more than just a series of presentations—it’s about building relationships and starting conversations that cross borders,” said NYU Shanghai Professor of Accounting Sterling Huang, who initiated the event. “It’s exciting to see scholars from around the world come together in Shanghai to share ideas and spark new collaborations.”
On the first day, the sessions included a deep dive into critical issues in accounting and corporate governance. Professor Qi Chen from Duke University presented his study on banks’ disclosure response in times of crisis and provided evidence on the importance of coordination motives in shaping banks’ disclosure strategy. Professor Maria Correia from the London School of Economics highlighted the importance of cross-border coordination in regulatory design towards ESG disclosure mandates. Professor Ilan Guttman from NYU Stern School of Business explored how voluntary disclosures influence investment choices and market behavior.
The second day continued with key topics in corporate governance and regulation. Professor Li Chen from NYU Shanghai discussed how social mission alignment between firms and CEOs influences the CEO hiring process and subsequent firm outcomes. Professor Gaizka Ormazabal from the IESE Business School at the University of Navarra analyzed the stock price reactions to the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), revealing EU firms’ limited ability to pass on the tax cost. The session concluded with Professor Frank Zhou from the University of Pennsylvania, who introduced a dynamic labor market equilibrium model and uncovered the magnitude of barriers to entry to Big Four accounting firms.
The conference featured lively discussions and thoughtful, in-depth feedback from guests. It closed with a speech by NYU Stern Accounting Professor Paul Zarowin heralding the first joint NYU Stern and NYU Shanghai conference. “We believe this is just the beginning—there will be many more in the years to come,” he said. “We’re truly looking forward to that.”
NYU Shanghai Dean of Business Chen Yuxin highlighted the support the conference received from both NYU Shanghai and NYU Stern. He emphasized that the NYU Shanghai Business Division will continue to support high-level academic dialogues of this kind in service of the global scholarly community.
NYU Shanghai continues to build on its strong ties with NYU Stern (ranked No.6 in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report Rankings), offering joint master’s degree programs in Data Analytics and Business Computing, Marketing and Retail Science, Organization Management and Strategy, and Quantitative Finance. Both institutions are committed to nurturing global talent and fostering cross-cultural exchanges that enhance academic excellence.
This conference was a powerful demonstration of NYU Shanghai’s international platform, connecting leading scholars from around the world and pushing the boundaries of research and collaboration.
This conference was made possible by a generous gift from DangDang.com and its co-founder and CEO Peggy Yu (NYU STERN ’92), through the NYU Shanghai Education Development Foundation.