Accounting serves a critical role in communicating information about individuals and organizations. Leeds’ PhD students strive to inform as well as influence this communication process through academic research, teaching and professional service. The Accounting PhD program provides students the opportunity to work in collaborative relationships with faculty and gain the skills necessary to conduct research that contributes to knowledge in corporate disclosure, information intermediaries (e.g., financial analysts, media, etc.), market microstructure, corporate governance, executive compensation, corporate social responsibility, and standard setting. The accounting group specializes in empirical financial research, which relies heavily on econometric methods.
Leeds’ accounting research reputation is among the strongest: Leeds ranks No. 18 for financial-archival research publications and No. 15 for managerial-archival research publications in the U.S. over the last six years (source: BYU Accounting Research Rankings). Leeds’ PhD program graduates also have the skills to produce and publish their own research: Leeds’ accounting PhD program ranks No. 28 for financial-archival publications and No. 7 for managerial-archival publications six years post-graduation.
Become a leading expert
Accounting PhD students are trained to be successful academic researchers and teachers. They develop their own research ideas and implement appropriate research methods. The accounting doctoral courses tap into faculty research and expertise on a wide range of topics that are of particular interest to accounting academics, practitioners and standard-setters.
Accounting students build their teaching portfolio by first acting as a teaching apprentice (TA) for three sections of a semester-long class and subsequently teaching their own two sections of a semester-long class.
Additional information about our Accounting faculty can be found here.
General details about the curriculum, requirements, and structure of the program can be found here. Please be aware this document is not an exhaustive list of the requirements for the Program.
PhD in Accounting Program Flyer
PhD Graduates' Publications
- When are concurrent quarterly reports useful for investors? (2023)
Review of Accounting Studies
Jesse Glaze – University of Colorado Boulder (PhD 2022)
Nikki Skinner – University of Georgia (PhD 2019)
Andrew Stephan – University of Colorado Boulder - Facilitating tacit collusion through voluntary disclosure: Evidence from common ownership (2022)
Journal of Accounting Research
Andrea Pawliczek – University of Colorado Boulder (PhD 2017)
Nikki Skinner – University of Georgia (PhD 2019)
Sarah L.C. Zechman – University of Colorado Boulder - The usefulness of corporate income tax accounting: Evidence from pension returns (2022)
The Accounting Review
Marc Cussatt – Clemson University (PhD 2014)
Paul Demere – University of Georgia - Forecast withdrawals and reporting reputation (2022)
The Accounting Review
Nathan Marshall – University of Colorado Boulder
Nikki Skinner – University of Georgia (PhD 2019) - Income smoothing through R&D management and earnings Informativeness (2022)
The Accounting Review
Bok Baik – Seoul National University
Katherine Gunny – University of Colorado Denver
Boochun Jung – University of Hawaii at Manoa (PhD 2007)
Duri Park – Sogang University - Organized labor and inventory stockpiling (2022)
The Accounting Review
Sophia Hamm – Tulane University
Boochun Jung – University of Hawaii at Manoa (PhD 2007)
Woo-Jong Lee – Seoul National University
Daniel Yang – The Ohio State University - A new take on voice: The influence of BlackRock's "Dear CEO" letters (2021)
Review of Accounting Studies
Andrea Pawliczek – University of Colorado Boulder (PhD 2017)
Nikki Skinner – University of Georgia (PhD 2019)
Laura Wellman – Pennsylvania State University - Performance-vesting share award outcomes and CEO incentives (2021)
The Accounting Review
Andrea Pawliczek – University of Missouri (PhD 2017) - Legal expertise and the role of litigation risk in firms' conservatism choices (2021)
The Accounting Review
Jonathan Black – Purdue University (PhD 2015)
Chad Ham – Washington University in St. Louis
Michael Kimbrough – University of Maryland - Manager perception and proprietary investment disclosure (2021)
Review of Accounting Studies
Caleb Rawson – University of Arkansas (PhD 2018) - Does the media help or hurt retail investors during the IPO quiet period? (2020)
Journal of Accounting and Economics
Brian Bushee – University of Pennsylvania
Matthew Cedergren – University of Pennsylvania
Jeremy Michels – University of Pennsylvania (PhD 2014) - Discretionary disclosure and management horizon: Evidence from patenting (2020)
Review of Accounting Studies
Stephen Glaeser – University of North Carolina
Jeremy Michels – University of Pennsylvania (PhD 2014)
Robert Verrecchia – University of Pennsylvania - The debt-equity choice when regulatory thresholds are based on equity values: Evidence from SOX 404 (2020)
The Accounting Review
David P. Weber – University of Connecticut (PhD 2005)
Yanhua Sunny Yang – University of Connecticut (PhD 2006) - The association between SFAS No. 157 fair value hierarchy information and conditional accounting conservatism (2018)
The Accounting Review
Jonathan Black – Purdue University (PhD 2015)
Jeff Zeyun Chen – Texas Christian University
Marc Cussatt – Washington State University (PhD 2014) - Bridging the gap: Evidence from externally hired CEOs (2018)
Journal of Accounting Research
Yonca Ertimur - University of Colorado at Boulder
Caleb Rawson - University of Colorado at Boulder (PhD 2018)
Jonathan L Rogers - University of Colorado at Boulder
Sarah L.C. Zechman - University of Colorado at Boulder - Risk-based forecasting and planning and management earnings forecasts (2017)
Review of Accounting Studies
Christopher Ittner – University of Pennsylvania
Jeremy Michels – University of Pennsylvania (PhD 2014) - Disclosure versus recognition: Inferences from subsequent events (2016)
Journal of Accounting Research
Jeremy Michels - University of Pennsylvania (PhD 2014) - Shell games: the long-term performance of Chinese reverse-merger firms (2015)
The Accounting Review
Kevin K Li - University of Toronto
Charles M.C. Lee - Stanford University
Ran Zhang - Peking University, Guanghua (PhD 2006) - Does SOX 404 Have Teeth? Consequences of the Failure to Report Existing Internal Control Weaknesses
The Accounting Review
Sarah C. Rice - Texas A&M University at College Station
David P. Weber - University of Connecticut (PhD 2005)
Biyu Wu - University of Connecticut - Issuer operating performance and IPO price formation (2015)
Journal of Accounting Research
Michael Willenborg – University of Connecticut
Biyu Wu - University of Nebraska at Lincoln
Yanhua Sunny Yang - University of Connecticut (PhD 2006) - National culture and corporate investment (2013)
Journal of International Business Studies
Liang Shao - Hong Kong Baptist University
Chuck C Kwok - University of South Carolina at Columbia
Ran Zhang - Peking University, Guanghua (PhD 2006) - Financial Reporting Quality and Labor Investment Efficiency (2013)
Contemporary Accounting Research
Boochun Jung – University of Hawaii (PhD 2007)
Woo‐Jong Lee – The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
David P. Weber – University of Connecticut - Audit quality and the trade-off between accretive stock repurchases and accrual-based earnings management (2012)
The Accounting Review
Brian M Burnett - Indiana University at Bloomington (PhD 2011)
Bradrick M. Cripe - Northern Illinois University
Gregory W. Martin - Indiana University at Bloomington (PhD 2009)
Brian P. McAllister - University of Colorado at Colorado Springs - Earnings smoothing activities of firms to manage credit ratings (2012)
Contemporary Accounting Research
Boochun Jung – University of Hawaii (PhD 2007)
Naomi Soderstrom – University of Colorado Boulder
Yanhua Sunny Yang – University of Connecticut (PhD 2006) - Do unverifiable disclosures matter? Evidence from peer-to-peer lending (2012)
The Accounting Review
Jeremy Michels – University of Colorado at Boulder (PhD 2014) - Do financial analysts' long-term growth forecasts matter? Evidence from stock recommendations and career outcomes (2012)
Journal of Accounting and Economics
Boochun Jung – University of Hawaii at Manoa (PhD 2007)
Philip B. Shane – University of Virginia, McIntire
Yanhua Sunny Yang - University of Texas at Austin (PhD 2006) - How effective is internal control reporting under SOX 404? Determinants of the (non-)disclosure of existing material weaknesses (2011)
Journal of Accounting Research
Sarah C. Rice - University of Connecticut
David P. Weber - University of Connecticut (PhD 2005) - Earnings management using real activities: evidence from nonprofit hospitals (2011)
The Accounting Review
Leslie G. Eldenburg - The University of Arizona
Katherine A. Gunny - University of Colorado at Boulder
Kevin W. Hee - San Diego State University (PhD 2008)
Naomi Soderstrom - University of Colorado at Boulder