The PhD specialization in Accounting focuses on issues related to the use of accounting information by various users (i.e., investors, financial analysts), the effect of regulations and of changes in accounting practices and theory. These include financial reporting and disclosure, management accounting and control systems, and auditing.
The program emphasizes a firm theoretical base of economics designed to complement the student's practical training. Knowledge of mathematics, probability, statistics, economics, and finance are essential for success and are acquired through formal coursework during the first and second years of the program. The research orientation lends itself to a variety of research methods, which include empirical, and theoretical approaches as well as to field studies. Students may adopt specific approaches depending on their research interests. Integration of accounting with related disciplines such as finance, economics, and others is highly encouraged.
Current Area Research Topics
- Financial disclosure strategies of firms and their effects
- Internal controls over financial reporting
- Principle-based versus rule-based accounting
- International financial reporting standards
- Market reactions to financial analyst forecasts
- Value relevance of accounting information
- Financial reporting fraud
- Environmental accounting
- Real estate accounting
- Debt contracting and accounting information
- Audit quality
Typical Course Structure
First Year
Fall semester
ACCT 706 Research Design in Accounting
MGSC 706 Management Research Statistics
Elective
Winter semester
ACCT 705 Seminar in Accounting - Data Analytics in Empirical Capital Market Research
FINE 711 Empirical Corporate Finance
Elective
Second Year
Fall semester
FINE 707 Corporate Finance
Elective
Elective
Winter semester
ACCT 705 Seminar in Accounting - Disclosure and Corporate Governance
ECON 742 Empirical Microeconomics
EDPH 689 Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
Electives
ECON 662 Econometrics I
ECON 663 Econometrics II
POLI 666 Casual Inference for Political Science
MPCO 721 ADMI8403 Research Methods in Finance & Accounting
MPCO 722 ADMI 861 Research in Auditing
MPCO 723 ADMI8602 Emerging Topics in Accounting Research
MPCO 724 ADMI860 Management Control & Risk Management
MPQM 760 ADM9802 Séminaire sur la divulgation financière et non financière
MPHE 740 HEC80600A Machine Learning II: Deep Learning
MPHE 742 HEC8074411 Theory Building
MPHE 743 HEC80109A Textual Analysis & Psychophysiological Measures
Typical Support Fields
- Finance
- Economics
- Behavioral Science
- Decision Theory
- Information Systems
- Statistics
