Research and Scholarly Activities

The School views research as an important activity, one that complements our teaching commitments. Given our extensive portfolio of postgraduate programmes - Doctor and Master of Philosophy, Master of Professional Accounting, Master of Corporate Finance, and the planned introduction of Master of Corporate Administration - it is essential for our staff to involve themselves in the various frontiers of accounting and finance research and disseminate their latest research outputs to our graduate students.

In recent years, our School has developed and specialized in the research areas of corporate governance, capital markets and information value, and corporate finance. In addition, many of our staff members are also involved in other major areas of accounting and finance research such as taxation, management accounting, auditing, investment, financial markets, law, and economics. Our School has subscribed an extensive array of databases and computing software to facilitate staff in their research activities. In addition, the establishment of the China Accounting and Finance Research Center (CAFR Center) has contributed much to promoting and conducting more China related accounting and finance research.

For the year 2003/04, our School has come up with 5 successful projects which are funded by the Research Grant Council Competitive Earmarked Research Grant (CERG), with funds totaling over $1.6 million. In addition, 2 other projects are deemed "fundable, but unfunded". Our success rate is the highest amongst the Schools and departments of the Faculty of Business.

Funded by the Area of Strategic Development (ASD) in China Business, our School has attracted a total funding of $5 million for setting up an Asia-Pacific Centre for Corporate Governance Studies, and for supporting 9 projects on Corporate Governance relating to accounting and finance. In addition, a total of $500,000 internal grants have been awarded to staff on various projects under $100,000 each.

Currently, we have 11 research students at various stages of their studies. Ten offers have been made to candidates applying for enrollment in our Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Programme. This means that in the coming academic year, we shall see the largest intake of PhD students.

Our School's regular research seminars provide a forum for staff members to interact with local and overseas scholars relating to their latest research findings. Prominent researchers from North America, Australasia, and Asia are invited to participate in these seminars as guest speakers.

Our School places great emphasis on research output quality. Our number of papers that get published in top-tier academic journals has been increasing in the past few years. Other than enhancing our reputation in the academic community, our increased journal presence has also been beneficial to our recruitment of capable research faculty members.