On March 22nd and 23rd,2019, China Contemporary Accounting Review 2019 Spring Academic Symposium and doctoral workshop were successfully held in Yangzhou city and Xinghua city, Jiangsu Province. This event was jointly sponsored by Ge Jiashu Memorial Hall, Center for Accounting Studies of Xiamen University, Accounting Department of Xiamen University, Business School of Yangzhou University and Center for Innovative Research on Modern Management Accounting of Southeast University. Nearly 100 researchers from various universities attended the meeting, including Peking University, Chongqing University, Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Southeast University, Fudan University, Nanjing University, Xiamen University, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Sichuan University, Tongji University, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Yangzhou University, Sun Yat-sen University, Central University of Finance and Economics and others.
The conference was divided into two phases, which are doctoral workshop and China Contemporary Accounting Review 2019 Spring Academic Symposium.
On March 22nd, the first section of the meeting, the doctoral workshop opened successfully, professor Lu Biao, dean of business school of Yangzhou University, presided over the opening ceremony, and professor Chen Guohong, vice president of Yangzhou University, delivered welcoming remarks. executive editor of China Contemporary Accounting Review, assistant to the president, Professor Li Zengquan from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, addressed the goal of the journal China Contemporary Accounting Review, and encouraged problem-oriented and original research based on institutional contexts. He believed this proposition should be wide-spread through various forms including doctoral workshops.
After the opening ceremony, three distinguished professors, professor Long Xiaoning, Yangtze River Scholar appointed by Ministry of Education, also dean of the Economics Department of Xiamen University, Professor Xia Lijun, dean of the Accounting Department, Antai Economics and Management School of Shanghai Jiaotong University, and Professor Zhang Tianyu from the School of Accounting of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, delivered lectures. The topics are as following respectively, Quantitative Measurement and Evaluation of Institution: Talking from the Coase Theorem, Taste on Research and Text Analysis and Accounting Research. Professor Liu Feng of Xiamen University and Professor Li Zhibin, deputy dean of the Business School of Yangzhou University, chaired the lectures respectively.
Professor Long Xiaoning clarified the meaning underlying the Coase Theorem on three levels with vivid examples, and explained the quantitative measurement and evaluation of institution in detail, taking the relevant research she had done as examples. Professor Long believed that China’s economic environment provided us with many opportunities for measurement and analysis of the institution. She pointed out that when conducting quantitative research on the institution, special attention must be paid to the background and details of the institution, and it is necessary to distinguish the institution from policies and rules, and the differences between them.
Professor Xia Lijun shared his experience on how to do research that of high-quality, and meaningful in theoretical and practical sense. Talking aboue taste on research, he used the big tree as a metaphor to warn young scholars not to stop at the leaf (superficial) level, but to look deeper at the branch, trunk, and even root level. Basic research should be more, while link research should be less. A good taste on research should be developed.
Themed on TEXT as Data, Professor Zhang Tianyu introduced the development and popular technics of, and various traps and problems facing text analysis. He showed in detail the process and methods of constructing text data. And take his own three articles as examples, professor Zhang explained how to use text analysis for academic research, and share some databases on traditional media data and social media data.
On March 23rd, the second phase of the event, China Contemporary Accounting Review 2019 Spring Annual Conference was held in Xinghua city, the hometown of Ge Jiashu. Mr. Ge is one of the pioneer in modern accounting of China. This meeting was strongly supported by the Xinghua Municipal government administration.
The opening ceremony of the conference was hosted by Xin Qingquan, he is the executive editor of China Contemporary Accounting Review, a young Changjiang scholar appointed by the Ministry of Education, and Professor of Chongqing University. Ma Yuanlian, secretary of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of Xinghua city, and Professor Liu Feng, an accounting expert appointed by the Ministry of Finance and editor-in-chief of China Contemporary Accounting Review delivered speeches on by one. Secretary Ma Yuanlian first expressed his warm welcome and gratitude to attending scholars for visiting Xinghua City, a city with a long history and outstanding people, he then wished the conference a complete success. Professor Liu Feng stated that China Contemporary Accounting Review is an open platform for the exchanging ideas, and the active participation of experts, scholars, teachers and students are welcomed. This time the conference was chosen to be held in Xinghua City, on the one hand, it showed respect and tribute to the older generation of accounting scholars represented by Mr. Ge Jiashu, on the other hand, it encouraged the new generation of accounting scholars to inherit the spirits, to be innovative and to extend the influence of accounting research.
After the opening ceremony, the conference entered the following activities: keynote speech, thesis report and discussion, and the closing ceremony.
The keynote speakers of this conference were Professor Du Xingqiang and Professor Lu Haitian. Professor Du is the executive editor of China Contemporary Accounting Review. he also the dean of Department of Accounting of Xiamen University. While professor Lu is the Associate dean of the School of Business of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. They respectively delivered speeches on the topic of Cultural Impact and Accounting Research and risk and lawsuit and related research in accounting and finance. Professor Xia Lijun of Shanghai Jiaotong University presided over the session of keynote speech. Professor Du Xingqiang started from daily phenomenon about traditional Chinese culture, especially Confucian culture. He pointed out that cultural influence appears everywhere, and also has an impact on accounting and auditing behavior that we are concerned about. He took several of his working papers as examples, explaining how to conduct accounting research from the traditional cultural dimension. Professor Lu Haitian elaborated on the construction of litigation risk indicators based on small and medium shareholder litigation, and introduced his research results about associations between litigation risk and voluntary statement restatement, bank credit and the readability of annual report. During the speeches, the audience warmly applauded several times for rich content and witty lecturing.
A total of 63 papers were received in this symposium. And 7 of them were selected to be presented at the conference. The authors and titles of the thesis are as following. Goodwill, Goodwill Impairment and Auditor Risk Response Strategies by Feng Qiuqiao, a doctoral student of Fudan University, Audit Tenure and Audit Quality: Team Perspective by Shi Wen, a doctoral student at Xiamen University, Related Party M&A, Controlling Shareholders’ Support and Firm Performance by Lu Pei, a doctoral student of Xiamen University, Reputation Restoration after Executive Corruption: Behavior, Market Awareness and Value Creation by Ma Rui, a doctoral student of Henan University of Economics and Law, and Executives’ Early Poverty Experience and Corporate Cash Holdings by Li Xue, a doctoral student of Xiamen University, Promotion Expectations and Resource Allocation Efficiency Improvement by Li Yanlin, a doctoral student of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, and Does Policy Uncertainty Increase Audit Fees? by Wang Jinghua, a doctoral student of Nanjing University.
Professor Li Zengquan from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Professor Xia Lijun from Shanghai Jiaotong University, Professor Xin Qingquan from Chongqing University, Professor Gu Chaoyang from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Professor Shen Zhe from Xiamen University, Professor Zhang Bin from Yangzhou University, and Professor Liu Xinming from Xiamen University reviewed and commented on the 7 papers above respectively. accompanied by witty lines of the three hosts, Professor He Jiangang, Professor Gu Chaoyang and Professor Chen Zhibin, participants also interacted with each other enthusiastically.
In the last part of the conference, Professor Xin Qingquan delivered wonderful closing remarks, encouraging young researchers to do problem driven research based on solid theory, and stated that the platform of China Contemporary Accounting Review welcomes articles with new ideas and new thinking, and on new phenomena. China Contemporary Accounting Review is an open and inclusive platform dedicated to promoting contextual, problem-oriented, and tasteful accounting research in China. Professor Du Xingqiang announced the winners of the Best Paper Award and Best Comment Award of this symposium. The award was sponsored by Gaodun Finance. The best paper award was awarded to Wang Jinghua, a PhD student of Nanjing University (paper reported: Does policy uncertainty increase audit fees?); the best review award went to Professor Gu Chaoyang of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (paper commented: Reputation restoration after executive corruption: behavior , Market awareness and value creation).
In this beautiful season of March, the China Contemporary Accounting Review 2019 Spring Academic Symposium and Doctoral Workshop came to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal for the first time, and walked into the hometown of the accounting pioneer Ge Jiashu. A host of well-known experts and scholars, and teachers and students, from various places gathered here to discuss academic issues while inherit the legacy. In the future, the China Contemporary Accounting Review team will continue to develop this platform and make contributions for China’ accounting research!
