PhD in Accounting

Distinguish your education

with a doctorate in Accounting from the Leeds School of Business.

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PhD in accounting students

PhD in Accounting

Accounting PhD students are trained to be successful academic researchers. Students are trained to develop their own research ideas and implement appropriate research methods. Our program focuses on empirical research, where students analyze real-world data to study the impact of firm communication and corporate governance practices on markets, organizations, or behavior. 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 the broad areas of corporate disclosure, governance, and sustainability.

Leeds’ accounting research reputation is among the strongest: Leeds ranks No. 14 for financial-archival research publications in the U.S. over the last six years (source: BYU Accounting Research Rankings). Leeds’ graduates also demonstrate strong research potential: Leeds’ accounting PhD program ranks No. 10 for financial-archival publications and No. 4 for managerial-archival publications six years post-graduation.

Our program also places strong emphasis on preparing our graduates for the classroom. Accounting students build their teaching portfolio by first acting as a teaching apprentice (TA) for a semester-long accounting class and subsequently teaching their own two sections of a semester-long class.

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.

Program Faculty

Led by Program Directors Nathan Marshall and Bryce Schonberger, our award-winning and renowned Accounting faculty are published experts on topics including:

  • Corporate Disclosure

  • Information Intermediaries

  • Market Microstructure

  • Corporate Governance

  • Executive Compensation

  • Corporate Social Responsibility

  • Standard Setting

  • Empirical Financial Research

  • Econometrics

Yonca Ertimur

Tandean Rustandy Esteemed Professor

Laura Griffin

Assistant Professor

Nathan Herman

Faculy

Henry Laurion

Assistant Professor

Nathan Marshall

Associate Professor • Tisone Memorial Fellow & KPMG Faculty Fellow • Accounting PhD Program Director

Austin Moss

Assistant Professor

Carmen Payne-Mann

Assistant Professor

Andrea Pawliczek

Assistant Professor • KPMG Accounting Faculty Fellow

Steve Rock

Associate Professor • Chair of the Professional Effectiveness Division • Interim Chair of the Accounting Division

Jonathan Rogers

Professor

Bryce Schonberger

Assistant Professor • EKS&H Plante Moran-Dave Steiner Accounting Fellow

Nikki Skinner

Assistant Professor • Craig and Cynthia Smith Faculty Scholar

Sarah Zechman

Tisone Memorial Fellow • Professor • Interim Associate Dean for Research & Academics

Learn more about

Program Graduates

The PhD program prepares students to be researchers and teachers at major universities. See where our graduates started their careers and published research.

Placements

Jenny Kim
PhD: 2026
Placement: University of Hawaii, Manoa
Dissertation: AI Governance: From Hype to Oversight in Corporate Risk Management

Dongoh Shin
PhD: 2025
Placement: Wayne State University
Dissertation: Who are my roommates: Corporate co-tenancy and information environment

Scott Robinson
PhD: 2025
Placement: University of Oregon
Dissertation: Environmental Disclosure in Proxy Statements: Evidence from Shareholder Voting in Contentious Director Elections

Jackie Wegner
PhD: 2024
Placement: University of Southern California
Dissertation: The Information Gatekeeping Role of Search Engines: Evidence from Investor Trading

Jesse Glaze
PhD: 2022
Placement: University of Texas, El Paso
Dissertation: Fast-Thinking Attention and the Disposition Effect

Nicholas Jasa
PhD: 2020
Placement: University of Nebraska Omaha
Dissertation: Risk Disclosure and Event Impact Mitigation: Evidence from Security Breaches

Tongqing Ding
PhD: 2019
Placement: University of Melbourne
Dissertation: Understanding Heterogeneous Board Busyness: Determinants and Implications

Nikki Skinner
PhD: 2019
Placement: University of Georgia
Dissertation: Changing the Channel: The Relation between Information Complexity and Disclosure Channel Richness

Leah Baer
PhD: 2018
Placement: University of Missouri at Columbia
Dissertation: Are All Interim CEOs Created Equal? Evidence from Investor Perceptions and CEO Behavior

Caleb Rawson
PhD: 2018
Placement: University of Arkansas
Dissertation: Who Let the Secrets Out? Overconfidence and the disclosure of proprietary information

Judith Hermis
PhD: 2017
Placement: Naval Postgraduate School
Dissertation: Corporate Political Influence and Contract Risk: Evidence from Federal Procurement

Andrea Pawliczek
PhD: 2017
Placement: University of Missouri at Columbia
Dissertation: The Effect of Performance Shares on Executive Incentives

Jonathan Black
PhD: 2015
Placement: Purdue University
Dissertation: Assessing the Impact of Credit Derivative Seller Disclosure

​Adam Bordeman
PhD: 2015
Placement: California Polytechnic State University
Dissertation: The Effects of Discretion in Accounting Standards on Financial Reporting Comparability

Jessica Weber
PhD: 2014
Placement: University of Nevada, Reno
Dissertation: Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure Level, External Assurance and Cost of Equity Capital

Marc Cussatt
PhD: 2014
Placement: University of Washington, Pullman
Dissertation: The Usefulness of Pension Obligation Estimates – Evidence from the Post-Financial Crisis Era

Jeremy Michels
PhD: 2014
Placement: University of Pennsylvania
Dissertation: Essays on Disclosure

Paige Patrick
PhD: 2013
Placement: University of Washington
Dissertation: Essays in Executive Compensation

Troy Pollard
PhD: 2013
Placement: University of Alabama
Dissertation: Sneaking in the Back Door? An Evaluation of Reverse Mergers and IPOs

Kristin Luttecke
PhD: 2012
Placement: University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Dissertation: Expectations Management Around Fixed Date Stock Option Grants

Sanghyuk Byun
PhD: 2012
Placement: Sogang University, Korea
Dissertation: Determinants and Implications of Executive Pay Dispersion and Compensation to Investor Relations Officers

Brian Burnett
PhD: 2011
Placement: Indiana University, Bloomington
Dissertation: Essays on Disclosure and Legal Origin

Curtis Nicholls
PhD: 2010
Placement: Bucknell University
Dissertation: The Impact of Accounting & Auditing Enforcement Actions on Firm’s Cost of Equity Capital

Qiuhong Zhao
PhD: 2010
Placement: University of Missouri at Columbia
Dissertation: Credit Rating Agency Efficiency: Credit Watch, Monitoring Role, and Effects of Earnings Management

Greg Martin
PhD: 2009
Initial Placement: University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Current Placement: Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Dissertation: Shareholder Rights’ Relation to Earnings Management: A Pre- and Post-Sarbanes Oxley Examination

Boo Chun Jung
PhD: 2007
Placement: University of Hawaii, Manoa
Dissertation: Information Asymmetry and the Relations between Dividend Increases, Risk and Expected Future Earnings Changes

Stephan Fafatas
PhD: 2006
Placement: Washington & Lee University
Dissertation: Audit Failure, Auditor Reputation, and Risk Management Strategies

Yanhua “Sunny” Yang
PhD: 2006
Initial Placement: University of Texas, Austin
Current Placement: University of Connecticut
Dissertation: Earnings Management as a Response to the Threat of Exchange Delisting

Ran Zhang
PhD: 2006
Placement: Peking University
Dissertation: Cash Flow Management and Its Market Pricing

Veronda Willis
PhD: 2005
Placement: University of Texas - San Antonio

David Paul Weber
PhD: 2005
Placement: University of Connecticut

Jialin Kevin Sun
PhD: 2005
Placement: University of Hawai at Manoa

Sung Wook Yoon
PhD: 2004
Placement: Winona State University

Rafael Lara
PhD: 2003
Placement: Concordia University - Montreal Canada

Dov Fischer
PhD: 2003
Placement: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby B.C.


Review of Account Studies
Nicole A. Skinner - ñ (PhD 2019)
Kristen Valentine - University of Georgia


Review of Accounting Studies
Jeremy Michels - Perdue University (PhD 2014)


Contemporary Accounting Research
Scott A. Robinson - University of Oregon (PhD 2025)
Nicole A. Skinner - ñ (PhD 2019)
Jonathan Rogers - ñ
Laura Wellman - University of Oregon


Review of Accounting Studies
Caleb Rawson - University of Arkansas Fayetteville (PhD 2018)
Kristian Allee - University of Arkansas
Ryan Cating - University of Central Arkansas


Accounting Review
Scott A. Robinson - University of Oregon (PhD 2025)
Nicole A. Skinner - ñ (PhD 2019)
Jasmine Wang - University of Virginia


The Accounting Review
Nicole A. Skinner - ñ (PhD 2019)


Review of Accounting Studies
Nicole A. Skinner - ñ (PhD 2019)
Rachel Scott - University of Georgia
Kristen Valentine - University of Georgia


The Accounting Review
Nicole A. Skinner - ñ (PhD 2019)
Andrea Pawliczek - ñ (PhD 2017)
Sarah Zechman - ñ


Review of Accounting Studies
Caleb Rawson - University of Arkansas Fayetteville (PhD 2018)
Erin Henry - University of Arkansas Fayetteville
George Plesko - University of Connecticut


Review of Accounting Studies
Caleb Rawson - University of Arkansas Fayetteville ( (PhD 2018)
Stephen Rowe - University of Arkansas Fayetteville


Contemporary Accounting Research
Marc Cussatt - Clemson University (PhD 2014)
Beau Barnes - Washington State University
Derek Dalton - Clemson University
Nancy Harp - Clemson University


Management Science
Brian Burnett - University of North Carolina (PhD 2011)
F. Jane Barton - Baruch College
Katherine Gunny - University of Colorado Denver
Brian Miller - Indian University


The Accounting Review
Caleb Rawson -University of Arkansas Fayetteville (PhD 2018)
Brady Twedt - Texas A&M University
Jessica Watkins - University of Notre Dame


The Accounting Review
Andrea Pawliczek - ñ (PhD 2017)
Nicole A. Skinner - Univerisity of Colorado Boulder (PhD 2019)
Heidi Packard - University of Michigan


The Accounting Review
Leah Baer - University of Missouri (PhD 2018)
Yonca Ertimur - ñ
Jingjing Zhang - McGill University


Review of Accounting Studies
Jesse Glaze – University of Texas El Paso (PhD 2022)
Nikki Skinner – ñ (PhD 2019)
Andrew Stephan – ñ


Journal of Accounting Research
Adam Bordeman - California Polytechnic State University (PhD 2015)
Peter Demerjian - Georgia State University


Journal of Accounting Research
Andrea Pawliczek – ñ (PhD 2017)
Nikki Skinner – University of Georgia (PhD 2019)
Sarah L.C. Zechman – ñ


The Accounting Review
Marc Cussatt – Clemson University (PhD 2014)
Paul Demere – University of Georgia


Journal of Accounting Research
Adam Bordeman -California Polytechnic State University (PhD 2015)
Peter Demerjian - Georgia State University


Journal of Accounting and Public Policy
Marc Cussatt - Clemson University (PhD 2014)
Jonathan Black - Purdue University
Jeff Zeyun Chen - Texas Christian University


The Accounting Review
Nathan Marshall – ñ
Nikki Skinner – University of Georgia (PhD 2019)


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


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


Review of Accounting Studies
Andrea Pawliczek – ñ (PhD 2017)
Nikki Skinner – University of Georgia (PhD 2019)
Laura Wellman – Pennsylvania State University


The Accounting Review
Andrea Pawliczek – University of Missouri (PhD 2017)


Review of Accounting Studies
Paige Patrick University of Chicago Illinois (PhD 2013)
Asher Curtis - University of Washington
Valerie Li - San Diego State University


The Accounting Review
Jonathan Black – Purdue University (PhD 2015)
Chad Ham – Washington University in St. Louis
Michael Kimbrough – University of Maryland


Review of Accounting Studies
Caleb Rawson – University of Arkansas (PhD 2018)


Contemporary Accounting Research
Troy Pollard - University of Alabama (PhD 2013)
Todd DeZoort - Unviersity of Alabama
Marcus Doxey - University of Alabama


Journal of Accounting and Economics
Brian Bushee – University of Pennsylvania
Matthew Cedergren – University of Pennsylvania
Jeremy Michels – University of Pennsylvania (PhD 2014)


Review of Accounting Studies
Stephen Glaeser – University of North Carolina
Jeremy Michels – University of Pennsylvania (PhD 2014)
Robert Verrecchia – University of Pennsylvania


Contemporary Accounting Research
Judith Hermis - Naval Postgraduate School (PhD 2017)
Katherine Gunny - University of Colorado Denver


The Accounting Review
David P. Weber – University of Connecticut (PhD 2005)
Yanhua Sunny Yang – University of Connecticut (PhD 2006)


The Accounting Review
Jonathan Black – Purdue University (PhD 2015)
Jeff Zeyun Chen – Texas Christian University
Marc Cussatt – Washington State University (PhD 2014)


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


Contemporary Accounting Research
Paige Patrick - University of Illinois Chicago (PhD 2013)


Review of Accounting Studies
Christopher Ittner – University of Pennsylvania
Jeremy Michels – University of Pennsylvania (PhD 2014)


Contemporary Accounting Research
Troy Pollard - University of Alabama (PhD 2013)
Lawrence Abbott - University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
Katherine Gunny - University of Colorado Denver


Journal of Accounting Research
Jeremy Michels - University of Pennsylvania (PhD 2014)


The Accounting Review
Kevin K Li - University of Toronto
Charles M.C. Lee - Stanford University
Ran Zhang - Peking University, Guanghua (PhD 2006)


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


Journal of Accounting Research
Michael Willenborg – University of Connecticut
Biyu Wu - University of Nebraska at Lincoln
Yanhua Sunny Yang - University of Connecticut (PhD 2006)


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)


Contemporary Accounting Research
Boochun Jung – University of Hawaii (PhD 2007)
Woo‐Jong Lee – The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
David P. Weber – University of Connecticut


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


Contemporary Accounting Research
Boochun Jung – University of Hawaii (PhD 2007)
Naomi Soderstrom – ñ
Yanhua Sunny Yang – University of Connecticut (PhD 2006)


The Accounting Review
Jeremy Michels – University of Colorado at Boulder (PhD 2014)


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)


Journal of Accounting Research
Sarah C. Rice - University of Connecticut
David P. Weber - University of Connecticut (PhD 2005)


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

Meet current students