Dean's Message
In pursuit of the University’s mission of nurturing learners and change agents while grooming world-class researchers to address societal challenges, the School of Accountancy (SoA) has built an international reputation for its significant contributions to accounting research and high-quality accounting education.
Today we count world-class scholars and business leaders as part of our team. Our faculty members have consistently gained international recognition for research productivity. Our research productivity is ranked 1st in Asia and 3rd in the world for archival accounting research, while gaining momentum in the emerging areas of digital transformation and corporate sustainability research. We boast of a robust research environment with strong academic-driven research and practice research.
At the same time, our faculty members consistently rank as the best teachers in the university. They also produce outstanding and internationally recognised pedagogical works. With this unique composition in our team, we have gained recognition for our contributions towards thought leadership, education and training in the accounting industry.
SoA offers a suite of distinctive programmes to support aspiring accounting professionals at various stages of career development – the Bachelor of Accountancy (BAcc), the Master of Professional Accounting (MPA), the Master of Science in Accounting (MSA) (Data & Analytics) and the PhD in Accounting.
Graduates from our BAcc programme enjoy high employment rates each year, commanding higher average starting salaries than their local peers. Our MPA graduates are also transitioning well into their respective professions, with many taking on key executive roles upon completion of their programme. The MSA programme is designed for finance and accounting professionals who are interested in developing expertise in applying data technology into their domain knowledge to solve business problems. On the other hand, the PhD in Accounting programme aims to groom the next generation of highly-skilled and innovative thought leaders in accounting, while generating synergy with SoA’s robust research environment. As a School, we strive to partner with our students on their lifelong journey of learning and education.
The University’s collaborations with world-class institutions also enable our School to enjoy close interactions with top faculty members from these institutions. In addition, our School works closely with top Chinese schools in joint-postgraduate programmes, such as the Tsinghua-SMU Master of Science in CFO Leadership and the SMU-ZJU Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) (Accounting and Finance) programme.
With Singapore poised to be the leading accounting hub in a rapidly evolving regional accounting landscape, SoA is committed to driving accounting innovation and educating the next generation of accounting professionals, through strong collaboration with our industry partners. I extend a warm welcome to you to partner with us, or to join us as part of our exciting and dynamic community at SoA.
Professor Liandong ZHANG
Lee Kong Chian Professor
Dean (School of Accountancy)
Professor Zhang is an internationally renowned scholar whose research focuses on financial reporting and disclosure, corporate governance, and taxation. He has published extensively in top-tier journals, including Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of Accounting Research, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Review of Accounting Studies, The Accounting Review, and Journal of Financial Economics. His work has made significant scholarly and societal impact and is widely cited in academic literature, regulatory policy documents, and the media. He has received multiple awards for research excellence, including an Honourable Mention at the 2024 Moskowitz Prize, and is a frequent speaker at leading academic and policy forums worldwide. He currently serves as Editor of Corporate Governance: An International Review and as Associate Editor for the Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting and Economics and International Review of Finance.
Professor Zhang holds a Ph.D. in Accounting from Nanyang Technological University and a Bachelor’s degree from Tsinghua University. Prior to joining SMU, he held faculty positions at City University of Hong Kong and the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University.
