Time and place: May 3-7, 2027, Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki
Class times: 9:00 am – 12 pm and 01:00 pm – 04:00 pm
Learning goal and objectives:
- Develop a stronger understanding of empirical financial reporting research: Students will become familiar with important research in financial statement analysis, including work on earnings quality, accruals, disclosure, and the consequences of accounting choices. The course will also consider why firms make particular accounting and reporting decisions and how these decisions affect the information contained in financial statements.
- Critically assess and discuss academic research: Students will learn to evaluate empirical studies, including their research questions, methods, findings, and limitations. Through class discussions and written assignments, students will also consider how different papers relate to one another and how the literature has developed over time.
- Develop research ideas in financial statement analysis: Students will work on identifying interesting and relevant research questions and developing them into a research proposal. This will involve motivating the research question, considering appropriate empirical approaches, and thinking through potential challenges and limitations.
Instruction and examination: Students are expected to actively participate in each class, including presenting and critiquing assigned papers. The course assessment is divided as follows:
- Presentation of Papers (25%): Students will present papers assigned by the course coordinator, discussing the main ideas, defending the methodologies, and addressing any potential limitations.
- Written Critiques/Literature Reviews (25%): Students will prepare written critiques of key papers, analyze connections among studies, and identify gaps in the literature.
- Original Research Proposal (50%): Students will submit a detailed proposal by the end of the course, articulating their research question, empirical approach, data sources, and anticipated limitations. Students will also present this proposal in class for peer critique.
A full list of selected articles will be shared with participants before the course begins. For each session, students must come prepared to answer three core questions for each assigned paper: (1) What is the research question? (2) How is it answered regarding approach and setting? (3) What conclusions are reached? Additionally, students must critique the “starred” papers, identify significant gaps, and submit their written reviews at the beginning of each class. The final assignment, an original research proposal, will enable students to integrate course insights into a significant research question and detail methodology, data sources, and anticipated contributions to financial statement analysis.
Credits: 5 ECTS
Grading: The final grade will be assessed using a five-level grading scale: sufficient, satisfactory, good, very good, and excellent.
Prerequisites: None
Admittance: The course will admit a maximum of 25 students. Early registration is preferred. To register, email the course coordinator. The course application deadline is April 18, 2027.
Instructor:
Professor Anup Srivastava
Professor and Canada Research Chair
Haskayne School of Business, Accounting
University of Calgary
Homepage: https://profiles.ucalgary.ca/anup-srivastava
Email: anup.srivastava@ucalgary.ca
Course coordinator and contact information: Mansoor Afzali, mansoor.afzali@hanken.fi