External reporting-the disclosure of financial and other corporate information-is a fascinating area of research, according to Leung. Companies are increasingly required to be transparent about how they address significant societal issues. From carbon emissions to working conditions for employees in other countries, annual reports now contain an ever-growing amount of important information.
"Consider sustainability, for instance: companies are increasingly mandated to report on their climate impact and mitigation efforts," Leung explains. "Most people don’t associate these types of topics with our field, but they are becoming a critical aspect of accounting and accounting research."
Transparency triggers change
What exactly are the effects of mandatory transparency in annual reports? "Research in our field shows that this transparency can contribute to changes in how companies operate," says Leung. As a professor of Accounting at the Tilburg School of Economics and Management (TiSEM), she aims to further explore how reporting regulations can provide solutions to societal challenges."Ever since doing my PhD, I have been deeply interested in external reporting and the information exchange among companies within a value chain. With the introduction of EU legislation such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, which will require companies to report on the impacts of their value chains on the environment and on human rights, these matters has become even more relevant. I hope that my research will contribute insights into the effects of transparency regarding activities in a value chain on sustainable business behavior."
Back in Tilburg
Leung defended her PhD dissertation on reporting standards at Tilburg University in 2013, and now returns as a professor. "I am honored to work in Tilburg again and grateful for all the support for my appointment. TiSEM and the Department of Accounting have always been very progressive and hold significant international prestige, so I am very excited to be a part of it again and to contribute. I have been fortunate to have had great mentors during my PhD in Tilburg, and I hope to be a mentor for a future generation of PhD students as well."Edith Leung
Professor of AccountingEdith Leung focuses on the value of external reporting and the role of regulation in reporting quality. She obtained her PhD from Tilburg University in 2013 and was a visiting PhD candidate at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business during her doctoral studies. In 2016, she received a Veni grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) for her research on the value of non-GAAP disclosures. Until September 2024, she was affiliated with the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) in Rotterdam, where she served as the head of the Accounting, Auditing, and Control department until August 2024. Her research has been published internationally in leading journals, and she is a member of the Standing Scientific Committee of the European Accounting Association, among other roles.
