Message from the New Department Chair: Haidan Li
I took on my new role as the chair of the Accounting Department in September 2018. Professor Yongtae Kim stepped down from this position after three years of outstanding leadership to take a much-earned sabbatical. We are all very grateful for his hard work and commitment, and I look forward to maintaining and building upon the success our department has achieved over the past years.
This past June, we graduated 93 students, of which 75 were Accounting majors and 18 were Accounting and Information Systems majors. The senior survey reveals a consistently high job placement rate and internship participation of our graduates. In 2018, 84% of our students had accepted a position by spring of the senior year; 94% of seniors participated in an internship and 42% reported multiple internships by senior year.
An additional 110 students graduated from our Certificate of Advanced Accounting Proficiency (CAAP) program, which allows individuals with non-accounting degrees who are seeking either a career change or career enhancement to obtain knowledge in the accounting area. The CAAP program has continued to grow and improve its quality, and this year is no exception.
In addition to being strongly committed to our teaching mission, our faculty continue to produce high quality and impactful research. Professor Yongtae Kim received the University’s highest award for scholarly achievement for his dedicated and prolific scholarship on important issues in accounting and finance. Professor Kim has published numerous articles in top-tier peer-reviewed journals. His work regarding opportunistic financial reporting behavior has contributed to both academic literature and practice, helping regulators better understand the motives of firms engaging in earnings management.
The Center for Accounting Research and Education (CARE), directed by Professor Michael Calegari, has organized many successful events, including multiple career fairs, accounting information events, and award ceremonies. These events help develop relationships among accounting students, faculty, and Silicon Valley accounting professionals, in addition to promoting the accounting program to business students. The center hired a new senior administrative assistant, Linda Zuccaro, in August 2018. Linda received a BSEE from Washington State University and has previously worked with engineering and software companies in quality assurance testing, product marketing, and product management.
One of the challenges facing the department is how to integrate data analytics into the accounting curriculum, as data analytics has become an increasingly important part of the accounting profession. We have created a Curriculum Review Committee this year to review the curriculum with a focus on incorporating data analytics into our program. The committee is also tasked to ensure that our program meets the new AACSB accreditation standards regarding curricular mandates. As always, we will reach out to the Accounting Department Advisory Board for advice.
In closing, I would like to thank all of you who contribute your time and financial support to our program. Your generous support is critical to our ability to attract high quality students and faculty and enables us to foster relations with our local employer/professional community. We greatly appreciate all continued and new support!
Short Bio
Haidan Li is an Associate Professor of Accounting at Santa Clara University. She joined SCU in 2008 after serving as an Assistant Professor of Accounting at the University of Iowa. She received her Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin.
Haidan’s research relates to the use of accounting information for decision making with a focus on financial accounting and corporate governance. She has published papers in leading scholarly journals including Journal of Accounting and Economics, Contemporary Accounting Research, Review of Accounting Studies, and Journal of Law and Economics. She has been recognized with the American Accounting Association Competitive Manuscript Award, the Outstanding Paper Award at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence, and the Moskowitz Prize for Socially Responsible Investing, Honorable Mention. Her work has also been featured in the business press including the Wall Street Journal.
Haidan’s teaching interests are primarily in financial accounting. She has received the Professor of the Year Award from the Santa Clara University Accounting Association and the Outstanding Faculty Award by the Leavey School of Business, ACE Leadership Program.