15 Sep 2025
From 3 to 4 September 2025, the "Conference on Accounting and Finance Research and Education in the Era of Rapid Technological Advances", hosted by the International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), took place at IBSS. A total of 116 scholars from leading domestic and international institutions - including Cornell University, Purdue University, Durham University, University of Liverpool, Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Wuhan University, Nankai University, Sun Yat-sen University, Central University of Finance and Economics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Soochow University, XJTLU's School of Mathematics and Physics, and XJTLU Entrepreneur College (Taicang) - gathered for discussions. They engaged in in-depth discussions on key research and educational topics in accounting and finance, within the context of technological innovation, injecting new ideas and impetus into the industry’s development.
Professor Stephen Gong, Head of the Finance Department at IBSS, hosted the opening ceremony. Professor Zhoulin Ruan, Vice President of XJTLU, delivered an opening address, warmly welcoming all participating scholars. In his address, he emphasised that accounting and finance have long been central to the university's development and remain a key strategic research direction for future planning. Professor Ruan expressed his expectation that the conference would provide a high-quality platform for scholars from within and beyond the university to exchange ideas, jointly explore the innovative approaches to accounting and finance research and education, and promote the field to new heights.
Professor Zhoulin Ruan
Professor Stephen Gong
As an academic event addressing cutting-edge topics, the two-day conference included multiple sessions, such as keynote speeches, parallel paper presentation sessions, a "Meet the Editors" session, and a visit to the IBSS Trading Floor. Professor Lin William Cong from Cornell University delivered an online report titled "AI for Economics: Causal Human+ Machine Learning". The report focused on the innovative application of artificial intelligence in the field of economics and in-depth analysed the core logic of the integration of technology and disciplines. Professor Nancy Lixin Su from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University delivered a keynote speech entitled "Embracing Digital Technologies in Accounting Research: A Review", which systematically outlined the practical applications and achievements of digital technology in accounting research and considered prospects for future development trends.
Professor Stephen Gong led participants to visit IBSS Trading Floor
"Meet the Editors" session
The parallel paper presentation sessions hosted several specialised discussions on core topics, including "Human Capital and Technological Innovation", "Risk Management and Return Optimization", "ESG and Sustainable Development", "The Application of Machine Learning in the Financial Field", "Corporate Information Disclosure Mechanism", and "Policy Impact and Corporate Governance". In addition, the conference also hosted a special "Meet the Editors" session, inviting editors of well-known academic journals such as?Journal of Business Ethics?to share submission skills, review standards, and journal topic selection directions. This provided professional guidance for participating scholars on academic publication enhancing the dissemination and impact of their research.
Professor Hefei Wang, Deputy Dean of IBSS, delivered a closing speech. She highlighted key issues in current accounting and finance research: "Although research methods in metrology and data science continue to advance, and the computing power and accuracy of empirical tools are constantly improving, some studies still suffer from the issue of "exquisitely constructed yet abstract models", and the fragmentation between empirical research and theoretical systems has not been completely bridged." In response to this, Professor Wang expressed her hope that the conference would serve as a starting point to continue developing an academic exchange platform, encourage scholars to break research barriers, produce high-quality results with both technical rigour and theoretical depth, and ultimately provide stronger academic support for optimising policy formulation and advancing industry innovation.
Professor Hefei Wang delivered the closing speech
At this conference, the paper "The Economics of Financial and Operational Hedging: Insights from U.S. Power Plants" by Dr Dong Yan, Dr Ran Guo and their collaborators from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, along with the paper "Global Minds, Local Gains: A Tale of US-China AI Talent Migration" by Professor Xian Gu from Durham University and her collaborators won the Best Paper Awards. Professor Lixian Qian, Associate Dean for Research at IBSS, presented the awards to the winners.
Professor Lixian Qian presented the awards to the winners
The success of this conference not only established an effective platform for communication and collaboration among domestic and international scholars in accounting and finance, but also highlighted IBSS’s positive role in promoting interdisciplinary integration and driving innovation in the field. It provided valuable insights for the advancement of research and education in accounting and finance in the technological era.
15 Sep 2025