Accounting current PhD students

Entered PhD program: July 2023

PhD supervisors: Associate Professor Helen Spiropoulos and Dr Robert Czernkowski

Thesis (working) title: Essays on Risk, Pay and Disclosures in Financial Institutions

Entered PhD program: April 2025

PhD supervisors: Distinguished Professor Stephen Taylor and Professor Yaowen Shan

Thesis (working) title: Climate Uncertainty Exposure and Corporate Greenwashing

Entered PhD program: July 2021

PhD supervisor: Associate Professor Bernhard Wieder

Research topic: Stakeholder engagement by the Australian Local Government Sector in the sustainability reporting cycle.

Teaching areas: Accounting, finance, financial planning, economics

Profile, academic background and work experience: Leanne Gaul is an accounting PhD candidate at the UTS business school. After completing a Bachelor of Economics and PGrad Diploma of Education she went on to become a financial planner for 10 years, completing a Diploma of Financial Planning to become a Certified Financial Planner. Returning to study in 2013 Leanne completed a Master of Professional Accounting whilst working as a sessional academic (from 2015 to present) teaching in Auditing, Strategic and Sustainable Accounting, Accounting Information Systems, Accounting and Finance, Financial Planning, Risk Management and Insurance and Economics. Upon completing MPA she then enrolled in Bachelor of Business (Honours) completing a dual method study of stakeholder engagement by NSW Local Councils in the sustainability reporting cycle achieving a H1 result and an Executive Deans Award. Her enrolment as PhD candidate at UTS is to build and extend the research from her honours degree.

Publication:

• Gaul, L. (2021). Sustainability as part of accountability and organisational reporting. Accounting and Accountability. https://oer.pressbooks.pub/utsaccounting1/chapter/sustainability-as-part-of-accountability-and-organisational-reporting/

Entered PhD program: September 2022

PhD supervisors: Professor Andrew Ferguson, Dr Peter Lam, Gabriel Pereira Pundrich (External)

Entered PhD Program: April 2024

PhD Supervisors: Professor Andrew Ferguson, Dr Peter Lam, and Assistant Professor Gabriel Pündrich (University of Florida) 

Research Interest: Accounting and Corporate Finance dillemas, such as M&A, Firm Valuation, Project Finance, Forecasts, and Financial Reporting.

Thesis title: Management Forecast in Mining Project Finance.

Profile/Academic Background and Work Experience: Paulo is a certified accountant in Brazil, researching and teaching in the areas of accounting and finance. Currently, he is a research affiliate at Fucape Business School and a partner at Intelethos Ltd., a consultancy firm mostly focused on firm valuation and accounted-related issues. During his Bachelor of Accounting at the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), he gained experience as an accounting analyst for several years. After completing an MBA in Accounting for SMEs at Fucape Business School, he began working as a consultant on multiple projects. For his Master’s degree at UFES, he studied voluntary disclosure and the cost of equity capital controlled by the firm’s life cycle stages, and he has had multiple papers published in Brazilian journals. His first Ph.D. at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) focused on corporate finance, with his thesis covering various aspects of M&A, including knowledge transfer, shareholders’ activism, and firm valuation. In his current Ph.D. at UTS, he is researching corporate reporting and project finance in the mining industry.

Publication: 

Working Papers: 

• “M&A Drivers and Life Cycle Stages Dynamic” with Gabriel Pündrich (University of Florida - USA) and Wagner Moura Lamounier (UFMG, Brazil). Under review
• “Resource slack and Institutional Investors: A DuPont Analysis in an Emerging Market.” with Wagner Moura Lamounier (UFMG, Brazil), Laura Edith Taboada Pinheiro (UFMG), Valéria Gama Fully Bressan (UFMG), and Luiz Cláudio Louzada (UFES). Under review
• “The spillover effect of shareholder activism on target-sought fairness opinions” with Gabriel Pündrich (University of Florida - USA) and Wagner Moura Lamounier (UFMG, Brazil).
• “The impact of IFRS 16 on the usefulness of sophisticated investors” with Adoniran de Souza Pereira (Fucape) and Luiz Cláudio Louzada (UFES).
• “Knowledge transfer, life cycle stages, and M&A success” with Gabriel Pündrich (University of Florida - USA) and Wagner Moura Lamounier (UFMG, Brazil).

Published Papers:

• “Is there really synergy creation after M&A? Evidence from Brazil under the life cycle approach” with Wagner M. Lamounier, and Valéria G. F. Bressan (UFMG - Brazil). Accounting & Management, 67(1), 1., 2022.
• “The role of firms’ life cycle stages on voluntary disclosure and cost of equity capital in Brazilian public companies” with José Elias F. Almeida (UFES - Brazil). Brazilian Business Review, 17(6), 601–620, 2020.
• “How does market concentration influence Brazilian firms’ operational performance? An analysis of concentration moderating effect” with Luiz C. Louzada and Wesley Lourenço (UFES - Brazil). Revista de Gestão dos Países de Língua Portuguesa, v. 19, p. 14-38, 2020.
• “Cost classification by behavior under the variable costing: A case study applied in a company in the hospital service sector in Espírito Santo” with Marcos V. G. Tres, Luiz C. Louzada, and Wesley L. Silva (UFES - Brazil). Brazilian journal of quantitative methods applied to accounting, v. 8, p. 1-19, 2020.
• “The moderating role of market structure on the relationship between firm operational performance and degree of operating leverage” with Luiz C. Louzada and Wesley Lourenço (UFES - Brazil). Revista Universo Contábil, v. 14, n. 4, p. 160–181, 2018.
• “Discretionary Accruals and Analyst optimistic forecasts: Incentives and consequences”, with Pedro Borges (UFPA – Brazil), José Elias F. Almeida and Patricia M. Bortolon (UFES - Brazil). Contabilidade Vista & Revista, v. 29, p. 28-47, 2018.
• “Clientele effect: An analysis of the relation between book-tax differences and extra dividends of listed firms at the Brazilian Stock Exchange (Bovespa)”, with Alfredo Sarlo Neto, André A. Almeida and Luiz C. Louzada (UFES – Brazil). Revista Contemporânea de Contabilidade, v. 12, p. 3-22, 2015.
• “The influence of private equity and venture capital on the earnings informativeness at the Brazilian market”, with André A. Almeida, Alfredo Sarlo Neto, and Leonardo L. Gomes (UFES – Brazil). Advances in Scientific and Applied Accounting, v. 7, p. 266-292, 2014.

Entered PhD program: February 2023
 
PhD supervisors: Associate Professor Anna Bedford and Dr Hayley Ma
 
Research interests: Intangible assets, Financial reporting, Corporate governance
 
Thesis (working) title: Credibility of Voluntary Disclosure on Intangible Assets
 
Teaching area: Consolidation Accounting, Introductory Accounting, Data Ethics and Governance
 
Academic background and work experience: Thanh is the winner of the UTS Business School 3 Minute Thesis 2024 Competition, recognised for her ability to communicate research to broad audiences. She serves on the HDR Student Committee, supporting peers through social events and academic initiatives. Thanh holds a Master’s in Professional Accounting (High Distinction, full fee scholarship, Dean’s Merit Award), an accounting Honours degree (First Class), and a Bachelor of Business (High Distinction), enriched by academic excellence scholarships and an exchange in Switzerland. She has been teaching introductory accounting at UTS since 2021 and gains professional experience as a Corporate Governance Researcher at Glass Lewis.

Entered PhD program: August 2023

PhD supervisors: Dr Le Ma, Professor Yaowen Shan

Entered PhD program: April 2024

PhD supervisors: Professor Yaowen Shan, Dr Samir Ghannam, Meiting Lu (External)

Entered PhD program: April 2025

PhD supervisors: Associate Professor Helen Spiropoulos and Dr Lucy Zhao

Entered PhD program: November 2025

PhD supervisors: Associate Professor Helen Spiropoulos

Entered PhD program: August 2022

PhD supervisors: Associate Professor Bernhard Wieder, Professor Prabhu Sivabalan and Dr Maria-Luise Ossimitz

Research interests: Performance Management, Accounting Information Systems, Business Intelligence, Business Analytics

Thesis (working) title: Performance Management and application of Cloud computing to Performance Management Systems in Small and Medium Entities

Profile, academic background and work experience: I completed a Master of Professional Accounting at UTS in 2017. I am also a member of CPA Australia since 2019. I have more than five years of industry experience in accounting firms, specialising in outsourcing finance and taxation.

Entered PhD program: July 2024

 PhD supervisors:  Professor Andrew Ferguson, Dr. Peter Lam

 Research interests: Mining, Oil and Gas, Mining Financial Economics, Exploration and Evaluation (E&E) Expenditures, Accounting, Corporate Governance and Disclosure, Valuation, Capital Markets (ASX, TSX, TSX Venture Exchange), Private Equity, Commodity Markets, Risk Management.

Thesis (working) title:  Mineral Economics and Capital Markets: Financing and Valuation Mechanisms for Exploration and Evaluation Expenditures.

Profile/Academic Background and Work Experience: Samson hold a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Zimbabwe, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) – Finance from the University of New South Wales (AGSM), and Executive Certificate in Project Management- University of Zimbabwe.

Professionally, Samson holds several certifications which include:

• Certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt ( LSSMBB),
• Certified Lean Six Sigma Executive Black Belt -UNSW AGSM,
• Certified Risk Manager (CRM),
• Certified Risk management Professional (CRMP),
• Certified Senior Site Executive ( Mining) and First Class Mine Manager Certificate of Competency,
• CFA Certificate in Investment Foundations.

;Samson has over 17 years of leadership and technical experience in the mining industry, across open pit and underground operations in Australia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Ghana, Chile, Canada, Iran, Russia, and Peru. His extensive expertise covers the entire mining value chain, including mine financial economics, exploration, prospecting, strategic planning, mine management (mine development, production management, and closure and rehabilitation).

Entered PhD program: January 2025

PhD supervisors: Professor Andrew Ferguson, Dr Peter Lam

Entered PhD program: March 2024

PhD supervisors: Professor Andrew Ferguson, Dr Peter Lam

Entered PhD program: August 2022

PhD supervisors: Dr David Bond, Dr Robert Czernkowski, Dr Matthew Grosse

Research interests: Government Accounting

Thesis (working) title: Local Government Resource Dependence and  Financial Accountability

Profile, academic background and work experience: Bachelor of Accounting, from Indonesian Ministry of Finance College, and a Master of Accounting and Finance from  Flinders University,  South Australia. 

Saefudin's professional experience includes the Ministry of Finance in Indonesia as a staff member in the Treasury Department since 2003.

Entered PhD program: September 2021

PhD supervisors: Professor Andrew Ferguson and Dr Peter Lam

Research interests: Mining, project finance, capital structure

Thesis (working) title: Project Capital Structure and Long Run Performance

Teaching areas: -

Profile/Academic Background and Work Experience: Kate holds a Bachelor of Engineering (honours) from the University of New South Wales. Kate holds a Master of Engineering Management and PhD in Engineering from the University of Newcastle. Kate had previously worked in the mining, refining, power generation and manufacturing industries and has worked for such companies as Alcoa, Rio Tinto, and Orica primarily in asset management engineering roles. It was through this experience that Kate developed an interest in understanding the financing process for mining companies. As part of her accounting PhD, she is researching the many facets of project financing including the project capital structure, market reactions to project capital approvals, long-run project performance and the effect of corporate governance.

Entered PhD program: November 2025

PhD supervisors: Associate Professor Helen Spiropoulos and Professor Andrew Ferguson

Entered PhD program: March 2024

PhD supervisors: Associate Professor Roman Lanis and Dr Greg Pazmandy

Entered PhD program: August 2023

PhD supervisors: Professor Yaowen Shan, Professor Sue Wright, Meiting Lu (External)

Entered PhD program: September 2025

PhD supervisors: Dr Hannah Pham and Dr Kechen Dong

Entered PhD program: August 2023

PhD supervisors: Professor Martin Bugeja and Dr Samir Ghannam

Research interests: Mergers and Acquisitions, Corporate Governance

Thesis (working) title: TBA

Profile/Academic Background and Work Experience: Fiona holds a Bachelor of Business and a Master of Commerce majoring in Accounting and Finance from the The Australian National University. She has worked as a research assistant for the Accounting Discipline Group.