Wednesday 25 August 2021 10:25am
Professor Paul Griffin is eager to return to the Dunedin campus in September.
The University of Otago is pleased to appoint Professor Paul Griffin as an Honorary Professor in the Accounting and Finance Department of the School of Business.
Having published more than 80 articles in prominent accounting and finance journals, five monographs for the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and two case books on U.S. corporate financial reporting, Professor Griffin brings to the University considerable knowledge on the topics of accounting, financial theory, financial information, and disclosure.
“To me the field of accounting and finance is eternally fascinating as it continually provides new areas of academic exploration, especially in an ever-changing world like ours.”
“I feel truly honoured having received this appointment from the University. It is so meaningful to be able to cement my long-term relationship with the institution, having worked with it for many years. Professor David Lont [Chair in Accountancy] and I have now worked together for more than two decades!”
Professor Griffin’s research has had a noteworthy impact on the accountancy profession, having produced publications that focus on how financial markets anticipate and respond to financial disclosures and news events.
He is eager to return to the Dunedin campus in September stating: “After being out of New Zealand due to the pandemic, I am eager to return and see the campus, sharing in some of the exciting new academic insights coming from both the staff and students there.”
“Dunedin is like a second home to me, as my forefathers first settled here in the 1870s.”
Professor Griffin describes his current research as “focusing on how non-financial news items on carbon emissions and extreme weather events affect a corporation’s disclosure practices and market value”.
“After earning my PhD in accounting, and master's in operations research and economic theory at The Ohio State University, I became interested in how external factors can influence an organisation’s earnings.
“So, I began examining relationships involving stock prices, greenhouse gas emissions, executive social networks, and other factors that can affect earnings management.
“To me the field of accounting and finance is eternally fascinating as it continually provides new areas of academic exploration, especially in an ever-changing world like ours.”
In addition to his appointment as Honorary Professor, Professor Griffin holds the position of Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California.
