Research led teaching produces exciting postgraduate research.
Meet our talented students and their research in the Department of Accountancy and Finance.
Accounting PhD students
Siamak Ansari
Home country: Iran
Research topic: Towards the Business-Partnering Role of Management Accounting in the Public Sector: How to Facilitate Institutional Enablers and Constraints Using the Big Data Lens – A New Zealand Case Study
Primary supervisor: Ralph Adler
Email siamak.ansari@postgrad.otago.ac.nz
Thilini Arachchige
Home country: Sri Lanka
Research topic: Social networks, intellectual capital and value creation in the Public Sector
Primary supervisor: Ros Whiting
Email thilini.kaushalya@postgrad.otago.ac.nz
Abdullahi Bala
Home country: Nigeria
Research topic: Audit Committee Attributes and Cosmetic Accounting Practice in Nigerian listed Companies: The Mediating Effect of Political
Primary supervisor: Mariela Carvajal
Email adoab094@student.otago.ac.nz
Chang Liu
Home country: China
Research topic: Auditing and Financial Disclosure
Primary supervisor: David Lont
Email liuch485@student.otago.ac.nz
Junxiu Lyu
Home country: China
Research topic: Corporate governance and corporate political activities
Primary supervisor: Muhammad Nadeem
Email junxiu.lyu@postgrad.otago.ac.nz
Hiruni Rathwatta
Home country: Sri Lanka
Research topic: Taxation as an element of Social and Environmental Responsibility: A historical perspective in Ancient Ceylon
Primary supervisor: Sriyalatha Kumarasinghe
Email hiruni.rathwatta@postgrad.otago.ac.nz
Disney Sohali
Home country: Sri Lanka
Research topic: Cost effectiveness and social accountability of the waste management systems of supermarkets in New Zealand
Primary supervisor: Sriyalatha Kumarasinghe
Email disney.kariyawasam@postgrad.otago.ac.nz
Shabana Talpur
Home country: Pakistan
Research topic: CSR decoupling: The Investigation of Causes and Consequences
Primary supervisor: Helen Roberts
Email talsh566@student.otago.ac.nz
Iki Mafi Uele
Home country: Tonga
Research topic: Roles of Accounting in construction, measuring, and maintaining Public Value
Primary supervisor: Dinithi Ranasinghe
Max Yap
Home country: New Zealand
Topic: Accounting for Economic Reality
Primary supervisor: Frederico Botafogo
Email yapyi891@student.otago.ac.nz
Xiaoxu Zhang
Home country: China
Research topic: Audit committee congruence and audit quality
Primary supervisor: Helen Roberts
Email xiaoxu.zhang@postgrad.otago.ac.nz
Finance PhD students
Iftekhar Ahmed
Home country: Bangladesh
Research topic: Essays on Climate Finance
Primary supervisor: Ivan Diaz-Rainey
Email iftekhar.ahmed@otago.ac.nz
Sandun Fernando
Home country: Sri Lanka
Research topic: Essays on Short Selling
Primary supervisor: Olena Onishchenko
Email fersa375@student.otago.ac.nz
Iris (Jianhui) Li
Home country: China
Research topic: Three Essays on the Joint Cross Section of Stocks and Options
Primary supervisor: Jin Zhang
Email liji1479@student.otago.ac.nz
Weihan Li
Home country: China
Research topic: The price differences between American and European options: Evidence from OEX and XEO options
Primary supervisor: Dr Xinfeng Ruan
Email liwe7254@student.otago.ac.nz
Ling Liao
Home country: China
Research topic: Climate Finance in Australasia
Primary supervisor: Ivan Diaz-Rainey
Email ling.liao@postgrad.otago.ac.nz
Wei Lin
Home country: China
Research topic: SPX, VIX and VXX Options.
Primary supervisor: Jin Zhang
Arung Mayapada
Home country: Indonesia
Research topic: Charity Governance
Primary supervisor: Associate Professor Helen Roberts
Email arunggihna.mayapada@postgrad.otago.ac.nz
Kasun Perera
Home country: Sri Lanka
Research topic: Carbon Risk and Idiosyncratic Volatility: US Evidence
Primary supervisor: Duminda Kuruppuarachchi
Email perka336@student.otago.ac.nz
Andre Poyser
Home country: Jamaica
Research topic: Indigenous Assets Under Conditions of Climate Uncertainty; Essays on the Financial Economics of Climate Change and Indigenous Asset Management
Primary supervisor: Sebastian Gehricke
Email poyan724@student.otago.ac.nz
Umaid A Sheikh
Home country: Pakistan
Research topic: Essays on Empirical Finance and Financial econometrics
Primary supervisor: Muhammad Tahir Suleman
Email sheum557@student.otago.ac.nz
Isabella Yoon
Home country: Republic of Korea
Research topic: VIX options
Primary supervisor: Jin Zhang
Email isabella.yoon@postgrad.otago.ac.nz
Xiaojie (Steven) Yu
Home country: China
Research topic: Outward FDI and environmental issues
Primary supervisor: Duminda Kuruppuarachchi
Email yust6853@student.otago.ac.nz
Junyu Zhang
Home country: China
Research topic: Environmental Risks and Options Markets
Primary supervisor: Edwin (Xinfeng) Ruan
Email zhaju585@student.otago.ac.nz
Master of Commerce (MCom) students
Indie Venkatraman
Home country: India, now settled in New Zealand
Research topic: A Study of the measurability and performance indicators in Climate Action Plans, modelled on index methodology and UN Sustainability Development Goals
Primary supervisor: Professor Ralph Adler
Email venin491@student.otago.ac.nz
