Research

This focus concentrates on gaining insights into empirical accounting research and applying both proven and innovative methods of empirical research. The use of databases as well as independent data collection form a central component of this. General basic statistical analyses and advanced empirical methods are used as a basis to generate essential findings in various fields of research.

Corporate publicity is constantly evolving dynamically. Both non-financial and financial reporting elements are aimed at a variety of addressees. This research focus deals with current issues in the areas of national and international accounting with a focus on voluntary as well as mandatory corporate reporting. The overarching objective is to contribute to the understanding of existing relationships and phenomena in these areas.

Confidence in the accuracy of published annual financial statements forms the basis for functioning capital markets. In the near future, prominent accounting scandals have repeatedly shaken the confidence of market participants in the credibility of published information, leading to an inefficient allocation of resources. Reliable, automated fraud detection systems can help to allocate audit resources more efficiently and uncover typical patterns in financial statements. Using textual and numerical components of company information, fraudulent manipulations can be extracted and combined in a comprehensive detection model. The investigations are based on comprehensive methodological approaches.

Künstliche Intelligenz verändert zunehmend sowohl die wissenschaftliche Forschung wie auch die alltäglichen Prozesse im Accounting. Dieser Schwerpunkt konzentriert sich auf die Frage, wie maschinelles Lernen für neue empirische Erkenntnisse eingesetzt werden kann um innovative Beiträge im Bereich Deep Learning zu erbringen. Unter Verwendung großer Datenmengen können beispielsweise neuronale Netzen genutzt werden um, unter Nutzung von Bilderkennung, Spracherkennung, Texterkennung und viele andere elementarer Anwendungen, weiterführende Erkenntnisse in der Accountingforschung zu generieren.

Accounting quality has always been a central element of accounting research. This research focus includes the examination of the economic analysis of earnings quality and disclosure quality. 
The analysis of corporate earnings management is an essential part of this research area, particularly in view of the fact that earnings figures are an essential indicator for shareholders, investors and other stakeholders in assessing the performance of a company.
Theoretical points of reference are not only sought in the classical economic theories and approaches, but communication science aspects are also integrated into the research in an interdisciplinary manner.

This focus, for example, is devoted to the question of which determinants can be identified in the context of voluntary corporate reporting. The focus is on different business reports for analysis, so not only annual financial statements, but also components of sustainability reporting and media voluntary corporate information are examined.