Center for Accounting Research, University of Graz

The Center for Accounting Research (CAR) builds on the long-standing tradition of specialization in accounting at the University of Graz. Former professors such as Karl Lechner, Peter Swoboda and Anton Egger established a strong reputation for accounting and finance both in academia and practice. Students graduating in business from the university were well-reputed and sought-for for their accounting skills. *Objectives and research potential* Over recent years, accounting has become more and more international. A major force has been the growing globalization of capital markets, which made transparency and international comparability of financial reports more important. New regulations have increased the requirements on firms in financial reporting, corporate governance, auditing, enforcement and taxation. These changes not only affect financial auditing, but also management accounting in firms. The Center for Accounting Research strives to explore and analyze the economic impacts of these developments. It builds on the research achievements of the four institutes in the field of accounting at the University of Graz and aims at bundling their strengths to achieve its objectives. The main objectives are to contribute to the development of accounting theory and to accounting practice, such as influencing accounting regulation and the application of management accounting instruments. CAR specializes on quantitative economic research methods, in particular analytical and empirical research. In particular the Center strives to * further internationally acknowledged cutting edge research in the field of accounting at the University of Graz * promote young researchers, and * make available the scientific knowledge to corporations, tax accountants, auditors and regulators. *Main reasearch areas and methodologies* The main research areas are those areas mainly influenced by the internationalization of accounting and financial reporting: international accounting, financial reporting, business valuation, auditing, neutral tax systems, asymmetric taxation, international taxation, effects of accounting standards on management control, performance measurement in incentive systems, value-based management and corporate governance. CAR focuses on quantitative economic research methods. It emphasizes research in analytic modelling and empirical methods, such as archival, experimental and survey studies. These internationally accepted methods represent cutting-edge research methods in accounting. *Position within the national and international research environment* CAR builds on the strengths of the researchers of the cooperating institutes, which are among the most active research units at Austrian universities in terms of international research reputation. CAR enables a grouping on a build-up of capabilities. This makes it a unique accounting competence center in Austria. Internationally, a number of universities established similar research centers. CAR will position its research in this international environment. Emphasis is put on the interaction with the international scientific community. International visibility is furthermore enhanced by cooperation with international academic accounting associations. *Potential national and international cooperating synergies* CAR not only strives for a high standard of scientific research, but also serves as a competence center for practice. Members of CAR publish in academic journals and collaborate in standard setting and regulation. It such feeds research results into the regulatory process and satisfies research needs in regulatory activities. Research cooperation exits on a personal level of members of CAR with a number of domestic and international universities such as, e.g. Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, University of Frankfurt, University of Mannheim, London School of Economics, Emory University Atlanta, and CESifo. Further cooperation will be enhanced through the invitation of visiting professors in the context of the doctoral program of the faculty of social and economic sciences. This shall particularly benefit young researchers.