Chung Hon-Dak Professorship in Accounting

Professor Zhang Guochang is Chung Hon-Dak Professor in Accounting at the HKU Business School, The University of Hong Kong (HKU). He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering from Shanghai Jiaotong University, and received a master's in accounting and a PhD in finance from the University of British Columbia. He joined HKU in 2016, following previous roles at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the University of Waterloo in Canada.

Professor Zhang's research primarily centres on the crucial role of accounting and financial reporting in the decision-making processes of various stakeholders in the economy, such as equity investors, lenders, and suppliers. He utilises both theoretical and empirical methods to investigate the relationship between accounting information and firms' economic value creation, aiming to provide valuable insights for stakeholders. He is also interested in the design of financial reporting frameworks and standards to improve the relevance of financial information for decision-making and resource allocation. Additionally, he has explored issues related to firms’ financial reporting incentives, corporate disclosure, and auditing.

Professor Zhang has published many papers in prestigious accounting journals. He is the author of the research monograph titled "Accounting Information and Equity Valuation: Theory, Evidence, and Applications." He has held leadership positions as the Head of the Area of Accounting and Law at the Faculty and served as an Associate Editor of the European Accounting Review. He is also a fellow of the Accounting and Economics Society.

Furthermore, Professor Zhang has actively contributed to the community by serving on various committees, including the Financial Reporting Standards Committee of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Financial Reporting Review Panel of the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council of Hong Kong, and the Review Panel of Research Assessment Exercise of University Grants Committee in Hong Kong.