Short Bio
Welcome to my website! I am a fourth-year PhD candidate at the Von Allmen School of Accountancy, University of Kentucky. I use archival methods and machine learning to understand sustainability issues (artificial intelligence, climate commitments, and human capital) in accounting. My research presented at major conferences and universities across the globe. I participated in AAA Auditing/FARS/MAS doctoral consortiums and AAA Doctoral Student/Faculty Interchange SE. I received the Best Paper Award at 2024 JAAF Symposium on ESG and the 2025 Gatton Doctoral Research Excellence Award.
My teaching infuses artificial intelligence (prompt engineering) and data analytics (Python and Microsoft Access) into accounting information system class. I am also looking for industry practitioners to share practical insights in my classroom.
Before pursuing my doctoral studies, I worked as a research associate and taught business statistics at the Australian National University, where I received two summer research fellowships. I earned a research master’s degree with Chancellor’s Commendation for Academic Excellence from the Australian National University and a bachelor’s degree from Beijing Institute of Technology.
When I’m not teaching or doing research, I enjoy mindfulness swimming, especially going for a one-hour swim at Lancaster Aquatic Centre after teaching two morning class sections. I also enjoy reading history and learn about human decision making through historical stories. I originally come from Zhangqiu of Shandong (the birthplace of China’s philosophy).
Please feel free to reach out via zeyang.ju@uky.edu!
Research
- Top 10 downloads for Corporate Governance & Finance eJournal at the SSRN for several days
- Developed from a research seminar proposal
- Presentations: University of Kentucky Brownbag (Ju); Spring 2024 Kentucky Accounting Colloquium (Ju); University of Kentucky (Ju); Chinese University of Hong Kong (Chen); Early Career Researchers Support Network (Ju); University of Hong Kong (Yang, scheduled); 2025 Hawai'i Accounting Research Conference (Ju); 2025 AAA MAS Midyear Meeting (Ju); 2025 AAA Current Issues in Sustainability Conference (Ju); University of Cincinnati (Xie, scheduled); The 47th Annual Congress of European Accounting Association (Yang, scheduled); 2025 JAAF Symposium (International) on ESG, AI, and Big Data (Yang, scheduled); 2025 CAAA Annual Conference (Ju, scheduled); 2025 AAA Annual Meeting (Ju, scheduled)
- Best paper award at JAAF Symposium on ESG 2024
- Revise and resubmit at Review of Accounting Studies
- Developed from second-year summer paper
- Presentations: University of Kentucky Brownbag (Ju); University of Kentucky (Ju); University of Kansas (Li); Early Career Researchers Support Network (Ju); 2024 CAPANA Annual Research Conference (Xie); Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (Xie); Chongqing University of Technology (Xie); Chongqing Technology and Business University (Xie); The 7th Dragon-Horse Accounting and Finance Symposium keynote (Xie); 2024 Graduate Research Accounting Conference Emory (Ju); 2024 JAAF Symposium on ESG plenary (Ju); 2025 Hawai'i Accounting Research Conference (Ju); 2025 AAA Auditing Section Midyear Meeting (Ju); 2025 AAA Current Issues in Sustainability Conference (Xie); 2025 AAA Annual Meeting (Ju, scheduled)
[2] Constituency statutes and voluntary disclosure: Evidence from major customer identities, with Jenny Tucker (Florida) and Hong Xie (Kentucky)
- Winner of 2025 Gatton Doctoral Research Excellence Award
- Developed from first-year summer paper
- Presentations: University of Kentucky Brownbag (Ju); Texas Christian University (Tucker); Concordia University (Tucker); University of Toronto (Tucker); University of Florida (Tucker); 2023 AAA Doctoral Student/Faculty Interchange SE (Ju); 2023 Graduate Research Accounting Conference Emory (Ju); Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Xie); Lingnan University (Xie); Shanghai National Accounting Institute (Xie); University of Texas at Arlington (Tucker); 2024 AAA FARS Midyear Meeting (Ju); 2025 Gatton Doctoral Research Excellence Series (Ju); 2025 AAA Current Issues in Sustainability Conference (Ju); 2025 CAAA Annual Conference (Ju, scheduled); 2025 AAA Annual Meeting (Ju, scheduled)
[1] Corporate disclosure in the presence of financially constrained competitors, with Lingwei Li (ANU) and Steven Wu (ANU)
- Developed from masters thesis
- Presentations: Australian National University (Ju); 2020 AFAANZ Conference (Wu); The 47th European Finance Association Annual Meeting (Wu); University of Kentucky Brownbag (Ju); 2024 AAA Spark Meeting (Ju); The 36th Asian Finance Association Annual Meeting (Ju)
External Presentations
- Invited presenter of "Constituency statutes and voluntary disclosure: Evidence from major customer identities," at the AAA Doctoral Student/Faculty Interchange SE. Virtual. June 2023
- Invited discussant of "The audit quality and economic implications of KPMG's persistent organization-level quality control system deficiencies," at the AAA Doctoral Student/Faculty Interchange SE. Virtual. June 2023
- Refereed presenter of "Constituency statutes and voluntary disclosure: Evidence from major customer identities," at the Graduate Research Accounting Conference Emory. Atlanta, GA. July 2023
- Invited discussant of "Damp deals: The effect of mandatory flood disclosures on real estate transactions," at the Graduate Research Accounting Conference Emory. Atlanta, GA. July 2023
- Invited discussant of "Does employment-based healthcare coverage impact financial reporting quality?" at the AAA Auditing Section Midyear Meeting. New Orleans, LA. January 2024
- Refereed presenter of "Constituency statutes and voluntary disclosure: Evidence from major customer identities," at the AAA FARS Midyear Meeting. Denver, CO. January 2024
- Invited presenter of "Dare to say No? Externalities of employee employment protection on financial misreporting," at the Early Career Researchers Support Network. Virtual. May 2024
- Refereed presenter of "Corporate disclosure in the presence of financially constrained competitors," at the AAA Spark Meeting. Virtual. June 2024
- Invited discussant of "ESG risks and financial statement verification in bank lending," at the AAA Spark Meeting. Virtual. June 2024
- Invited discussant of "Firm level cryptocurrency adoption and trading silence before anticipated information events," at the AAA Spark Meeting. Virtual. June 2024
- Referred presenter of "Corporate disclosure in the presence of financially constrained competitors," at the 36th Asian Finance Association Annual Meeting. Macau, China. June 2024
- Invited discussant of "Do managers withhold bad news? Evidence from terror attacks," at the 36th Asian Finance Association Annual Meeting. Macau, China. June 2024
- Invited discussant of "Communication culture and voluntary disclosure around the world," at the 36th Asian Finance Association Annual Meeting. Macau, China. June 2024
- Refereed presenter of "Dare to say No? Externalities of employee employment protection on financial misreporting," at the Graduate Research Accounting Conference Emory. Atlanta, GA. July 2024
- Invited discussant of "Skilled immigration and corporate resource adjustments: New evidence from cost behavior and labor dynamics," at the AAA Annual Meeting. Washington, DC. August 2024
- Refereed presenter of "Dare to say No? Externalities of employee employment protection on financial misreporting," at the JAAF Symposium on ESG 2024. Cincinnati, OH. October 2024
- Invited presenter of "Asymmetric cost behavior and corporate environmental commitments," at the Early Career Researchers Support Network. Virtual. December 2024
- Referred presenter of "Dare to say No? Externalities of employee employment protection on financial misreporting," at the Hawai'i Accounting Research Conference. Honolulu, HI. January 2025
- Referred presenter of "Asymmetric cost behavior and corporate environmental commitments," at the Hawai'i Accounting Research Conference. Honolulu, HI. January 2025
- Referred presenter of "Asymmetric cost behavior and corporate environmental commitments," at the AAA MAS Midyear Meeting. Austin, TX. January 2025
- Invited discussant of "Dependent vs. Independent ESG-Performance Evaluation in Executive Compensation Contracts," at the AAA MAS Midyear Meeting. Austin, TX. January 2025
- Referred presenter of "Dare to say No? Externalities of employee employment protection on financial misreporting," at the AAA Auditing Section Midyear Meeting. Charlotte, NC. January 2025
- Invited discussant of "Navigating new waters: Accounting firms as ESG raters," at the AAA Auditing Section Midyear Meeting. Charlotte, NC. January 2025
- Referred presenter of "Constituency statutes and voluntary disclosure: Evidence from major customer identities," at the AAA Current Issues in Sustainability Conference. Arlington, VA. March 2025
- Invited discussant of "Employer WARN-ing: Mandatory advance disclosure of employment loss and corporate innovation," at the AAA Current Issues in Sustainability Conference. Arlington, VA. March 2025
- Referred presenter of "Asymmetric cost behavior and corporate environmental commitments," at the AAA Current Issues in Sustainability Conference. Arlington, VA. March 2025
- Invited discussant of "Follow the money: Are severe weather events value relevant?" at the AAA Current Issues in Sustainability Conference. Arlington, VA. March 2025
- Invited presenter of "Caught up in the AI rat race: Does technological peer pressure fuel AI washing or hushing?" at the AAA Deloitte Foundation/J. Michael Cook Doctoral Consortium. Westlake, TX. June 2025 (Scheduled)
- Referred presenter of "Asymmetric cost behavior and corporate environmental commitments," at the CAAA Annual Conference. Toronto, CA. June 2025 (Scheduled)
- Referred presenter of "Constituency statutes and voluntary disclosure: Evidence from major customer identities," at the CAAA Annual Conference. Toronto, CA. June 2025 (Scheduled)
- Referred presenter of "Constituency statutes and voluntary disclosure: Evidence from major customer identities," at the AAA Annual Conference. Chicago, IL. August 2025 (Scheduled)
- Referred presenter of "Dare to say No? Externalities of employee employment protection on financial misreporting," at the AAA Annual Conference. Chicago, IL. August 2025 (Scheduled)
- Referred presenter of "Asymmetric cost behavior and corporate environmental commitments," at the AAA Annual Conference. Chicago, IL. August 2025 (Scheduled)