CBS appoints researcher for new auditing professorship

Photo: Jørn Albertus

Today, a new strategic partnership between CBS and FSR Danish Auditors sees the light of day. The core of the partnership is a donation for a 5-year prestigious professorship of which the aim is to ensure enhanced and more relevant auditing research and consequently a continued attractive and future-proof MSc in Business Economics and Auditing.

From a societal perspective it is essential to educate enough highly qualified graduates for the accounting and auditing industry to handle the many new and complex assurance services within climate, cybersecurity and other current challenges.

The parties agree that the professorship is to support highly qualified research which is relevant and targeted at society’s needs of reliable information about our companies, their business and long-term sustainability.

CBS has appointed Thomas Riise Johansen, Professor and PhD, for the new professorship. Thomas Riise Johansen has been appointed professor at the Department of Accounting at CBS since 2014 and has among other things worked as an auditor at Ernst & Young from 1996-2005. For many years, Thomas Riise Johansen has been responsible for the auditing courses in the MSc in Business Economics and Auditing programme. He has been in charge of several research projects and published articles, reports and books about auditing, non-financial reporting and corporate governance.

Additionally, he is member of the Danish Business Authority’s council of auditors and exam committee. As of today, he can add Endowed Chair in Auditing to the list. An endowed chair is particularly prestigious for a university and not least the professor. Owing to the FSR professorship, CBS now has seven prestigious professorships, which include entrepreneurship, digitalisation, energy infrastructure and now auditing (read more about endowed professorships at https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/cbs-research-projects/major-research-proj.... With this professorship comes additional funding to finance a research group in auditing including PhD positions.

“This professorship is a tremendous recognition. I look forward to getting started and contribute with new academic perspectives to the development of the auditing industry. Additionally, the professorship will add to an even stronger academic environment at CBS and make it attractive to be part of the PhD group who currently and in future will take part in driving research and education in accounting and auditing. If the MSc in Business Economics and Auditing is to stay relevant and deliver the same high-quality expertise, attracting young researchers who wish to write their PhD theses and pursue a university career as an associate professor or professor is key,” says Thomas Riise Johansen about the FSR professorship.

Carsten Rohde, Head of the Department of Accounting at CBS, is pleased to present Thomas Riise Johansen as the new Endowed Chair in Auditing.

“We look forward to an even closer collaboration with the auditing industry and FSR Danish Auditors in our efforts to make relevant contributions to the accounting profession. In a field of international applicants for the professorship, we have chosen Thomas Riise Johansen for the position. He is highly skilled and has what it takes to be a professor at a university. He is a brilliant scientist who carries out and disseminates topical research within the classical and more innovative auditing subjects. Moreover, he demonstrates just how seriously he is about the essential task of developing and training young, qualified graduates for the business community through development, teaching and management of several courses in our MSc programme.”

Charlotte Jepsen, CEO of FSR Danish Auditors looks forward to partnering up with CBS and hopes the partnership will contribute to increasing entry to the auditing industry.

“My experience is that CBS is extremely serious about and committed to establishing a productive and fruitful collaboration. Thomas Riise Johansen is skilled, highly regarded and innovative so I expect him to add great value to the area of auditing research. The FSR donation is for independent research, however, it is also intended to enhance the ongoing dialogue between CBS and the auditing industry about research themes relevant to society. The interplay between the theory at universities and practice in the auditing industry is a precondition for producing relevant research and offering an attractive master degree. The competition for talent is extra fierce these years and we hope that this partnership can serve as a basis for enrolling particularly talented applicants in our accounting and auditing programmes,” says Charlotte Jepsen.
 

Read more about the now seven unique professorships here: https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/cbs-research-projects/major-research-projects/endowed-professorships
 

Please direct any further questions to:

Charlotte Jepsen +45 4193 3198

Carsten Rohde +45 38152338

Thomas Riise Johansen +45 38152329