South-East Area Group Annual Conference 2026

We had a fantastic event - thanks to the Wesminster Business School, Keynote Speakers, and the attendees. The images below should reflect the energy of the day. 

The South-East Area Group Annual Conference 2026 will take place on Friday, 5 June 2026 at the Westminster Business School, University of Westminster. The theme of the conference is ‘‘Digitalisation and Sustainability in Accounting and Finance’. 

Keynote Speakers 

Pawel Bilinski is Professor of Accounting at Bayes Business School (City St. George’s, University of London), where he directs the Centre for Financial Analysis and Reporting Research and serves as Research Director for the Faculty of Finance. An expert in corporate disclosure, analyst research, and empirical finance, he publishes in top journals such as The Accounting Review, Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, and European Accounting Review.

Stefano Cascino is an Associate Professor of Accounting at the London School of Economics and a member of the UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) Academic Advisory Group. His research examines disclosure regulation, corporate governance, and credit markets, and has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of Accounting Research, The Accounting Review, Review of Accounting Studies, and Management Science. His work has earned multiple awards and research grants and is widely recognized within the academic and policy communities. He serves as an editor for Accounting Horizon, as an associate editor for Accounting and Business Research and European Accounting Review and is a member of the editorial boards of Review of Accounting Studies, Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of Business Finance and Accounting and Journal of International Accounting Research. As dedicated educator, he has received several teaching awards. He holds a PhD in Business Economics (Accounting) from the University of Naples Federico II.

Jenny Chu is Professor of Financial Accounting at Cambridge Judge Business School and Deputy Director of the Centre for Financial Reporting and Accountability (CFRA). As the School’s first homegrown female professor in Finance and Accounting, she leads research on corporate and sovereign disclosure, governance, management incentives, and gender diversity. A University of Michigan BBA graduate with MBA and PhD from UC Berkeley, Chu draws on a background in investment banking (Credit Suisse) and hedge fund portfolio management (Barclays Global Investors/BlackRock). Her work appears in Management Science, Review of Accounting Studies, and Modern Accounting Research.

Niels Johannesen is Director of the Centre for Business Taxation at Saïd Business School and a Professor of Economics at both the University of Oxford and the University of Copenhagen. He earned his PhD in Economics from Copenhagen and previously held visiting positions at UC Berkeley, Michigan, and the European University Institute. His research focuses on firm taxation, tax evasion, tax havens, and household finance; he publishes widely in top journals including American Economic Review, Journal of Finance, and PNAS. Actively contributing to global policy debates, he speaks regularly at OECD, EU, and national parliaments.

Keith Pilbeam is Professor of International Economics and Finance at City St George's, University of London. He earned his PhD from the European University Institute and has held roles at NatWest and RBS. Currently, he is Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Finance and Economics, Associate Editor of Economic Modelling, and past Co‑Editor of Journal of Economic Asymmetries. As President of the European Economics and Finance Society, his research focuses on foreign exchange and financial markets, reflected in numerous publications and two leading textbooks on international finance.

Kathy Yuan is Professor of Finance at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She holds a PhD in Economics from MIT and specializes in asset pricing, financial networks, liquidity, and systemic risk. Her research explores bubbles, information frictions, and financial stability, including recent work on decentralized finance and digital currencies. Professor Yuan has published in leading journals such as Review of Financial Studies and Journal of Finance, and she advises central banks and international policy bodies on financial regulation and stability.

Research in Practice Speaker

Stefano Alderighi is a Financial Economist and Project Director, Economics Team Leader at the UK Endorsement Board, overseeing economic impact assessments and technical research for IFRS standards. He earned both his PhD and MSc in Economics from the University of Essex and previously served as Senior Economist at the World Federation of Exchanges. His research focuses on capital markets, financial reporting, liquidity, and cross-border equity flows.

Call for Papers:

Submission Deadline: April 10, 2026 

Alongside the invited speakers’ presentations, there will be an opportunity for scholars to present their working papers in a poster session. The final decision about the selection of the poster presentations will be made by the BAFA-SEAG executive committee.

Submission Guidelines: 

We invite submissions addressing research questions in all areas of Accounting and Finance. There is no preference to any particular methodology or topic. We especially encourage PhD researchers to submit an extended abstract (no more than five pages) of their ‘job market’ papers. Send the abstract along with a title page including names of authors and affiliation to Dr. Xianmin Liu (xl8349b@gre.ac.uk), with “BAFA SEAG 2026” in the subject of your email.

Registration 

Registration is NOW OPEN. Please click on the link below for registration.

BAFA-SEAG Annual Conference 2026 Registration Link

Agenda

Agenda: Click here to know the conference Agenda, which will be available in May 2026.

Venue

Westminster Business School, University of Westminster – Marylebone Campus, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS.

For directions to Westminster Business School, please refer to the University of Westminster's visitor information page: https://www.westminster.ac.uk/about-us/visit-us/marylebone” 

Conference Coordinator at University of Westminster: Dr Emma Elkington, Head of the School of Finance and Accounting ( E.Elkington@westminster.ac.uk)

BAFA Membership: 

BAFA-SEAG is a regional group of the British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA). To learn more about us, please click here. This is a learned society which brings together those interested in teaching and research in accounting and finance. You can sign up for BAFA membership at this link: BAFA - BRITISH ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE ASSOCIATION. 

BAFA-SEAG Executive Board 

Chair: Prof. Monomita Nandy ( Monomita.nandy@brunel.ac.uk)
Secretary: Dr. Md Tarikul Islam ( tarikul.t3f@gmail.com)
Treasurer: Prof. Salma Ibrahim ( s.ibrahim@kingston.ac.uk)
Media Executive: Dr. Xianmin Liu ( xianmin.liu@greenwich.ac.uk)