University

Two New Professors Joining WU in September

04/09/2018

WU is pleased to welcome two new professors who are joining the ranks of WU’s research and teaching staff. Zoltán Novotny-Farkas took office as Professor of International Accounting at the Department of Finance, Accounting and Statistics on September 1. On the same day, Stefan Perner took up the chair in Civil and Business Law at the Department of Business, Employment and Social Security Law.

Professor Zoltán Novotny-Farkas, Department of Finance, Accounting and Statistics
Zoltán Novotny-Farkas

Zoltán Novotny-Farkas

Zoltán Novotny-Farkas (born in 1981) earned his doctoral degree in business and economic sciences from Goethe University Frankfurt in 2011. After that, he spent a year at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, as a visiting scholar. In 2012, he became a lecturer at Lancaster University, England, where he advanced to the rank of senior lecturer in 2017. On September 1, 2018, he became Professor of International Accounting at WU’s Department of Finance, Accounting and Statistics.

Key topics for his work at WU

Zoltán Novotny-Farkas’ research focuses primarily on the economic consequences of international financial reporting and banking regulation reforms, e.g. the introduction of new international financial reporting standards (IFRS) or the Basel III framework. “My work is situated at the crossroads of accounting and banking,” explains Professor Novotny-Farkas. “In my work at WU, I will investigate the effects of financial reporting practices on market discipline and the risk-taking behavior of banks. I will also look at the motivations for and consequences of increased transparency in central bank reports.”

Professor Stefan Perner, Department of Business, Employment and Social Security Law
Stefan Perner

Stefan Perner

Stefan Perner (born in 1980) obtained his doctoral degree in law from the University of Vienna. Before earning his venia docendi from the University of Vienna in 2012, he did research at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg (2009) and worked as a visiting fellow at the Univer¬sity of Cambridge (Pembroke College, 2011). In 2013, he was offered a chair in Private Law at the University of Klagenfurt, where he was appointed to the University Board earlier this year, following a proposal by the Senate. In 2015, he moved on to Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU), where he took up a professorship in Civil Law. At JKU, Stefan Perner co-founded the LIT Digital Transformation and Law Lab, which investigates the legal consequences of digitalization. As of September 1, Stefan Perner now works as Professor of Civil and Business Law at WU.

Key topics for his work at WU

The challenges posed by the process of digital transformation will remain a central aspect in Stefan Perner’s work. In addition, Professor Perner also plans to do research on aspects of insurance law. “This is a field that is closely connected to other subjects investigated at WU, for instance finance, risk management, statistics, mathematics, and economics. I’d like to contribute my legal perspective to the mix to further strengthen WU’s profile as an important hub for insurance-related research,” says WU’s new Professor of Civil and Business Law, looking forward to his planned projects.

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