phd in accounting and finance in france

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Accounting and Management Control

The accounting and management control specialization is designed to provide a thorough understanding of current accounting theory, practice and research....

Alexandre Madelaine

The Curriculum

The curriculum covers a large array of topics in financial accounting, management accounting and control such as:

Disclosure and transparency  -  financial reporting quality  -  information provision to capital and debt markets  -  agency conflicts  -  management control  -  regulation  -   control devices  -  management accounting technologies  -  performance measurement and management  -  corporate governance  -  risk management  -  organizational and sociological aspects of management control auditing  -  environmental management accounting  -  risk rating  -  social studies of finance.

Main field courses (non-exhaustive list):

• Accounting for private entities and non-investor stakeholders
• Disclosure and Financial Reporting
• Empirical Research in Management Accounting
• Theory in Financial Reporting
• Theory in Management Control
• Topics in Empirical Financial Accounting
• See global course examples  here

Students may join courses from other specializations or partner universities to broaden their knowledge.

Why join us

The specialization welcomes PhD students interested in quantitative, qualitative, and analytical research. The PhD program in Accounting and Management Control is a small and intensive program aiming to attract outstanding students with the highest level of ambition.

Only 1 to 2 students are enrolled every year. Selectivity, demanding and intensive course training, close supervision, and full immersion in research activities are cornerstones of our philosophy in PhD training. We are also pursuing a successful policy of encouraging academic exchanges with the world’s leading business schools and research presentations in academic conferences. Our international, research-driven, and young faculty is a key ingredient of success in our PhD Program.

Research Seminars

Most academic departments organize research seminars on a regular basis as well as many other academic events. Students are encouraged to join these seminars already from the first year of studies. They give students a good idea of what they are expected to produce. They are also a good way to socialize with the professors of the departments and the other PhD students. Most of these research seminars are available to all PhD students from all specializations.

PhD Coordinator

Current students                    Department website                     Placement

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Programme Manager +33 1 49 23 20 33

Paris Doctoral Programme

Entry Level

Master degree

Languages of instruction

Accreditation

The Paris PhD programme is accredited to deliver the French « doctorat en sciences de gestion » within the Ecole Doctorale de Management Panthéon Sorbonne (n°559)

Where you study

• Faculty & Research
• Areas of Specialisation
• PhD COMMUNITY
• Fees & Financials

Educate and train future top international researchers - ambassadors of ESCP research excellence, future peers and collaborators in research.

Join our unique programme in the vibrant city of paris and become part of our dynamic phd students’ community.

Doing a PhD is a great intellectual and personal journey. It is the foundational step of a stimulating professional trajectory. We have developed a four-year programme that is demanding but helps each student to reach international standards of research quality. Our Ph.D programme offers a great environment where our PhD students are provided not only with the indispensable academic and financial guidance but also with social and moral support. This supportive environment is a cornerstone for their academic fulfilment.

Our distinctive objective is to strive for academic excellence and at the same time produce “relevant” and impact-oriented knowledge for society and organisations.

Prof. Valentina Carbone Dean, PhD Programme

Our programme values

Knowledge diversity.

Doing the PhD programme gives an opportunity to invest in one of the five specialisation tracks. The students will explore several methodological perspectives. In addition, we also foster transversal initiatives across knowledge fields and methodologies. We value exchanges with PhD students from our Berlin campus and we actively support international exposure of research activities.

Research Collaboration

If research is sometimes considered as an individual, even solitary, activity, at ESCP the students will be part of a research community encompassing our six European campuses. During your four-year curriculum, PhD students will benefit from close supervision in departments and will learn through co-writing with the faculty staff. Your success is our success, and vice versa.

Professional Ambition

Doing the ESCP programme gives the opportunity to open new and ambitious professional horizons. Whatever the post doctorate objectives - joining the academic or the business research world-, we support ambitions to go “one step further”. Joining a top university research team; boosting the R&D activities of a cutting-edge organisation.

Supervisors

Professors habilitated to supervise Doctoral Research

Key Performance Indicators

Defences since the launch of the programme in 2003

Number of enrolled students

International.

Nationalities

How to apply

Thesis Defence Anne Ratsimandresy

Wednesday, 6 december at 3.00 p.m. (gmt+1- cet), applications.

Admission Calendar for September 2024 Intake

• Opening of application platform 15 January 2024
• Information meeting An online information meeting will be organised on Friday, 19 January 2024 at 1 p.m. (CET - GMT+1). Register here to attend
• 1 st round - Deadline for submitting applications: 25 February 2024 - Interview dates with the admission committee: 13 & 15 March 2024
• 2 nd round - Deadline for submitting applications: 28 April 2024 - Interview dates with the admission committee: 13, 14 & 15 May 2024

Ecole doctorale de Management Panthéon Sorbonne

Paris Doctoral Programme Curriculum

The main goal of the phd programme is to help its students acquire the fundamental skills of a teacher-researcher ..

Through these teachings, students work towards their thesis, a research project of great importance and of the utmost quality. Apart from the dissertation work, the doctoral programme provides a general and thorough research training, a chosen field of specialisation and a teaching and educational training.

Year 1

Core Courses (all students)

- Epistemology

- Research Design

Your choice among five specialisation tracks

Entrepre­neurship

Accounting & Management Control

Management & Organisations

Three methodological tracks

- Econometrics

- Quantitative Methods

- Qualitative Methods

Summer Paper

Year 2

Professional Seminars

- Writing Workshops

- Art of Teaching

Year 3

- Personal Branding

Outside the walls

Develop your research and teaching skills Present your papers in conferences Go to a research visit abroad

Year 4

- Placement

Thesis Completion

Follow-up the thesis work

Progress workshop.

The doctoral students each present their progress in their research study at least once per year. The objective is to no evaluate the work but to help the student in his or her research orientation. This workshop gathers doctoral students, the thesis director, the programme director and other professors chosen internally or externally in accordance with the thesis subject.

Annual Assessment

Each doctoral student presents a general result of his or her activities (thesis, publications, teachings, assistance, etc.) and his or her projects planned for the following year. The objective is to validate the work done in the previous year and to prepare the stages planned for the following year. The participants are the thesis director, the programme director and possibly other professors chosen internally or externally. It takes place in September.

Pre Defence

With potential members of the jury (referees) about six months before the end of the project.

Visiting Opportunities

Increasing the academic excellence and network’s strength of all PhD students is important to us. The Paris PhD programme welcomes visiting PhD students. Visiting PhD students, our faculty and our PhD students all benefit from the opportunity to share on common research interests.

What visiting PhD students at ESCP are offered:

• The opportunity to interact with your ESCP faculty sponsor and with the PhD students of the programme
• Free access to the PhD courses given during your stay
• Possibility to present your doctoral research in a research seminar
• Access to a workspace in the doctoral rooms (shared spaces with computers)
• Access to the library and cafeteria
• Note that we do not offer any financial support in case your application is successful.

We would consider your application as long as your visit is supported by one permanent faculty member from ESCP. For your application as a visiting PhD student, we would ask for :

• A support letter from your sponsor at ESCP,
• A summary of your dissertation project,
• An updated CV,
• A scan of an ID,
• A proof of registration in the PhD programme of your university.

The Dean of Paris PhD Programme will make a decision based on the pieces above and will inform you on the outcome.

Paris Doctoral Programme Areas of Specialisations

When applying to the programme, you need to express your interest for one of our five specialisations ..

Within one of these areas, you will develop your PhD. thesis topic based upon your research interests. For each area, you will find some examples of PhD theses recently defended.

Corporate finance, asset pricing and banking

Students are trained to apply econometric methods but also to develop theoretical models.

Thesis examples:

• “Anti-Corruption Laws and Firms Behavior: Lessons from the FCPA Enforcement Activity” (Olivier Greusard, under the supervision of Prof. P. Bunkanwanicha, July 19)
• “Non-Regulatory Incentives and Bank Behavior: the Stock-market, Taxes and Social Capital” (José Martin Flores, under the supervision of Prof. C. Moussu, June 19)

Entrepreneurship

Uncertainty, behaviour (effectuation), cognition, sustainable entrepreneurship and legitimation of creative projects.

Students are trained in quantitative and/or qualitative techniques and tackle issues related to contemporary and emerging entrepreneurial theories.

• “Comment concevoir la contradiction ambidextre qui traverse le processus intrapreneurial ? Une enquête au sein du Groupe La Poste” (Maxime Massey, under the supervision of Prof. Sylvain Bureau, June 22)

Social studies of accounting

Students are trained in qualitative and/or quantitative techniques and they unpack the control and performance management issues facing organisations.

• “Gender and Accounting in the Saint-Gobain Group: Three essays on accounting as an instrument of domination and resistance to gendered norms” (Nathalie Clavijo, under the supervision of Prof. C. Dambrin, June 20)
• “Of Metrics, Women and Men: The case of hospital doctors facing performance measurement” (Warda Ben Daali, under the supervision of Profs. O. Saulpic & P. Zarlowski, June 19)

Management & Organisation

Strategy, organisation, human resource, and organisational change.

Students are trained in quantitative and/or qualitative techniques and tackle issues from competitive analysis to the study of individual behaviours.

• “Cross-national Transfer and implementation of Human Resource Management Practices in multinational companies: A multilevel Analysis” (Alissa Hankache, under the supervision of Prof. M. Muratbekova Touron, Oct. 20)
• “Organizing by secrecy: an epistemic approach of secret organizations” (Louis Vuarin, under the supervision of Prof. H. Laroche, Nov. 20)
• “The distinctiveness of entrepreneurs’ experience role in investment screening decisions:  What does really matter? A venture capitalist – entrepreneur’ dyad inquiry.” (Anna Souakri, under the supervision of Prof. R. Coeurderoy, Dec. 20)
• “Corporate Accelerators: Novel Organizations for Entrepreneurial Support – Toward a Process Theory”  (Moyra Marval, under the supervision of Profs. J. Fendt & R. Mauer, Oct. 19)

Consumer behaviour, branding, planning and promotion, channel management, and digital marketing

Students are trained in quantitative and/or qualitative techniques to tackle issues pertaining to consumer, corporate and organisational phenomena.

• “Luxury Consumption Practices in the Digital Age: Prosumers and Lurkers on Visual Social Media” (Marina Leban, under the supervision of Prof. B. Voyer, June 20)
• “Effect of consumption-context and product attributes on social value perception of luxury clothes for Indian female consumers” (Raghav Manocha, under the supervision of Prof. R. Pandraud, June 20)

It is always more fruitful that your research issue fits with the research interests of the faculty.

We invite you to visit the webpages of our faculty .

A HDR professor ( Habilitation à Diriger les Recherches ) will be necessary to supervise a PhD thesis ( Download the list ). However, we favour collaborative supervision mechanisms, in particular across campuses. We encourage you to carefully explore our full faculty profiles to have a global perspective of the many research opportunities the ESCP environment can provide.

Paris Doctoral Programme P h D Community

Paris doctoral programme admissions.

You can apply with your own project or respond to the projects presented here.

Requirements

Applicants to the ESCP PhD Programme must hold a Master degree or equivalent and must have a solid knowledge of English.

Post 1/4 Project on Neurodiversity in the Workplace

We invite applications for a PhD position in Management starting in September 2024. Campuses: Paris/Berlin/London Closing date: 28 th April 2024

More information [PDF]

Post 2/4 Project on International Economics and Sustainability

We invite applications for a PhD position in Management starting in September 2024. Campuses: Paris/Madrid Closing date: 28 th April 2024

Post 3/4 Project on Building Inclusive Organisations

Post 4/4 project on decision-making under uncertainty and marketing.

We invite applications for a PhD position in Entrepreneurship and Marketing starting in September 2024. Campus: Paris Closing date: 28 th May 2024

The admission process is composed of 3 steps

The official online application process: completion of the application form by candidates before the deadline specified in the Admission Calendar and provision of the required documents. Candidates selected by the admissions jury after a first screening will have half an hour to present their background and motivation to the interview panel made up of programme directors and faculty members. Alternatively, a video interview can be offered to candidates.

After the interview the selected candidates receive the admission decision of the final selection Committee. Admitted candidates must confirm their acceptance by the deadline indicated in the offer letter.

Selection Process

List of required documents.

The official online application process: completion of the application form by candidates, before the deadline specified in the Admission Calendar, and provision of the required documents:

• Motivation letter
• Up to date resume
• Research Statement (1500-2000 words)
• 3 recommendation letters (a minimum of 2 academics and 1 professional if relevant). You may download the template here
• copies of diplomas and degrees,
• transcripts of most recent degrees,
• IELTS or TOEFL results as a proof of English language proficiency (required score: IELTS 7, TOEFL 100).  Both TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and IELTS are serving as a proof of a good working knowledge in English. Non-native English speakers applying to the programme are required to take the test unless they have a university degree from an institution located in an English-speaking country. Test score should not be older than 4 years to be acceptable.
• any research material that might be useful (dissertation, paper...) in .pdf format,
• copy of your ID or passport,
• 1 digital photo,
• application fees (20€) and payment agreement

Your research statement

The research statement (around 4-5 pages long) should give you the opportunity to present a research topic you would like to study. This research topic does not necessarily commit you once for all and leaves room forpossible re-orientations. It must however, give you the opportunity to make a first academic contribution - ie to present a topic with a research question, elements of theory to address your research question, and a first idea of your research design. Your research statement should specify the following points:

• what your research issue is;
• why this research issue makes sense (theoretical perspective);
• why this research issue is relevant (empirical perspective);
• what your research design could be.

This research statement really matters to optimise the match between your objectives and the requirements of a PhD thesis. Of course, we are aware that you are at the beginning of the process. That is why during your first year you are free to consolidate, modify and sometimes redraft your research project.

Your motivation letter

Your motivation letter will help the jury to understand better what your expectations are, and how you see your evolution in the programme and beyond. Entering a post master programme for four years is a huge decision. We need to be mutually convinced that it is really the right choice for you. Do not forget to justify your choice of specialisation or indicate whether you are still open to different options.

Paris Doctoral Programme Fees and financials

Tuition fees.

• Year 1: €15,000
• Year 2: €12,500
• Year 3: €12,500
• Year 4: €12,500

However, a legal token registration fee of ± €400 per year for the Doctoral School applies (including CVEC).

ESCP scholarship

ESCP finances a significant proportion of admitted PhD students with a scholarship guaranteed for 4 years. From the 2 nd year, this scholarship is combined with a doctoral contract including teaching, tutoring and research assistance for a total of €23,000.

Each candidate can apply for this cost-of-living scholarship, but it cannot be combined with any other external income. These scholarships are granted on the basis of the excellence of the application.

Students who have received a scholarship are exempt from tuition fees, but not from registration fees.

External Fundings

CIFRE (Conventions Industrielles de Formation par la Recherche) These agreements bring together three partners: a company, a PhD student and a University around a research project, which will lead to a doctoral thesis. The company benefits from an ANRT (Association Nationale Recherche Technologies) subsidy for hiring a PhD student for three years.

Research Projects: Another possibility is the financing of the PhD scholarship by a research project developed in collaboration with one or several companies. The research project can be a stand-alone initiative or supported by one of our chairs at ESCP.

Financial aid from the French Government: In addition to the financial aid for which they are eligible in their country of origin, non-French students can seek grants from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Requests should be sent to the Cultural Department of the French Embassy in the student’s country of origin. PhD students can also apply for European exchange programme grants (Socrates, Erasmus, Phare). This aid cannot be combined with the ESCP scholarship.