27 May 2026

Photo: UHH

Prof. Yannik Gehrke and doctoral candidates Annalena Kaakschlief and Lars-Eric Brüske presented their current research on sustainability, audit quality, and ESG reporting at the 2026 EAA Conference in Prague and exchanged ideas with international researchers.

Prof. Yannik Gehrke and doctoral candidates Annalena Kaakschlief and Lars-Eric Brüske from Prof. Nicole V. S. Ratzinger-Sakel’s team attended the 48th Annual Congress of the European Accounting Association (EAA) in Prague at the end of May. During the conference, the three members of the Business School presented their current research to an international audience of academics.

The 48th Annual Congress of the European Accounting Association took place from May 27 to 29, 2026, at the Prague University of Economics and Business in the Czech Republic. The EAA conference is one of the most significant academic events in the fields of accounting, auditing, and corporate reporting in Europe. Between 1,200 and 1,500 researchers attend annually. The conference thus serves as a central platform for international exchange on current developments in accounting research.

Prof. Yannik Gehrke presented the research project “Signaling the Green Light – Green M&As, Environmental Materiality, and Investor Reactions.” The paper examines capital market reactions to environmentally related corporate acquisitions, thereby contributing to current research at the intersection of sustainability, corporate strategy, and the capital market.

Annalena Kaakschlief presented the research project “Key Audit Matters and their Specific Audit Procedures – What Audit Reports Tell us about Audit Quality at the Account and Entity Level,” which she authored together with Cristoph Teucher and Prof. Nicole V. S. Ratzinger-Sakel. The study examines the extent to which the audit procedures reported in the context of Key Audit Matters allow conclusions to be drawn about audit quality. Among other things, the results show that the use of specialists and specific audit procedures in particularly high-risk audit areas is associated with higher audit quality at the account and entity level.

Lars-Eric Brüske presented the research project “Seeming or Being: The Abnormal Tone of CEO Letters in ESG Reports,” which was developed in collaboration with Prof. Nicole V. S. Ratzinger-Sakel and Florian Habermann. The study examines whether the tone of CEO letters in ESG reports contains information about companies’ future ESG performance or is instead used as a tool for impression management. The results suggest that an excessively positive tone is associated with weaker future ESG performance.

In addition to presenting their research, the conference offered numerous opportunities for professional exchange with international researchers. The discussions once again highlighted the growing importance of capital market communication, audit quality, and sustainability reporting for current research and corporate practice.

This content has been translated automatically.