Thesis
We are very pleased about your interest in writing your thesis at the Institute of Auditing and Accounting.
Bachelor Thesis
At the Institute of Auditing and Accounting, bachelor’s theses are offered in the fields of "Auditing" and "Accounting and Corporate Governance."
The Bachelor’s thesis positions at the Institute of Auditing and Accounting are awarded as part of an application procedure. The allocation of Bachelor's thesis places takes place during fixed application phases. The relevant application date for you depends on the start date you are aiming for. In principle, Bachelor's theses can be started in any calendar week of the relevant quarter. The desired start date must be specified at the time of application and cannot be changed at a later date. Please note the application phases listed below when planning your studies. The number of available Bachelor's thesis places depends on the supervision capacity of the professorship. It may therefore not be possible to provide all interested students with a Bachelor's thesis place. It is possible to apply for a Bachelor’s thesis position outside of this procedure.
| Quarter | Start date | Application phase |
| 1. Quarter | January bis March | 15. November - 15. December |
| 2. Quarter | April bis June | 15. February - 15. March |
| 3. Quarter | July bis September | 15. May - 15. June |
| 4. Quarter | October bis December | 15. August - 15. September |
Deadline of the application phase: 11:59 PM CET/CEST.
At the Institute of Auditing and Accounting, theses are assigned in the following subject areas:
| Topic area |
Topic field (not exhaustive) |
| Auditing | » Audit market » Audit process » Audit quality » Audit of sustainability reporting » Digitalization in the audit » Regulatory developments |
| Accounting and Corporate Governance | » Earnings quality » Internal Audit » Corporate Governance » Sustainability reporting » Digitalization in financial reporting » Regulatory developments |
The Institute of Auditing and Accounting provides students with a single Bachelor's thesis topic in the specified subject area.
If you would like to apply for a Bachelor's thesis at the Institute of Auditing and Accounting, please send the following application documents in full and on time to the secretary's office, Ms. Cornelia Hartwig (cornelia.hartwig@uni-hamburg.de):
- Name
- Matriculation Number
- Study programm
- Previous knowledge (courses attended to date incl. STiNE printout)
- Desired start date (CW = Calender week)
- Desired topic area (i.e. Auditing or accounting and corporate governance) as well as a ranking (1-6) of the topic fields of the topic area
- Application for admission to Bachelor's thesis signed by the Academic Office in the Department of Business Administration (you only need to fill in your contact information in block 1 and your signature under “Student signature” in block 2. Afterwards you obtain the signature from the Office of Student Affairs).
You will receive information from us at least two working weeks after the end of the application phase as to whether your application was successful and further information on the procedure.
The guidelines for the preparation of academic papers at the Institute of Auditing and Accounting must be observed:
The required number of pages for Bachelor's theses can also be found in these guidelines.
In order to successfully complete the Bachelor's thesis, we strongly recommend that you attend at least one of the Bachelor's courses offered by the Institute of Auditing and Accounting, as the thesis topics require corresponding prior knowledge in the areas of auditing and accounting.
Master Thesis
At the Institute of Auditing and Accounting, master’s theses are offered in the fields of "Auditing" and "Accounting and Corporate Governance."
The Master's thesis positions at the Institute of Auditing and Accounting are awarded as part of an application procedure. The allocation of Master's thesis places takes place during fixed application phases. The relevant application date for you depends on the start date you are aiming for. In principle, Master's theses can be started in any calendar week of the relevant quarter. The desired start date must be specified at the time of application and cannot be changed at a later date. Please note the application phases listed below when planning your studies. The number of available Master's thesis places depends on the supervision capacity of the professorship. It may therefore not be possible to provide all interested students with a Master's thesis place. It is possible to apply for a Master’s thesis position outside of this procedure.
| Quarter | Start date | Application phase |
| 1. Quarter | January bis March | 15. November - 15. December |
| 2. Quarter | April bis June | 15. February - 15. March |
| 3. Quarter | July bis September | 15. May - 15. June |
| 4. Quarter | October bis December | 15. August - 15. September |
Deadline of the application phase: 11:59 PM CET/CEST.
At the Institute of Auditing and Accounting, theses are assigned in the following subject areas:
| Topic area |
Topic field (not exhaustive) |
| Auditing | » Audit market » Audit process » Audit quality » Audit of sustainability reporting » Digitalization in the audit » Regulatory developments |
| Accounting and Corporate Governance | » Earnings quality » Internal Audit » Corporate Governance » Sustainability reporting » Digitalization in financial reporting » Regulatory developments |
The Institute of Auditing and Accounting provides students with a Master's thesis topic, taking into account their stated preference for the subject area. In addition, an alternative Master's thesis topic from the second subject area is offered.
If you would like to apply for a Master's thesis at the Institute of Auditing and Accounting, please send the following application documents in full and on time to the secretary's office, Ms. Cornelia Hartwig (cornelia.hartwig@uni-hamburg.de):
- Name
- Matriculation Number
- Study programm
- Previous knowledge (courses attended to date incl. STiNE printout)
- Desired start date (CW = Calender week)
- Desired topic area (i.e. Auditing or accounting and corporate governance) as well as a ranking (1-6) of the topic fields of the topic area
- Desired methodology (i.e. literature-based or empirical)
- Application for admission to Master thesis signed by the Academic Office in the Department of Business Administration (you only need to fill in your contact information in block 1 and your signature under “Student signature” in block 2. Afterwards you obtain the signature from the Office of Student Affairs).
When choosing the desired methodology, please note that empirical work involves data collection and data analysis using suitable statistical software (e.g. Stata). Relevant prior knowledge of empirical work is therefore recommended.
You will receive information from us at least two working weeks after the end of the application phase as to whether your application was successful and further information on the procedure.
The guidelines for the preparation of academic papers at the Institute of Auditing and Accounting must be observed:
The required number of pages for Master's theses can also be found in these guidelines.
In order to successfully complete the Master's thesis, we strongly recommend that you attend at least one of the Master's courses offered by the Institute of Auditing and Accounting, as the thesis topics require corresponding prior knowledge in the areas of auditing and accounting.