Hans B. Christensen

Hans Christensen studies international accounting harmonization, mandatory IFRS adoption, and disclosure behavior. He was a researcher on the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and at Wales's EU Studies in Financial Reporting. He was also an auditor with the firm PricewaterhouseCoopers for four years where he audited financial statements prepared according to US-GAAP, IFRS, and varies national European accounting standards.

"During my work as an auditor, I observed how firms choose to account for similar events in very different ways, particularly when comparing them across countries," he said. "My research now focuses on why firms make these different choices and what the consequences are."

Christensen received a PhD Scholarship from the Institute of State Authorized Public Accountants in Denmark and the DANICA prize for second best dissertation in accounting or auditing submitted to a Danish university. He has presented research at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, the Illinois International Accounting Symposium, Columbia University, CARE conference in London, Tilburg University in the Netherlands, and conferences organized by the American and European Accounting Associations.

Christensen earned a bachelor's degree with honors in business economics from the Anglia Business School in the United Kingdom in 2000. During his studies, he spent a semester at Marshall University in West Virginia. In 2003, he graduated with a master's degree from Aarhus School of Business at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. In 2008, he earned a PhD in accounting from Manchester Business School in the United Kingdom. Christensen joined the Chicago Booth faculty in 2008 and hopes that his students take away a basic understanding of accounting that allows them to read and understand financial reports.

Outside of academia, Christensen is preparing for the Chicago Marathon and enjoys traveling.

Selected Publications