General topic: Accounting Information and the Efficiency of Debt Contracts

Description:

Accounting information plays a central role in debt contracting. It reduces information asymmetries between borrowers and lenders and facilitates efficient allocation of capital. Financial reporting and accounting measures are frequently embedded in debt contracts to monitor firm performance, trigger covenant violations, and shape managerial incentives. The seminar will examine how accounting information affects the efficiency of debt contracts. Particular emphasis will be placed on analytical models, their implications for empirical research, and their relevance for standard setters, practitioners, and regulators.

Organizational:

Timetable:

  • Monday, June 1, 2026 (12 p.m.) – Application deadline
  • Please submit your transcript of records (Leistungsspiegel) to ls-accounting@uni-mainz.de . Use only your official Uni Mainz e-mail address.
  • Friday, June 5, 2026 – Information on acceptance (or non-acceptance).
  • Friday, June 12, 2026 (12 p.m.) – Deadline for confirming/declining the seminar participation.
  • Wednesday, October 21, 2026 – Kick-off meeting (preliminary talk) and topic assignments.
  • Thursday, December 10, 2026 – Deadline for handing in the discussion paper and presentation.
  • Thursday, December 17, 2026 – Presentations.

Performance requirements:

  • Mandatory full attendance at all meetings (Kick-off meeting and all presentations).
  • Mid-term talks are optional.
  • Discussion paper – approximately 10 pages long.
  • Presentation, moderation and discussion (30 min + 30 min).
  • Oral participation and discussion of other papers and presentations.

Details:

  • Topics will be assigned at the kick-off meeting.
  • One analytical research paper will be assigned to each topic.
  • The main task of the discussion paper is to present the topic from both, research and practice, perspectives, as well as present the assigned research paper and a numerical example.
  • The discussion paper should include:
    • Topic analysis and motivation of the research question.
    • A research literature review (including empirical evidence and analytical research).
    • A critical explanation and analysis of the assigned research paper’s formal model. (The emphasis of the analysis is on moral hazard and adverse selection problems connected to the topic.)