Organized by the Corporate Business Sustainability Center (CBS) at National Chengchi University, the 2025 Asia-Pacific Management Accounting Research Symposium (AMARS) was held on July 10–11 at the Lo Chia-Lun International Conference Hall of the NCCU Dah Hsian Library. This year’s symposium, themed “Sustainability and Field Research in Management Accounting,” brought together scholars from eight countries—Japan, Canada, the United States, Australia, Singapore, Austria, Korea, and Taiwan—to explore the latest trends and international practices at the intersection of ESG sustainability and management accounting.
(Photo by the Secretariat)
AMARS was founded in 2015 by NCCU Chair Professor Annie Wu, Professor Jae Yong Shin of Seoul National University, and Professor Steve Wu of Western University, with the first symposium hosted by Professor Wu at NCCU in 2016. The forum has since rotated annually among different countries, previously held at Seoul National University, Kobe University, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and universities in Melbourne, Australia. After being suspended from 2020 to 2023 due to the pandemic, the symposium resumed in 2024 and returns to its birthplace at NCCU in 2025, carrying special significance.
The forum featured welcome remarks by NCCU Vice President Wei-Chi Tsai, College of Commerce Dean Chia-Chi Huang, and Department of Accounting Chair Hung-Chao Yu, followed by an introduction to the symposium by Professor Annie Wu. Together, they extended a warm welcome to the international scholars and guests.
(Photo by the Secretariat)
Vice President Wei-Chi Tsai welcomed the scholars to what he described as “the most beautiful library in Taiwan.” He emphasized that sustainability is a key priority for both NCCU and the international management accounting community, and wished all participants a rewarding symposium experience
Dean Chia-Chi Huang expressed special thanks to Professor Annie Wu for her contributions in integrating sustainability with management accounting research, which have greatly advanced NCCU’s sustainability initiatives. He further noted that the symposium’s theme is a reminder that sustainability research should not remain confined to theory but must be actively engaged with society and communities.
Chair Hung-Chao Yu expressed his delight at seeing AMARS return to NCCU and joked that he was thankful the end of the world had not come, allowing everyone the opportunity to gather together. He added that this makes sustainability an even more important topic of discussion.
(Photo by the Secretariat)
Professor Annie Wu thanked Director Tan Tan-Chi and the team at the Corporate Business Sustainability Center for organizing the symposium and introduced the participating scholars. She concluded by cheerfully presenting a specially designed symposium umbrella, which filled the hall with laughter.
The forum invited Professor Naomi Soderstrom of the University of Melbourne to deliver the keynote address on the future directions of sustainability management accounting research. In addition, two high-level panel discussions featuring international scholars were held：
Panel I：Field Research on Sustainability Management and Development
The panel featured Professor Hua-Xiang Yin of Nanyang Technological University, Professor Jee-Eun Shin of the University of Toronto, and Mr. Chia-Ming Hsu, Founder and CEO of CiiGreen International, who shared valuable experiences and benefits from applying the NCCU ESG Solutions.
Panel II：Field Research in Management Accounting
The panel brought together distinguished scholars including Professor Isabella Grabner of WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Professor Wei Cai of Columbia University, and Professor Steve Wu of Western University. In addition, representatives from Australia, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan presented their latest field research findings on sustainable management accounting, covering topics such as sustainability impacts, management control in social organizations, employee identification systems, and quantitative field research methods. The program concluded with visits to NCCU’s Dah Hsian Library—celebrated as “the most beautiful library in Taiwan”—and the National Palace Museum in Waishuangxi, fostering international cultural exchange.
The forum was organized by the NCCU Corporate Business Sustainability Center, with co-organization by the NCCU Center for Strategic Value Management, the Department of Accounting, and the Taiwan Strategic Cost Management Association. It was supported by funding from AICPA, CIMA, the Ministry of Education, and the National Science and Technology Council.
Through this event, AMARS once again demonstrated its role as a key platform for exchanges in sustainability and management accounting research in the Asia-Pacific. Looking ahead, the symposium aims to continue rotating among countries in the region, fostering collaboration among international and Asia-Pacific scholars and injecting new momentum and directions into the development of sustainability and management accounting.