On November 29, the 2025 China Accounting and Finance Review (CAFR) Special Issue International Academic Conference was held in the Xingyuan Building of our university. The conference was jointly hosted by the School of Finance and the School of Accounting and Finance of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and organized by the Catastrophe Risk Management Research Center of Yunnan Province. Nearly 100 experts and scholars from countries and regions including the UK, South Korea, New Zealand, India, and Hong Kong SAR attended the meeting to exchange views on topics such as accounting, finance, ESG, and the digital economy.

Li Zhengbiao, Member of the University Party Committee and Vice President, stated in his opening speech that against the backdrop of deepening global economic development and active financial innovation, deepening research in accounting and finance is of great significance for grasping economic laws, guiding practice, and preventing risks. He expressed hope that this event would serve as an opportunity to establish closer cooperation mechanisms between our university and top domestic and international institutions.

Professor Wu Qiang from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University expressed confidence in the prospects for cooperation, believing that joint efforts would produce high-quality, forward-looking academic achievements to promote disciplinary development.

Professor Liu Yan, Executive Dean of the Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, was invited to deliver a keynote speech titled "Machine Learning Meets Markowitz." During the paper discussion sessions, the conference conducted in-depth exchanges on six selected papers revolving around three major themes: corporate behavioral motivation and strategy, human capital and governance risk, and information and technology frontiers.

The conference presented the "Best Paper Award" and "Best Discussant Award." The Best Paper Award went to Hu Qida from Massey University, New Zealand, for the paper titled "Chair-CEO Age Dissimilarity and Annual Report Tone – Evidence from China." The Best Discussant Award was jointly won by Yang Haocheng from the University of Oklahoma and Professor Pan Guanzhong from our university.

The opening ceremony was presided over by Li Yunxian, Vice Dean of the School of Finance. Professor Yang Nan from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University presented the awards to the winners.

Zhou Wei, Dean of the School of Finance, noted in his closing remarks that the exchanges with domestic and international scholars helped identify gaps and clarify development directions, effectively enhancing the international vision and research capabilities of young scholars. The outcomes of this conference will provide academic support for Yunnan’s development as a "Radiation Center facing South and Southeast Asia" and further expand the university's academic influence in related fields.