CAFR Special Issue Conference 2025

Frontier research in accounting and finance plays a vital role in developing new knowledge and guiding practice. Amid unprecedented technology transformation and a growing global focus on sustainability, this special issue dedicates to the growing need to understand innovation, sustainable development and their intersections with traditional accounting and finance research. This special issue offers a forum for evidence-based discussions on the following topics: 

• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) topics;
• Climate finance and biodiversity finance;
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML);
• Big and unstructured data (e.g., voice and facial recognition) in accounting and finance;
• FinTech (e.g., Blockchain and Bitcoin); and
• Other contemporary accounting and finance issues.

The China Accounting and Finance Review (CAFR) Special Issue Conference 2025, jointly organised by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, will be held at Yunnan University of Finance and Economics in Kunming on 29 November 2025. International presenters and discussants may be entitled to two nights’ accommodation and a maximum of USD 3,900 for reimbursing airfare and travel expenses. Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong presenters may also be entitled to reimbursement. We particularly encourage submission of theoretical and empirical papers that contribute to the above cutting-edge topics in accounting and finance. We also welcome papers on other contemporary accounting and finance issues. Accepted papers will be published in CAFR (subject to satisfactory revision).

Conference Details

Date:  29 November 2025 (Saturday)
Venue:  Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, Kunming, China
Theme:  Frontier Research in Accounting and Finance
Keynote Speaker:  Professor Yan LIU (Chair Professor and Executive Dean, Institute of Innovation Management at Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School; Chair Professor, School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University)

Paper Submission

Please send a complete English version of your submission in Microsoft Word format, including separate files for the title page and for the blinded manuscript, by 2 August 2025 via the online Submission System (https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cafr). Please select "Frontier Research in Accounting and Finance" at Step 6: Details & Comments.

Authors will be notified of their acceptance by 4 October 2025.

There is no paper submission fee for the CAFR Special Issue Conference. Each paper will be peer-reviewed according to the policies of CAFR and the journal publisher Emerald. 

Key Dates

Paper Submission Opens:  15 April 2025
Submission Deadline:  2 August 2025
Notification of Acceptance:  4 October 2025

Guest Editors

Conference Organising Committee 

Prof. Nancy SU, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Prof. Qiang WU, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Prof. Wei ZHOU, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics
Prof. Yunxian LI, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics

Organisers

School of Accounting and Finance, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
School of Finance, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics