Dr Leonard Leye Li

Academic CV

Dr. Leonard Li is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Accounting, Audit & Tax at UNSW Sydney, and a visiting scholar at Foster School of Business, University of Washington. His research focuses on connecting accounting to the real world, analysing its role in social and political environments such as pandemics, global disruptions, and legal frameworks. He has a range of research interests including voluntary disclosure, shareholder litigation and stock price crash risk. He has published in leading accounting journals, including Journal of Accounting Research, Journal of Accounting and Economics, and Accounting, Organizations and Society. His work has received recognition including the UNSW Business School Research Excellence Award (2023), the Peter Brownell Manuscript Award from Accounting & Finance (2024), and the Best Paper Award at the AFAANZ Annual Conference (2020). Several publications have also been featured in practitioner outlets—including the CFA Institute's Enterprising Investor, the Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog, and UNSW's BusinessThink—bridging academic research and professional practice.

Leonard's teaching is designed to equip students with analytical skills for a rapidly changing business environment. He is at the forefront of integrating data analytics, financial modelling, and machine learning into business education, reflected in the teaching and development of “COMM5601 – Interdisciplinary Application of Analytics”, "ACCT3672/5972 – Accounting Analytics for Business Decision Making" and “ZZBU6509 – Financial Modelling”. He delivers Python coding instruction for doctoral researchers through the AFAANZ Doctoral Education Network (AFDEN), and taught graduate-level finance and accounting at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business in 2025. His courses employ innovative, evidence-based methods that actively engage students and foster analytical and critical thinking.

Throughout his career, Leonard has dedicated himself to supporting the next generation of researchers. He has helped numerous early-career researchers publish in prestigious journals, and has served as an ad-hoc reviewer for over 30 leading international journals, including the Journal of Accounting and Economics and the Review of Accounting Studies. Since 2024, he has served as Deputy Editor of Accounting & Finance. He is also a co-founder of the Early Career Researchers Support Network (ECRSN), which helps early-career researchers—particularly those with limited access to resources since the COVID-19 pandemic—join the academic community and attend online master classes. The program has attracted over 100 participants from Australia, New Zealand, and around the world.