A Childhood Aptitude for Math Brings Ph.D. Candidate Around the World to Pursue Teaching Career in Accounting

Growing up in China, Jiahu (Jenny) Han ’26 Ph.D. watched her mother run her own small exporting business, something not as common for women there as in the United States. She saw first-hand how her mother’s knowledge of business helped her succeed, and that really stuck with her. Today Han, too, is working toward her own success by completing a Ph.D. in accounting and business administration at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management with the goal of becoming a college professor. 

“There are few jobs that can really change one’s life, and being a college professor is one of those,” says Han.  

She was good with numbers from a young age. On an aptitude test taken by children in China, Han saw that her talents were in mathematics and physics, so she chose to focus on math. When it came time for college, Han had the option to pursue either accounting, finance or export treaties. She chose to attend the School of Accounting at Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, which not only allowed her to study accounting and business but was also in close proximity to her parents and little sister. 

Four years later, however, she made the bold decision to go halfway around the world to earn a master’s degree in accounting from Binghamton University. Later, she decided to pursue a Ph.D. so she could become an accounting professor. A mentor at Binghamton recommended Syracuse University’s Whitman School, and Han decided it was a good fit. 

“I’ve been between Syracuse and Binghamton for about a decade now, and it’s become a second home to me,” she says. “Syracuse is a very nice city and has a friendly campus community, so I’m happy to be here.” 

While pursuing her Ph.D., she has had the opportunity to teach undergraduates Introduction to Financial Accounting, Introduction to Managerial Accounting and Intermediate Accounting. 

“Teaching is fun and gives me a lot of satisfaction,” Han says. “Sometimes students ask me if I recommend they major in accounting, and I usually encourage them to double major in accounting and another subject that also interests them, as there are so many choices here. Accounting tools help us understand the world. Whether you become a CPA, go into another area of business or work in a completely different field outside of business, accounting is very logical and a good foundation for any type of work.” 

Han’s dissertation is entitled “The Unintended Consequences of Deregulating Redaction,” which explores how firms strategically use confidential treatment redactions to obfuscate information and engage in earnings management in response to regulatory change. Her research particularly pays attention to managerial characteristics, such as CEO gender and expertise, and offers insights into corporate transparency and gender-based disparities in executive decision-making.   

She also enjoys doing other research and has a number of papers underway, noting that her areas of interest are strategic disclosure, textual analysis, management disclosure incentives and regulatory scrutiny effects.  

“AI has really changed the way people deliver and receive information, which represents a big trunk of accounting research in general. And part of my research involves textual analysis. I really enjoy adopting new technology and turning unstructured text into structured data that can be analyzed and understood,” she says. 

The young girl who was proficient in math is today a woman well on her way to reaching her goal of becoming a college professor.  

“I still have a lot to learn, and I’m always trying to improve my teaching skills and keep up with ever-changing technology, like AI,” she says. “But I’m grateful to the Whitman School and the accounting faculty for helping me on my way. It will be a lifetime of learning, and I look forward to that.” 

By Caroline K. Reff