Exposing corporate deception
Kelvin Law
Associate Professor of Accounting, NTU Singapore
I study how organizations create misleading signals, and how accounting, analytics, and governance can expose them.
View ResearchMy research exposes the gap between what companies claim and what they actually do. From green hiring patterns that reveal environmental commitment, to diversity metrics that mask tokenism, to linguistic cues that predict tax avoidance. I develop forensic methods to detect corporate deception at scale.
中文・日本語
繁體中文
我是南洋理工大學南洋商學院會計學副教授（終身教職）。我的研究運用招聘廣告、SEC文件的語言分析及機器學習技術，揭示企業的真實行為。加入學界之前，我曾任香港四大會計師事務所高級企業稅務顧問。我曾受邀為新加坡稅務局提供講座及工作坊、向金融管理局提交政策諮詢意見，並就企業不當行為與貪污調查局進行交流。
简体中文
我是南洋理工大学南洋商学院会计学副教授（终身教职）。我的研究运用招聘广告、SEC文件的语言分析及机器学习技术，揭示企业的真实行为。加入学界之前，我曾任香港四大会计师事务所高级企业税务顾问。我曾受邀为新加坡税务局提供讲座及工作坊、向金融管理局提交政策咨询意见，并就企业不当行为与贪污调查局进行交流。
日本語
南洋理工大学南洋ビジネススクール会計学准教授（テニュア取得済）。求人広告、SEC提出書類の言語分析、機械学習を用いて、企業の実態を明らかにする研究に取り組んでいます。学界に入る前は、香港のBig 4会計事務所でシニア法人税務アドバイザーを務めていました。シンガポール内国歳入庁の招聘によりセミナーおよびワークショップを実施し、金融管理局へ政策意見書を提出、汚職調査局とは企業不正について意見交換を行いました。
Research
14 PublicationsSustainability
Review of Accounting Studies
Do firms that hire green workers actually reduce emissions?
Job postings reveal genuine corporate environmental commitment, predicting actual emission reductions.
Journal of Accounting Research
Is your company’s diversity real or just window dressing?
Companies often appoint minorities to powerless positions. Our measure distinguishes real inclusion from window-dressing.
Nature
Can you really trade a kingfisher for a parrot?
Regulators allow trading one endangered species for another. We find these trades often harm rarer species.
AI and fraud
Management Science
How does AI reshape audit firms?
AI is a co-pilot, not auto-pilot. Audit offices that adopt AI hire more employees, not fewer.
Journal of Accounting Research
Do background checks protect investors?
Advisors with pre-career criminal records pose greater risks to investors. Background checks work.
Management Science
Does immigration fear hurt minority advisors?
Minority advisors face more complaints when immigration concern rises, even controlling for performance.
Management Science 2021
Do recessions reshape financial advice?
Advisors who start in recessions are less likely to commit misconduct throughout their careers.
Tax
The Accounting Review
How do companies hide money offshore?
New measure distinguishes active haven operations from dormant shell companies.
Journal of Accounting Research
Do cash-strapped firms avoid more taxes?
Financially constrained firms pursue more aggressive tax planning. Linguistic cues predict behavior.
Review of Accounting Studies
Do veterans pay their fair share of taxes?
Veteran CEOs avoid less tax. Military training instills values of duty and integrity.
Analysts
Review of Accounting Studies
Political contributions and analyst behavior
Republican analysts are more conservative in their research output. Ideology influences judgment.
The Accounting Review
Do hurricanes change how analysts see risk?
Analysts who experience deadly hurricanes become more pessimistic in their forecasts.
Journal of Financial Reporting
Is I/B/E/S analyst data reliable?
No evidence of large-scale ID anonymization for U.S. analyst forecasts.
Forensic methods for an age of corporate fiction
I develop novel measurement approaches that reveal what companies actually do, not what they claim. My work uses job postings, linguistic analysis of SEC filings, and machine learning to detect patterns invisible to traditional accounting methods.
Before academia, I was a Senior Corporate Tax Advisor at a Big 4 firm in Hong Kong. That experience taught me how corporations construct narratives. Now I deconstruct them.
My research has intersected with Singapore policy. I have been invited to conduct seminars and workshops for the Inland Revenue Authority, submitted consultation responses to the Monetary Authority, and discussed corporate misconduct with the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau. I also teach Sustainability Reporting to MSc Finance students at NTU, connecting research on corporate deception directly to the classroom.
Position
Associate Professor of Accounting (with tenure)
Nanyang Business School, NTU Singapore
Editorial boards
The Accounting Review
Accounting, Organizations and Society
European Accounting Review (Associate Editor)
Contemporary Accounting Research (2026–present)
Education
Ph.D. in Finance, University of Texas at Austin
M.Sc. Economics, HKUST (Beta Gamma Sigma)
B.Sc. Accounting & Finance, Birmingham (First Class, #1)
Recognition
Five-time AAA FARS Excellence in Reviewing Award
Outstanding Reviewer Award, Contemporary Accounting Research
Management Science awards: Excellence in Reviewing and Distinguished Service
Three-time Best Reviewer Award, Hawaii Accounting Research Conference
Excellence in Refereeing Award, Journal of Accounting Research
Best Archival Paper, AAA Auditing Midyear Meeting
Teacher of the Year Award (Accountancy)