Dirk Simons

Dirk Simons serves as Professor of Business Administration and Accounting at the University of Mannheim's Business School, holding the Chair since 2004. He coordinates the Mannheim site of the Collaborative Research Center/TRR 266 "Accounting for Transparency" and actively participates in the University's Academic Senate and the German Research Foundation's Review Board for Business Administration and Economics.

His academic credentials include a doctorate from Bielefeld University (2001) and habilitation (2004), followed by an interim professorship at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (2003/04) prior to his Mannheim appointment. He maintained a contract professorship at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (2008-2015) and held visiting positions at Simon Fraser University, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Alberta.

Professor Simons' research examines information economics and incentive mechanisms in corporate reporting systems, with specialized focus on disclosure theory, audit frameworks, and tax compliance transparency. His work integrates theoretical modeling with empirical analysis of regulatory impacts on financial communication.

As Principal Investigator for TRR 266, he leads one of Germany's largest accounting research initiatives, complemented by prior leadership as Academic Director for the Business Administration doctoral program at Mannheim's Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences (2008-2014). His administrative service includes serving as Vice Rector for International Affairs and Infrastructure (2015-2021) and coordinator of the European University Alliance Engage.EU (2020-2022).

The research chair he directs maintains active collaborations with international institutions including Simon Fraser University, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Alberta, recently advertising positions for research associates in data-related accounting and auditing.