Jiafan Li

Jiafan Li is a Lecturer in Accounting at Huddersfield Business School, University of Huddersfield, where she has been serving since January 2022. She teaches Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, and Financial Management at the undergraduate level, and CSR, sustainability, and financial reporting at the postgraduate level. She holds a PhD in Accounting from the University of Strathclyde, awarded in April 2022.

• PhD in Accounting, University of Strathclyde (2019–2022)

Her research centers on accountability, small accounting practices, SMEs, access to finance, corporate governance, and accounting disclosure. She also explores interdisciplinary topics including leadership theories and sustainability in accounting. Her recent publications examine gender and ethnic disparities in SME financing, climate risk impacts on credit ratings, and leadership transitions through accounting practices in entrepreneurial firms.

Her recent scholarly output demonstrates a strong focus on financial transparency, sustainable business practices, and equity in access to capital. She actively contributes to peer-review processes and engages with media on contemporary financial issues such as ESG regulation, greenwashing risks, and gender bias in business finance.

Jiafan Li is a member of several institutional committees, including the School Accreditations and Validation Panels (SAVP), the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee, and serves as the Personal Academic Tutor (PAT) coordinator. She is also a Visiting Placement Staff Member and holds the Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). She is currently accepting PhD students for supervision.

She has contributed to public discourse through expert commentary in the media on topics such as:

• Reshaping the accounting profession to attract younger talent
• Risks of greenwashing under stricter ESG regulations
• Women's reluctance to seek business finance
• Stock manipulation via social media and new technologies