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Samir Trabelsi

CPA Ontario Distinguished Research Professor of Accounting and Governance
Recognition Year(s): 2024
Area of Impact: CSR or Sustainability
School: Goodman School of Business, Brock University
Location: Canada

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Summary

Samir Trabelsi is the CPA Ontario Distinguished Scholar and a professor of accounting and governance at Brock University’s Goodman School of Business. His research focuses on corporate governance, sustainability, corruption, extensible business reporting language (XBRL) filings, and risk management. Trabelsi aims to enhance understanding and practices in these areas through his work, thereby contributing to more transparent, ethical, and sustainable business operations. Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Trabelsi’s research bridges the gap between academic insights and real-world applications, promoting better governance and sustainability reporting in the corporate world.

Description of Research Impact

Trabelsi’s work in the domains of accounting, corporate governance, and sustainability has had a significant and positive impact on both the academic and business communities.

One of his standout research contributions has been in the realm of corporate governance, where he has meticulously explored the internal and external governance structures of organizations. For instance, his work has delved into how responsibility structures in companies influence decision-making processes and how an organization’s relationship with its stakeholders, such as investors and regulatory bodies, affects its transparency and accountability. This research has prompted businesses to reevaluate their internal practices and seek ways to enhance trust with external stakeholders.

Furthermore, in the sphere of sustainability, Trabelsi has highlighted the challenges faced by businesses, such as measurement uncertainties and the absence of standardized auditing methods. His work provides clarity on the complexities of sustainability reporting, especially in the face of competing frameworks and boilerplate language. This research has been instrumental for organizations seeking to navigate the convoluted realm of sustainability reporting and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.

Trabelsi’s investigations into risk management have been groundbreaking. He provided a comprehensive perspective on diverse risk types, including operational, liquidity, reputational, and regulatory risks. His systematic approach to identifying and managing these risks has become a reference for businesses trying to balance their strategic ambitions with potential pitfalls.

Ethics, too, has been a focal point of Trabelsi’s research. He has underscored the significance of applying ethical theories to organizational activities, pushing businesses to reflect more deeply on their interactions both internally and with external stakeholders.

Amid these contributions, Trabelsi also launched the Global Initiative for Governance and Sustainability (GIGS). Although GIGS is just one facet of Trabelsi’s expansive work, it represents his commitment to interdisciplinary research and practical application. The initiative focuses on governance structures, sustainability challenges, risk management intricacies, and the ethical dimensions of corporate behavior, while engaging a global network of experts and practitioners.

Trabelsi’s research, punctuated by specific studies on governance mechanisms, sustainability challenges, risk management strategies, and ethical considerations, has not only expanded academic understanding but also provided businesses with actionable insights, thus creating a positive ripple effect across sectors and society.

Examples of Research Impact

The following examples demonstrate the tangible and widespread influence of Trabelsi’s research, manifesting in changes in corporate behavior, policy modifications, and academic advancements.

  • Corporate Governance Structures

Research: Trabelsi developed a detailed analysis of internal responsibility structures and their influence on corporate decision-making.

Impact: Multiple corporations have revamped their governance models based on Trabelsi’s insights. His work has influenced the creation of clearer channels of responsibility and accountability in firms, fostering better decision-making and stakeholder trust.

  • Sustainability Reporting Challenges

Research: Trabelsi explored the barriers hindering the widespread adoption of sustainability reporting, emphasizing the lack of standardized auditing methods and measurement uncertainties.

Impact: Notable standard-setting bodies in the accounting and sustainability sectors have engaged with his findings. Some organizations have begun the preliminary stages of establishing standardized sustainability reporting metrics based on his recommendations.

  • Risk Management

Research: Trabelsi’s comprehensive study on varied risk types, including operational and reputational risks, has brought forth a systematic methodology for risk identification and mitigation.

Impact: Financial institutions and major corporations have integrated elements of Trabelsi’s risk management framework into their operational strategies. This has led to more robust risk mitigation measures, safeguarding assets and reputation.

  • Ethics in Corporate Behavior

Research: Trabelsi made a profound exploration into the application of ethical theories to organizational activities.

Impact: Businesses, especially those under scrutiny for ethical considerations, have used Trabelsi’s insights to design workshops and training programs for their employees, emphasizing ethical decision-making.

  • Global Initiative for Governance and Sustainability

Description: Trabelsi initiated GIGS to address the multifaceted challenges in governance and sustainability.

Impact: GIGS, while being an academic initiative, has facilitated various workshops, conferences, and seminars, bridging the gap between academia, practitioners, and policymakers. The initiative has influenced policy recommendations at national and international levels, especially in the realms of governance and sustainability.

Additional examples of impact include the following:

Given Trabelsi’s research on sustainability, he was invited by the U.N. Statistics Division to serve as a panelist for the third meeting of the Beyond GDP 2023 Sprint series that looked at progress made toward developing standards to measure enterprises’ nonfinancial or ESG performance. Trabelsi presented the concept of linking GDP with ESG metrics to ensure that the effects of climate change are properly accounted for and to ensure a comprehensive view of a country’s long-term economic sustainability.

With regard to Trabelsi’s impact in economically developing countries, he has been very active in promoting research in accounting and ESG in his home country of Tunisia. He presented several workshops on research methodology in accounting and a number of doctoral consortiums on empirical research in accounting; he also organized three conferences and is very active in supporting Tunisian graduate students who are studying accounting. Most of these activities were pro bono work that Trabelsi undertook to give back to the country where he was educated.

Trabelsi strongly believes that Tunisia, the starting point of the Arab Spring and the Arab world’s journey to democracy, requires both the training of junior faculty and a clear understanding of good governance practices. Thus, in the last three years, Trabelsi has been very active in promoting and disseminating the meaning of good governance and when its expected wealth creation might be achieved. He gave several keynote addresses and organized a professional development day on Tunisian bank governance, as well.

While governance transparency in Tunisia and in the Arab world is only in its developmental stage, it is Trabelsi’s hope that in the not-too-distant future, firms in the Arab region will make major governance changes and better contribute to the economic growth of their respective nations and regions. To help contribute to this change, Trabelsi frequently interviews with Tunisian radio and television stations to promote good governance in emerging countries.

Select Publications

  • Amna Chalwati, Agnes Cheng, Sadok El Ghoul, and Samir Trabelsi, “The Level of Greenwashing and Cost of Equity Capital,” https://ssrn.com/abstract=3791513.
  • Najah Attig, Mohammad M. Rahaman, and Samir Trabelsi, “When Silence Is Golden: Greenwashing and the Cost of Private Debt,” https://ssrn.com/abstract=3786458.
  • Nadia Ben Yahia, Amna Chalwati, Dora Hmaied, Abdul Mohi Khizer, and Samir Trabelsi, “Do Foreign Institutions Avoid Investing in Poorly CSR-Performing Firms?,” Journal of Banking and Finance 157, no. 107029 (2023), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2023.107029.
  • Samir Trabelsi and Amna Chalwati, “Poison Pills Adoption, Real Earnings Management and IPO Failure,” China Accounting and Finance Review 25, no. 4 (2023): 513-39, https://doi.org/10.1108/CAFR-04-2023-0041.
  • Samer Khalil, Walid Saffar, and Samir Trabelsi, “Disclosure Standards, Audit Quality, and Corruption Mitigation: International Evidence,” Journal of Business Ethics 132, no. 2 (2014): 379-99, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2321-6.
  • Samir Trabelsi, Réal Labelle, and Pascal Dumontier, “Incremental Voluntary Disclosure on Corporate Web Sites, Determinants and Consequences,” Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics 2, no. 2 (2008): 120-55, https://doi.org/10.1016/S1815-5669(10)70032-1.

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