Last week, the 2026 Annual Conference of the European Accounting Review was hosted at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management in Düsseldorf, with a strong presence from our institute.

Stefanie Pendl presented joint work with Dan Lynch (University of Wisconsin–Madison) examining the relationship between tax uncertainty and auditor-provided tax services. Their findings show that as firms face higher levels of tax uncertainty, demand for auditor-provided tax services increases. At the same time, regulatory restrictions on these services within the European Union appear to elevate firm-level tax uncertainty, with adverse implications for corporate investment.

Harald Amberger presented joint research with Fernando Siaahan (formerly WU Vienna, now PT Mitra Pajakku) and Caren Sureth-Sloane (Paderborn University) on turnover-based corporate taxation. Drawing on unique data from Indonesia, the study shows that taxing firms based on turnover rather than profits affects investment decisions: firms shift away from riskier and more tangible investments toward safer assets. These findings suggest that turnover-based corporate tax systems can have negative consequences for long-term economic growth and development.

Both presentations benefited from insightful discussions by Anne Jeny (IESEG) and Barbara Stage (WHU). Stefanie and Harald would like to thank the local organizers (Harm Schütt and Martin Glaum) for organizing a fantastic conference and the audience for valuable feedback and engaging discussions.