Dr. Claire Deng
Overview
Claire Deng is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at the Ted Rogers School of Management, Toronto Metropolitan University. Her teaching interests lie in management accounting, ethics, and sustainability. She holds degrees in law, cultural and religious studies, and accounting from Peking University, McGill University, and York University’s Schulich School of Business.
Dr. Deng’s research explores the roles that accounting and accountability play in organizations and society. She conducts qualitative field studies informed by sociological and philosophical perspectives, drawing on approaches from anthropology, history, linguistics, and literary theory. Her published work has appeared in journals such as Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management and the Journal of International Accounting Research. She has received competitive funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and internal grants from Toronto Metropolitan University. She is also the recipient of the Ted Rogers School of Management Research Recognition Award (2024) and the Emerald Literati Award as Outstanding Reviewer (2023).
Dr. Deng’s current research investigates how management control and performance measurement systems operate across diverse settings—including state-owned enterprises, NGOs, and individuals—to shape behaviour, values, and notions of accountability. She also explores broader accountability issues, ranging from corporate and public sector accountability to accountability to non-human others. Her work on sustainability particularly engages with biodiversity and animal protection. Through these interdisciplinary inquiries, Dr. Deng seeks to bridge academic research with real-world concerns related to justice, care, and ecological responsibility.
In addition to her academic roles, Dr. Deng serves the accounting profession through participation in various academic and professional committees. She is a co-chair of the 2025 Canadian Academic Accounting Association (CAAA) Conference.
Management Accounting and Control; Sustainability; Accounting for the Public Interest (e.g., healthcare, modern slavery); Qualitative Field Methods; Material Semiotics; etc.
| Publications |
|---|
| Huang, Q., Shi, Z., & Deng, C. (Forthcoming) Navigating culture mixing: A framework for global brand legitimacy in an era of deglobalization. International Marketing Review. |
| Deng, C., Kanagaretnam, K., & Zhou, Z. (2020). Do Locally Based Independent Directors Reduce Corporate Misconduct? Evidence from Chinese Listed Firms. Journal of International Accounting Research, 19(3), 61-90. |
| Deng, C. (2023). When ethnography meets scientific aspiration: a comparative exploration of ethnography in anthropology and accounting. Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management, doi.org/10.1108/QRAM-11-2022-0183 (external link, opens in new window) |
| Smirnow, D. & Deng, C. (2023). Mandatory Disclosure as Calculative Spaces: Public Sector Accountability on Restoring Species at Risk. Accounting Perspectives. https://doi.org/10.1111/1911-3838.12348 |
| Research Grants |
|---|
| SSHRC Insight Grant, 2022-2026. Principal Investigator. Project: “Management Accounting and Control for Conservation: The Recovery of Species at Risk in Canada.” $82,113. |
| CPA Ontario Post-Secondary Institutions Funding Program, 2024-2026. Co-investigator. Projects: “Environmental Liabilities in the Oil and Gas Sector – Public or Private?” |
| CPA Ontario Post-Secondary Institutions Funding Program, 2024-2025. Principal Investigator. Projects: “Accountability as organizational control mechanisms – individuals’ perspectives.” |
| CPA Ontario Post-Secondary Institutions Funding Program, 2024-2026. Co-investigator. Projects: “Comparative Analysis of Hydro Power Development in Canada and Italy.” |
| CPA Ontario Post-Secondary Institutions Funding Program, 2024-2025. Principal Investigator. Projects: “Self-Protection of Society: Global Supply Chain Accountability as Seen through the Foxconn Suicides.” |
| CPA Ontario Post-Secondary Institutions Funding Program, 2022-2023. Principal Investigator. Projects: “Undocumented Migrants and Healthcare: Accounting as Territorializing Strategies for Everyday Life.” |
| Ted Rogers School of Management Matching Funds Grant, Toronto Metropolitan University, 2021. Principal investigator. Project: “Constituting International Supply Chains: The Coalition of Management Control Technology and Network.” |
| The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Insight Grants, 2020-2025. Collaborator (Principal Investigator: Lily Cho). Project: “Asian Values: Fictions of Finance in Postcolonial and Diasporic Asia.” |
| CPA Ontario Post-Secondary Institutions Funding Program, 2019. Co-investigator. Project: “Mandatory Disclosure as Calculative Spaces: Public Sector Accountability on Restoring Species at Risk” and “Rethinking Accountability to Animals.” |
| The CPA Canada-CAAA Management Accounting, Performance Management, Finance, Governance and Strategy Research Grant, 2018. Principal investigator. Project: “Constituting International Supply Chains: The Coalition of Management Control Technology and Network.” |
| Course code | Course title |
| AFA511 | Ethics and Sustainability in Accounting |
| ACC406 | Introductory Management Accounting |
| AFA200 |
Introductory Management Accounting |
| Year | Award |
| 2024 | Ted Rogers School of Management Research Recognition Award |
| 2023 | Emerald Literati Outstanding Reviewer Award, Selected by Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management |