The first recipient of the Barry C. Melancon Professional Accounting Research (PAR) Fellowship is Chi Lam, CPA, MBA, a Ph.D. student in accounting at Louisiana State University. Lam’s research bridges theory and practice, focusing on audit and regulatory changes and the impact of emerging technologies on audit.
Lam has taken an exciting and varied route to pursuing his Ph.D. He came to the United States from Hong Kong as a high school foreign exchange student, unable to speak English, and went on to complete a double major in finance and international business, earn three master’s degrees (accounting, MBA, and economics), and attain CPA licensure in New Mexico.
Lam pursued a career in audit because it offered an opportunity to see the world. He was recruited by KPMG and worked in its U.S., Hong Kong, and China offices, which opened his eyes to differences among countries and planted seeds for his future research.
“We need research that is linked to the real world, but if you haven't been in the real world, how are you going to come up with relevant ideas?” he asked. “Unless your research is strictly theoretical, it will be beneficial to have some experience under your belt.”
With his Ph.D. research, Lam is working on creating a framework to help auditors assess crypto assets and determine necessary disclosures, so auditors can provide data that investors need to make informed decisions. He chose to focus on crypto because he saw it was growing in popularity, but firms still didn’t have clarity on how to handle these unique assets.
When asked if he had any advice for someone thinking about pursuing their Ph.D. in accounting, he said that if you're looking for money, Ph.D. is not the way to go.
“You’re going to make more money on partner track or in senior management,” he said. “You need to have a clear ‘why’ when pursuing your Ph.D.”
As a father of two sons in a single-income household, Lam says the fellowship will allow him to focus on his research and help him purchase a new laptop and other tools needed to run massive amounts of transaction data.
“Balancing rigorous doctoral research while raising two young sons has shaped my resilience and determination,” Lam said. “Receiving the Barry C. Melancon Fellowship is a great honor and validates my commitment to producing research with tangible real‐world impact.”
Ultimately, Lam aspires to become an educator and mentor, and positively affect students’ lives by guiding future accountants to use cutting‐edge techniques responsibly as the profession evolves.
“If I can change the life of even one student, I think my work would be complete,” he said.
If you are a doctoral student undertaking research to advance the science of public or management accounting practice, consider applying for the Barry C. Melancon Professional Accounting Research (PAR) Fellowship.