Accounting Faculty and Staff

PhD, Accounting, University of South Carolina, 1993

MAcc, University of South Carolina, 1989

BBA, Accounting, National Cheng Chi University, 1986

Licenses and Certifications:

Certified Public Accountant

Yining Chen, PhD., CPA, is the Nixon Professor of Accounting at Western Kentucky University. Her teaching interests include accounting information systems, data analytics, and auditing. Her research focuses on audit effectiveness, corporate governance, and business education. Professor Chen earned her PhD. from the University of South Carolina. Before joining Western Kentucky University, she held faculty positions at Ohio University and Concordia University. Professor Chen has authored articles in leading academic journals such as Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, Issues in Accounting Education, Journal of Management Information Systems, Information & Management, Journal of Accounting Education, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Small Business Management, and European Accounting Review.

“Institutional Investors’ Cross-Ownership and Internal Control Quality,” International Review of Financial Analysis (Vol. 106, 2025), with B. Liu, T. Chen, and K. C. Chan. 

“A Pivotal Progression of SEC’s Cybersecurity Disclosure Requirements,” Cybersecurity Pedagogy and Practice Journal (Vol. 4, No. 1, 2025): 35-44, with D. Lokuku and T. Wu.

“Executive Equity Incentive Plans: Effective Golden Handcuff?” International Review of Economics and Finance (Vol. 91, 2024): 83-97, with B. Liu, N. Zhang, K. C. Chan, and X. Qiu.

“Internal Control Over Sustainability Reporting,” Internal Auditing (Vol. 39, No. 2, 2024), with M. Lee and M. Ross.

“The Essence of Non-Fungible Tokens,” Internal Auditing (Vol. 38, No. 3, 2023): 11-21, with graduate students S. Brown, H. Glass, and A. Oliver.

“Intentional and Unintentional Effects of Mandatory R&D Disclosure on Innovation Outcomes,” Economic Modelling (Vol. 119, 2023), with D. Huang, B. Liu, and K. C. Chan.

“Teaching Case: Central University Medical Center Goes Paperless" (with H. Lou and S. Chang), Journal of Information Systems Education, forthcoming 2023, 34(2).

“Accounting Faculty’s Pursuit of Professional Certifications: Pre- and Post-Terminal Degree Comparison" (with J. Bergner and M. Simerly), Journal of Accounting Education, forthcoming.

“Experts’ Collective Judgment Accuracy and Learning in Analytical Review" (with M. Lee and S. Bibelhauser), American Journal of Management, forthcoming.

“The Impact of Air Pollution on the Cost of Debt Financing: Evidence from the Bond Market" (with J. Tan and K.C. Chan), Business Strategy and the Environment, 2022, 31(1), 464-482.

“Does Environmental Law Enforcement Matter for Financial Reporting Quality?” (with X. Zhang, J. Tan, and K.C. Chan), North American Journal Economics and Finance, 2021, 57, 101445.