Conference Keynote Speaker
Professor Patricia Dechow
Robert R. Dockson Professor of Business Administration and a professor of accounting at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California
Patricia Dechow is one of the leading and most highly cited accounting researchers in the nation. Her research interests include accounting accruals, understanding the quality of earnings and non-GAAP earnings exclusions. She is also interested in understanding the role of corporations in supporting social movements. Her work has appeared in many journals and includes The Accounting Review, Review of Accounting Studies, Contemporary Accounting Research, and Journal of Accounting and Economics. Dechow received the American Accounting Association’s Seminal Contribution to Accounting Literature Award in 2019, the AAA Distinguished Contribution to Accounting Literature awards in 2010 and 2015, and the FARS Distinguished PhD Mentoring Award in 2020. She was inducted into the Australia Accounting Hall of Fame in 2022. Dechow earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Western Australia and a doctorate in accounting and finance from the W.E. Simon School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester. She is an editor for the Review of Accounting Studies. She has recently been involved in developing and teaching a course on Sustainability Reporting. She has coauthored a textbook with Professor Richard Sloan “Business Sustainability Reporting & Analysis”, published by Cambridge Publishers in 2024. She is a member of the Executive Committee for the RRBM network (Responsible Research in Business & Management).
Conference Speakers
Professor Blake Phillips
Director, School of Accounting and Finance, University of Waterloo, Faculty pioneer in developing and teaching sustainability related courses
Blake Phillips is the Director of the School of Accounting and Finance at the University of Waterloo. The School of Accounting and Finance is among the first schools to introduce sustainability into its professional accounting programs and Blake was a faculty champion in designing new sustainability related courses to the curriculum at the school. Blake received a Bachelor of Science from the University of British Columbia in 1996, a Master of Forestry and Master of Business Administration from the University of Alberta in 2004 and a Ph.D. in Finance also from the University of Alberta in 2009. Prior to commencing his doctoral studies, Blake was a Registered Professional Forester and Registered Professional Biologist in British Columbia where he was a managing partner with an ecosystem restoration consulting firm.
Professor Susan McGeachie
CEO of the Global Climate Finance Accelerator, an Executive-in-Residence and a member of the ESG Designation program faculty at the Rotman School of Management, and adjunct professor at the University of Toronto
Susan McGeachie is CEO of the Global Climate Finance Accelerator, which convenes partnerships across business, finance, and government on strategies, policies, procedures, and tools to finance the deployment of technically viable climate solutions. With over 20 years of experience in sustainable finance, Susan has held leadership positions in banking, management consulting, and engineering firms, as the Head of the BMO Climate Institute, Global Director of the Climate Change practice at Hatch, and the Central Market Leader for EY's Climate Change and Sustainability Services practice. Prior to consulting, Susan was a Director with Innovest Strategic Value Advisors (since acquired by MSCI) where she supported the firm’s asset owner clients on the integration of environmental, social, and governance factors into stock valuation and selection decisions. Susan started her sustainability career with WWF Canada in 2000 supporting the integration of biodiversity conservation in resource development.
Anoosha Lalani
Senior Manager in KPMG Canada’s Accounting Advisory Services Group and Corporate Knights 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders
Anoosha Lalani is a Senior Manager in KPMG Canada’s Accounting Advisory Services Group and recognized as one of Corporate Knights 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders. Anoosha combines her technical accounting background and sustainability expertise to support organizations with their ESG strategy, reporting and assurance. Anoosha was previously serving as an ISSB Technical Fellow at the IFRS Foundation where she focused on advancing implementation of IFRS S1 and S2. With experience across multiple geographies and in leading sectors such as financial institutions, mining, and energy, Anoosha analyzes complex sustainability topics and provides pragmatic approaches to ensure companies’ sustainability goals are met effectively and efficiently.
Lisa French, MBA
P. Eng, CPA Canada Vice-President, Sustainability Standards, Vice-President, Financial Reporting & Assurance Standards Canada
Before joining CPA Canada, Lisa served as chief technical officer at the Value Reporting Foundation and one of its pre-merger entities, the International Integrated Reporting Council. Over the span of a decade, Lisa contributed to the development of the International Integrated Reporting Framework and subsequently oversaw its revision and preparation of accompanying implementation guidance. Within this capacity, she also supported the International Sustainability Standards Board as a member of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation’s Technical Readiness Working Group. Her earlier role as technical director at the Global Reporting Initiative rounds out her standard-setting and framework development background. Previously, Lisa was principal, Research, Guidance & Support at the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. Notable career achievements include appearances before the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Group, White House Forum on Business Innovation, World Bank Fiduciary Forum and The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting. In addition, Lisa has engaged in collaborative projects with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations Global Compact and Principles for Responsible Investment. A Clean50 nominee, Lisa continues to serve on various boards, committees and working groups committed to enhancing business management and disclosure, both generally and in the context of social and environmental imperatives. For example, Lisa currently supports the International Accounting Standards Board as a member of its Management Commentary Consultative Group and the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board as a member of its Climate Topic Working Group. Previously, she was a member of the Standards Council of Canada’s Canadian Standardization Advisory Committee on Environmental, Social and Governance.