Jenny Chu

Associate Professor in Accounting

Academic Director of the Wo+Men’s Leadership Centre

Deputy Director of the Centre for Financial Reporting & Accountability (CFRA)

Fellow of the Cambridge Endowment for Research in Finance (CERF)

JM Keynes Fellow in Financial Economics, University of Cambridge

BBA (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor), MBA (University of California, Berkeley), PhD (University of California, Berkeley)

My research interests include corporate and sovereign disclosure, corporate governance, management incentives and compensation, and gender diversity. I combine teaching and research with a background in investment banking at Credit Suisse in Silicon Valley and portfolio management at the market neutral hedge fund division of Blackrock.

I’m a member of the Accounting subject group at Cambridge Judge Business School, which focuses on the creation, dissemination and governance of financial information.

My details

Academic area

Accounting

Professional experience

Jenny combines teaching and research with a background in investment banking and portfolio management. She worked on corporate finance and M&A transactions for technology companies at Credit Suisse in Silicon Valley. She later transitioned into a portfolio management role at the hedge fund division of Barclays Global Investors (now Blackrock). Her research has been published in academic journals such as Management Science, as well as covered by the popular press such as the Financial Times, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.

Publications

Selected publications

Journal articles

Working papers

Awards and honours

  • Best Paper Award (for “Auditor university education: does it matter?” with A. Florou and P.F. Pope), European Accounting Review, 2022
  • J M Keynes Fellowship in Financial Economics Award, University of Cambridge, 2022-2024
  • Cambridge Judge Business School Teaching Award, 2019
  • Competitive Paper in Corporate Finance Award (for “Do compensation consultants enable higher CEO pay? New evidence from recent disclosure rule changes” with J. Faasse and P.R. Rau), FMA, 2015
  • Cambridge Judge Business School Teaching Award, 2013
  • Crawford Research Assistant Fellowship Award, University of California, Berkeley, 2008
  • CJ White Investment Banking Scholarship, University of California, Berkeley, 2004
  • Alumnae Council Scholarship, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1999-2000
  • Class Honors, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1997-2000
  • Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society

News and insights

During the past few decades, corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues have attracted enormous attention from regulators and the investment community around the world. Until now, the most widely adopted measure is CSR-related reporting, which is believed to be a critical ingredient in achieving broader CSR goals.

New study co-authored by Jenny Chu of Cambridge Judge Business School challenges the popular portrayal of CEOs as overconfident risk-seekers down each and every highway.

Auditors are certified, so does educational background matter? A new study co-authored at Cambridge Judge finds it does, as those with quantitative backgrounds produce better audits.

Media coverage

Bloomberg Tax | 31 May 2022

EY consulting split aims to free firm from ethics crackdown

Tighter ethics regulations are holding back the growth of Ernst & Young’s lucrative consulting business, a key reason firm leaders are considering whether to separate its global audit and advisory practices. The global accounting network is now discussing whether to spin off its global auditing business.

Jenny Chu, Associate Professor in Accounting at Cambridge Judge Business School, described the move as a watershed moment. “We need to wait and see,” she said. “The devil will be in the details on how the partners in the newly spun off audit firm may or may not retain financial interests in the consulting firm.”

Forbes | 7 January 2021

Five female leaders share their advice on how to be more financially savvy

Dr Jenny Chu, University Senior Lecturer in Accounting at Cambridge Judge Business School, comments on how women can be more financially savvy. “For those women with an ambition to be more financially savvy my advice would be to take stock of your current income, assets, and liabilities, then map out detailed and realistic financial goals. With this roadmap, you will be in a position to seek trusted advice on specific actions to achieve those goals.”

Financial Times | 6 September 2017

How to spot companies at risk of earnings manipulation

Dr Jenny Chu, University Lecturer in Accounting at Cambridge Judge Business School, comments on her new study on corporate earnings manipulation. The study says the power of a company’s CEO plays a role in the likelihood of earnings manipulation linked to consistently beating analyst forecasts. “You either come clean and say those expectations are too high, and suffer the price loss and reputation damage, or you use measures that are within GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) and move into grey area,” Jenny says.

European Business Review, 24 January 2017
We need a greater focus on the benefits women in top executive roles bring to companies

Business Because, 10 September 2016
Harvard Business School is helping women break into the boardroom

Cambridge Business Magazine, 1 September 2016
Theresa May won’t like this…

The Wall Street Journal, 9 August 2016
The morning risk report: CEO-employee pay ratio disclosure no panacea

Financial Times, 27 June 2016
UK disclosure rules tying CEO pay and performance not working

Test, 27 June 2016
Test Title

Cambridge Business Magazine, 1 May 2016
Gender diversity and executive roles

LexisNexis, 12 April 2016
Strategies to get women into senior roles – does any of it work?

The Wall Street Journal, 11 April 2016
Earnings season: Time to tweak Warren Buffett’s maxim

Business Times Singapore, 1 April 2016
Diversity works

Reuters Breakingviews, 9 March 2016
Boardroom gender quotas have hidden value

Business Standard, 9 March 2016
Targets with teeth

The Scotsman, 8 March 2016
Workplace pay statistics make disheartening reading

City AM, 8 March 2016
International Women’s Day 2016: Sorry, but quotas aren’t the way to get more women into executive roles

Cambridge Business Magazine, 1 February 2016
Earnings manipulation unmasked

Reuters Breakingviews, 10 December 2015
Beat surrender

The Economist, 8 December 2015
How companies massage their profits to beat market forecasts

The Economist, 21 November 2014
Executive compensation: If you hire them, pay will come

The Times, 17 November 2014
Hiring pay ‘experts’ brings rich rewards for chief executives

The Economist, 11 November 2014
If you hire them, pay will come

New York Times, 10 November 2014
Dealbook: More transparency, more pay for CEOs

The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance & Financial Regulation, 16 October 2014
New evidence on compensation consultants and CEO pay

Financial Times, 21 June 2012
Women working in financial education

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