Haiwen (Helen) Zhang serves as the Carl L. Nelson Professor of Accounting and Chair of the Accounting Department at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She obtained her PhD in Accounting from the University of Minnesota in 2007, an MS in Economics from Tsinghua University in 2001, and a BS in Finance from Tsinghua University in 1999. Zhang joined the University of Minnesota in 2018 as Associate Professor, promoted to full Professor in 2022, and has served as Accounting PhD Program Coordinator since 2018. Previously, she held positions as Associate Professor (2014-2018) and Assistant Professor (2006-2014) at the Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University. Between 2015 and 2016, she was a Visiting Financial Economist in the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, participating in the SEC rule-making process.

Zhang's research specializes in accounting and securities regulation, corporate risk management, accounting for financial institutions, and consumer lending. She has published in top accounting journals including The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Review of Accounting Studies, and Contemporary Accounting Research. Select publications are "Loan-Level Disclosure and the Convenience Yield of Asset-Backed Securities" with Brent Schmidt (The Accounting Review, 2024), "Corporate Integrity Culture and Compliance: A Study of the Pharmaceutical Industry" with Jennifer Altamuro and John Gray (Contemporary Accounting Research, 2022), "Common Mutual Fund Ownership and Systemic Risk" with Scott Liao and Mike Iselin (Contemporary Accounting Research, 2021), "Are Risk Factor Disclosures Still Relevant? Evidence from Market Reactions to Risk Factor Disclosures Before and After the Financial Crisis" with Anne Beatty and Lin Cheng (Contemporary Accounting Research, 2019), "The Effect of Banks’ Financial Reporting on Syndicated Loan Structures" with Anne Beatty and Scott Liao (Journal of Accounting and Economics, 2019), and "Effect of Derivative Accounting Rules on Corporate Risk-Management Behavior" (Journal of Accounting and Economics, 2009). Her honors include the Carlson School of Management Service Award (2024), Faculty of the Year Award for the MACC Program (2023), Teaching Excellence recognitions (2019, 2022-2024), and Best Paper Awards at the 2012 Review of Accounting Studies conference and 2011 CAPANA conference. She has been on the editorial board of Contemporary Accounting Research since 2020, held various committee roles, and advised PhD students placed at institutions such as the London School of Economics and University of Alberta.

Professional Email: zhan0400@umn.edu