Certificates for outstanding achievements in Bachelor modules
The Department of Taxation, Accounting and Finance regularly awards the best Bachelor students for their outstanding achievements. Each semester we select students who obtained excellent grades in TAF department's Bachelor modules. Students become eligible for the award once they have achieved excellent grades (1.3 or better) in modules accumulating to at least 15 ECTS. The modules can be taken in one or more semesters.
The best students receive certificates at the award ceremony. TAF Department recognises that their commitment and hard work deserve the highest recognition. We are proud to meet them personally, stay in touch and continue working with them in TAF department's modules.
Best Bachelor students in
In summer semester 2025, the students Christin Bickmann, Sina Höcker, Timothy Muller, Robert Heterle, Mahedi Mathias Hijazi and Tina Le achieved excellent results in at least 15 ECTS of the TAF department's Bachelor's modules.
Their achievements, commitment and hard work deserve the highest recognition!
On behalf of the professors of the department, congratulations!
Lecture programme and study plan Department 2: Taxation, Accounting and Finance
In winter semester 2024/25, the students Elwin Ajradini, Lena Drawe, Niklas Harding, Moritz Lütke Westhues, Til Plaßhenrich, Timo Pohlmann, Leonie Riße, Raphael Sahrhage, Jan Spindeldreier, Allegra Woitag, Maximilian Wotschke achieved excellent results in at least 15 ECTS of the Bachelor modules of the TAF department.
Their achievements, commitment and hard work deserve the highest recognition!
On behalf of the professors of the department, congratulations!
Lecture programme and study plan Department 2: Taxation, Accounting and Finance
In summer semester 2024, the students Ebrar Sina Cat, Lukas Felix Elbers, Hannes Fieseler, Ellen Gerlach, Evelyn Huhn, Sarah Luckey, Sophie Niggemeier, Jasper Fred Nolte and Bedirhan Sarikaya achieved excellent results in at least 15 ECTS of the TAF department's Bachelor's modules.
Their achievements, commitment and hard work deserve the highest recognition!
On behalf of the professors of the department, congratulations!
Lecture programme and study plan Department 2: Taxation, Accounting and Finance
In winter semester 2023/24, the students Jan Bobe, Philipp Brandes, Dustin Düwel, Sara Gehlhaus, Martin Illenseer, Tobias Kellerhoff, Victoria Lücke and Nadine Schnülle achieved excellent results in at least 15 ECTS of the TAF department's Bachelor's modules.
Their achievements, commitment and hard work deserve the highest recognition!
On behalf of the professors of the department, congratulations!
Lecture programme and study plan Department 2: Taxation, Accounting and Finance
UGO prize for outstanding Master's thesis awarded to Mahdi Rahali
On 22 May 2025, the UGO prizes for outstanding Bachelor's and Master's theses from the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics were awarded at Gräflicher Park Bad Driburg.
We are very proud that Mahdi Rahali was honoured for his Master's thesis on "Covid-19-related insolvency suspensions and financial health of German firms". This is the second time in a row that a student from the Taxation, Accounting and Finance Master's programme has won the UGO prize for his Master's thesis. The thesis was supervised by Prof Dr Urska Kosi (Chair of Financial Accounting and Auditing).
It analyses the effects of the insolvency suspension introduced during the pandemic on the financial health of German firms. The finding reveal that the suspension did not lead to exploitation by insolvent firms, but rather temporarily supported solvent firms and thereby helped to stabilise the economy. The work thus provides important insights for science, practice and politics in dealing with crises and insolvency law.
Now, Mahdi Rahali is a doctoral candidate in the TAF department and is continuing to work on his research project under TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency. We congratulate him warmly!
UGO prize for outstanding Master's thesis awarded to Aliana Görtz
On 6 June, the UGO prizes for outstanding Bachelor's and Master's theses from the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics were awarded at Gräflicher Park Bad Driburg.
We are very proud that Aliana Görtz was honoured for her Master's thesis on "The effects of firm transparency on the insolvency process: Evidence from Germany". The thesis was supervised by Prof Dr Urska Kosi, Chair of External Accounting and Auditing at the Department of Taxation, Accounting and Finance. The prize, worth 750 euros, was presented by Thomas Koch and Melanie Cramer from the Unternehmergruppe Ostwestfalen e. V. (East Westphalia Entrepreneurs' Group).
Their Master's thesis entitled "The effects of firm transparency on the insolvency process: Evidence from Germany" examines an extremely relevant and topical issue and provides very important insights into the German insolvency process. The main findings of this analysis show a positive correlation between firm transparency and the overall outcome of the insolvency process, i.e. better outcomes mean the preservation of a company and less good outcomes mean the liquidation of a company. Finally, the results show a positive correlation between company transparency and the time to liquidation, although the effect of transparency on the payout ratio is very weak.
In cooperation with Paderborn University, the Unternehmergruppe Ostwestfalen e. V. annually honours outstanding theses by Paderborn University students supervised by professors from the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
Würdigung der besten TAF-Master-Studierenden
Das Department Taxation, Accounting and Finance ist stolz darauf, die besten Studierenden im Studiengang M.Sc. Taxation, Accounting and Finance zu würdigen.
Frau Yolanda Bonnie Elfriede Schmidt (krankheitsbedingt abwesend) und Frau Kim Alina Schulz haben als beste Studierende des Jahres 2023 den Masterstudiengang Taxation, Accounting and Finance mit einer hervorragenden Gesamtnote von 1,0 abgeschlossen.
Ihre Leistungen, ihr Engagement und ihre harte Arbeit verdienen die höchste Anerkennung!
Im Namen der Professoren des Departments: Herzlichen Glückwunsch!