Academic Career
Prof. Caren Sureth-Sloane is Professor of Business Administration, especially Business Taxation at Paderborn University and is the spokesperson of the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency. She studies the effects of taxation on corporate decisions, especially on the impact of taxes on risky investments, as well as on international business taxation and tax complexity.
She studied economics, English, French and Chinese at the University of Passau. Since 1994, she has worked as an academic assistant at the University of Bielefeld, where she received her doctor’s degree in 1999 and habilitated in 2003. From 2002 until 2004, she took over the Chair of Business Administration, especially Corporate Accounting/Taxation, at the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics at the University of Paderborn. Since 2004, she has been holding the Chair of Business Administration, especially Business Taxation. She received offers for the University of Graz, the Humboldt University of Berlin, the Goethe University of Frankfurt, and the University of Cologne.
Since 2010, she has been Guest Professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and Principal Investigator of the FWF Doctoral Program in International Business Taxation (DIBT). She is a founding member of arqus, working group quantitative business taxation, as well as a member of the working group “taxes” and “transfer prices” of the Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft, of which she has been a member of the executive board since 2011 and vice president since 2019. In 2013 Caren Sureth-Sloane was appointed a full member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts. She is the spokesperson for the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center TRR 266: Accounting for Transparency, was member of the DFG-Senate from 2021 to 2025 and has been DFG Vice President since January 2026. She received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Graz in 2021 and an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Business Studies and Economics at the University of Bremen in 2022.
You can find a detailed CV here.
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Prof. Caren Sureth-Sloane is Professor of Business Administration, especially Business Taxation at Paderborn University and is the spokesperson of the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency. She studies the effects of taxation on corporate decisions, especially on the impact of taxes on risky investments, as well as on international business taxation and tax complexity.
She studied economics, English, French and Chinese at the University of Passau. Since 1994, she has worked as an academic assistant at the University of Bielefeld, where she received her doctor’s degree in 1999 and habilitated in 2003. From 2002 until 2004, she took over the Chair of Business Administration, especially Corporate Accounting/Taxation, at the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics at the University of Paderborn. Since 2004, she has been holding the Chair of Business Administration, especially Business Taxation. She received offers for the University of Graz, the Humboldt University of Berlin, the Goethe University of Frankfurt, and the University of Cologne.
Since 2010, she has been Guest Professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and Principal Investigator of the FWF Doctoral Program in International Business Taxation (DIBT). She is a founding member of arqus, working group quantitative business taxation, as well as a member of the working group “taxes” and “transfer prices” of the Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft, of which she has been a member of the executive board since 2011 and vice president since 2019. In 2013 Caren Sureth-Sloane was appointed a full member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts. She is the spokesperson for the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center TRR 266: Accounting for Transparency was member of the DFG-Senate from 2021 to 2025 and has been DFG Vice President since January 2026. She received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Graz in 2021 and an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Business Studies and Economics at the University of Bremen in 2022.
| since 2026 | DFG (German Research Foundation), Vice President |
| 2021-2025 | DFG (German Research Foundation), Member of Senate |
| since 2024 | Member of the Steering Committee of the Network for Empirical Tax Research at the Federal Ministry of Finance (NeSt) |
| since 2023 | Member of the Executive Council of Verein für Socialpolitik |
| 2022-2025 | Vice Secretary for Engineering and Economics, Energy Technology and Economy and Member of the Executive Committee of the North-Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and Arts |
| since 2021 | Advisory Board International Research Group Fiscal Citizenship in Migrant Societies: An International Cross-Country Comparison (DFG-Project with intern. cooperation, TARC, University of Exeter, United Kingdom, University of Calgary, Canada, University of Würzburg, Germany |
| 2021-2022 | Vice Chairwoman of the Verein für Socialpolitik e.V. |
| since 2020 | Member of the publication commission of the Schmalenbach Business Research (SBUR) |
| since 2020 | Sub-project leader FWF doc.funds DIBT Doctoral Program in International Business Taxation, Principal Investigator (WU Vienna) (follow-up program of the doctoral program DIBT 2011-2020) |
| since 2020 | DFG Review Board Member of Review Board 112 Economics |
| since 2019 | Spokesperson of the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center TRR 266: Accounting for Transparency |
| since 2019 | Vice President of the Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft für Betriebswirtschaft e.V. |
| since 2017 | Board Member of the Schmalenbach-Stiftung |
| since 2017 | Member of the Expert Committee for Business Theory and Policy of the Verein für Socialpolitik e.V. |
| 2017-2020 | Member of Advisory Editorial Board of Schmalenbachs Zeitschrift für betriebswirtschaftliche Forschung (ZfbF) |
| 2016-2018 | Member of the Executive Committee and Treasurer of the Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft für Betriebswirtschaft e.V. |
| since 2016 | Member of the Editorial Board of the European Accounting Review |
| since 2015 | Chairwoman of the Paderborn Hochschulkreis e.V. (PHK), Alumni Association of the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics at Paderborn University |
| 2015-2020 | Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics at Paderborn University |
| 2014-2015 | Member of the Committee Interne Akademie-Strukturen of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts (AWK NRW) |
| since 2014 | Member of the Scientific Advisory Board Leibniz-WissenschaftsCampus MannheimTax (MaTax) |
| 2014 | Member of the Selection Committee Junges Kolleg 2015 of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts (AWK NRW) |
| 2014 | Chairwoman of the Program Commission for the Conference "Deutscher Betriebswirtschafter-Tag" organized by Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft e.V. on 24th and 25th September 2014 PDF |
| 2013-2014 | Chairwoman of the Program Commission of the 68th German Business Administration-Day of the Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft für Betriebswirtschaft e.V. |
| 2012-2015 | Member of the Scientific Committee of the European Accounting Association, EAA Annual Congress |
| since 2011 | Member of the Board of the Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft für Betriebswirtschaft e.V. |
| since 2011 | Member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Accounting Research (CAR) at the Karl-Franzens-University of Graz, Austria |
| 2011-2020 | Sub-project leader FWF DK-W1235-G16 DIBT Doctoral Program of International Business Taxation, Principal Investigator (WU Wien) |
| 2011-2012 | Chairwoman of the Board of the German Academic Association for Business Research (VHB) |
| 2011 | Call to a professorship (W3) in Business Administration and Business Taxation at the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne (rejected) |
| since 2010 | Member of the Accounting Committee of the Verein für Socialpolitik e.V. |
| since 2010 | Research-oriented guest professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business |
| 2010 | Call to a professorship (W3) in Business Administration, esp. Business Taxation, at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main (rejected) |
| 2009-2016 | Co-Editor of Die Betriebswirtschaft |
| 2009-2010 | Deputy Chairwoman and designated Chairwoman of the Board of the German Academic Association for Business Research (VHB) |
| since 2009 | W3 Professorship for Business Administration (esp. Business Taxation) at the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics at Paderborn University |
| 2009 | Research visit to the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH) |
| 2009 | Call to a KPMG-endowed W3 professorship in Business Taxation at the Faculty of Business Administration at the Humboldt University, Berlin (rejected) |
| since 2008 | Member of the Editorial Board of Die Betriebswirtschaft |
| since 2008 | Supervisor of the exchange programme with the Karl-Franzens University Graz, Austria |
| 2008 | Mentor of the ProFil program to professionalize women in research and teaching: Mentoring, Training, Networking at the Technical University of Berlin, Humboldt University in Berlin and the Free University Berlin |
| 2007-2011 | Vice Dean for Research of the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Paderborn University |
| 2007-2010 | Member of the Committee for Researchers and Young Academics at Paderborn University |
| 2007-2009 | Member of the Board of arqus (Working Party on Quantitative Tax Research), www.arqus.info |
| since 2007 | Member of the Editorial Board and Accounting of the Business Research |
| 2007 | Founding Member and Spokeswoman of the Center for Tax and Accounting Research (CETAR), www.cetar.org |
| 2006-2008 | Member of the Membership Committee of the German Academic Association for Business Research (VHB) |
| 2006-2008 | Spokeswoman of the Department of Taxation, Accounting and Finance at the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Paderborn |
| 2006-2007 | Chairwoman of the Organization Committee of the 69th Annual Scientific Conference of the German Academic Association for Business Research, Paderborn |
| since 2006 | Member of the Editorial Board of the Review of Managerial Science |
| 2005-2009 | Professor in charge of the Master of Science program in Business Administration at Paderborn University |
| 2005-2008 | Auditor of the Financial Affairs of the German Academic Association for Business Research (VHB) |
| since 2005 | Co-Editor of arqus Diskussionsbeiträge zur Quantitativen Steuerlehre |
| 2004-2012 | Supervisor for the Socrates exchange program with Nottingham Trent University, UK |
| 2004-2009 | C4-Professorship, Chair of Business Administration (esp. Taxation), Paderborn University |
| 2003-2004 | University lecturer, Faculty of Business Administration and Management, University of Bielefeld |
| since 2003 | Supervisor for the Erasmus exchange program with Dublin City University, Ireland |
| 2003 | Call to a professorship in accounting and taxation at the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences at the University of Graz, Austria (rejected) |
| 2003 | Call to a C4 professorship in Business Administration (esp. Accounting / Business Taxation) at the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Paderborn University |
| 2003 | Postdoctoral lecture qualification (habilitation), University of Bielefeld |
| 2002-2004 | Interim Professor, Chair of Business Administration and Management (Accounting / Business Taxation), Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, University of Paderborn |
| 1999-2003 | Research and Teaching Assistant, Chair of Business Administration and Management (esp. Business Taxation) of Prof. Dr. Rolf König, University of Bielefeld |
| 1999 | Award of title of Dr. rer. pol. |
| 1994-1999 | Ph.D. Student and Research Assistant to Prof. Dr. Rolf König, Chair of Business Administration and Management (esp. Business Taxation), University of Bielefeld |
| 1993 | Graduation (degree title: Diplom-Kauffrau), University Passau |
| 1990 | Study visit to Taiwan and China; internship in the international and foreign exchange department at Deutsche Bank |
| 1988-1993 | Business Administration, English, French and Chinese studies at the University of Passau |
| Selected Publications | |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Diller, Markus, Lorenz, Johannes, Schneider, Georg, Sureth-Sloane, Caren (2025): Is Tax Transfer Pricing Harmonization a Panacea? Real Effects of Global Tax Transparency and Standards Consistency, The Accounting Review 100 (2025) 71–102. |
| Maiterth, Ralf, Piper, Yuri, Sureth-Sloane, Caren (2025): Liquiditätseffekte einer Vermögensteuer bei Mietwohnimmobilien, Steuer und Wirtschaft 102 (2025) 67–81. | |
| 2023 | Flagmeier, Vanessa, Müller, Jens, Sureth-Sloane, Caren (2023): When Do Firms Highlight Their Effective Tax Rate?, Accounting and Business Research, 53 (1), 1-37, doi: 10.1080/00014788.2021.1958669. |
| 2023 | Hoppe, Thomas, Schanz, Deborah, Sturm, Susann, Sureth-Sloane, Caren (2023): The Tax Complexity Index – A Survey-Based Country Measure of Tax Code and Framework Complexity, European Accounting Review, 32 (2), 239-273, doi: 10.1080/09638180.2021.1951316. |
| 2022 | Blaufus, Kay, Chirvi, Malte, Huber, Hans-Peter, Maiterth, Ralf, Sureth-Sloane, Caren (2022): Tax Misperception and Its Effects on Decision Making - Literature Review and Behavioral Taxpayer Response Model, European Accounting Review, 31 (1), 111-144, doi: 10.1080/09638180.2020.1852095. |
| 2017 | Diller, Markus, Kortebusch, Pia, Schneider, Georg, Sureth-Sloane, Caren (2017): Boon or Bane? Advance Tax Rulings as a Measure to Mitigate Tax Uncertainty and Foster Investment, European Accounting Review, 26 (3), 441-468, doi: 10.1080/09638180.2016.1169939. |
| 2016 | Hoppe, Thomas, Maiterth, Ralf, Sureth-Sloane, Caren (2016): Eigenkapitalverzehr und Substanzbesteuerung deutscher Unternehmen durch eine Vermögensteuer – eine empirische Analyse, Schmalenbachs Zeitschrift für betriebswirtschaftliche Forschung, 68 (1), 3-45, doi: 10.1007/s41471-016-0005-x. |
| 2013 | Niemann, Rainer, Sureth, Caren (2013): Sooner or Later – Paradoxical Investment Effects of Capital Gains Taxation Under Simultaneous Investment and Abandonment Flexibility, European Accounting Review, 22 (2), 367-390. |
| 2012 | Gries, Thomas, Prior, Ulrich, Sureth, Caren (2012): A Tax Paradox for Investment Decisions under Uncertainty, Journal of Public Economic Theory, 14 (3), 521-545. |
| 2004 | Niemann, Rainer, Sureth, Caren (2004): Tax Neutrality under Irreversibility and Risk Aversion, Economics Letters, 84 (1), 43-47. |
| 2024 | 2023 European Accounting Review Best Paper Award for the paper “The Tax Complexity Index – A Survey-Based Country Measure of Tax Code and Framework Complexity” by Thomas Hoppe, Deborah Schanz, Susann Sturm, and Caren Sureth-Sloane |
| 2022 | Honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Business Studies and Economics at the University of Bremen |
| 2021 | Honorary doctorate of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences of the Karl Franzens University of Graz |
| 2020 | Excellence in Reviewing Recognition by the European Accounting Review |
| 2019 | Best TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency Conference Paper Award. The article “The Relation between Tax Complexity and Foreign Direct Investments: Evidence Across Countries” by Thomas Hoppe, Deborah Schanz, Susann Sturm, Caren Sureth-Sloane und Johannes Voget has been awarded |
| 2019 | Edmund Outslay Outstanding Paper Award of the University of Illinois. The article "Do Country Risk Factors Attenuate the Effect of Taxes on Corporate Risk-Taking?" by Benjamin Osswald and Caren Sureth-Sloane has been awarded at the Doctoral Consortium of the University of Illinois Symposium on Tax Research |
| 2018 | Best Conference Paper Award of the 80th VHB Annual Conference. The article "Measuring Tax Complexity across Countries - A Survey Based Approach" by Thomas Hoppe, Deborah Schanz, Susann Sturm and Caren Sureth-Sloane has been awarded |
| 2017 | WU Award for Outstanding Achievements in Research. The article "Boon or Bane? Advance Tax Rulings as a Measure to Mitigate Tax Uncertainty and Foster Investment" by Markus Diller, Pia Kortebusch, Georg Schneider and Caren Sureth in European Accouting Review, 26 (3), 441-468 has been awarded |
| 2017 | Best Paper Award des Fakultätsforschungsworkshops 2017 from the faculty of Wirtschaftswissenschaften der Universität Paderborn. The article "Measuring Tax Complexity across Countries – A Survey Based Approach" by Thomas Hoppe, Deborah Schanz, Susann Sturm and Caren Sureth-Sloane has been awarded |
| 2016 | „Business Research Reviewer of the Year 2015" of the journal Business Research of German Academic Association for Business Research (VHB) |
| 2014 | Best master module, award by the student representatives for economics of the University of Paderborn for the module "Umwandlungssteuerrecht" under the administration of Prof. Dr. Caren Sureth-Sloane, performed by Dr. Anja Rickermann, Dr. Alexandra Maßbaum and Dr. Oliver Middendorf in the wintersemester 2013/2014 |
| 2014 | Best Practice Paper Award from the German Academic Association for Business Research (VHB) for the presentation at the 76th scientific annual conference of VHB for the highest quality combined with the highest practical orientation titled: "Can Tax Rate Increases Foster Investment under Entry and Exit Flexibility? – Insights from an Economic Experiment” by Prof. Dr. René Fahr, Elmar A. Janssen and Prof. Dr. Caren Sureth |
| 2012 | Best Paper Award from the 4th Fakultätsforschungsworkshop of the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics of the University Paderborn |
| 2011 | Best Reviewer Award from the German Academic Association for Business Research (VHB) for remarkable reviews on papers submitted for the 73th Annual Conference of the VHB |
| 2003 | Award for outstanding achievements in teaching from the Paderborner Hochschulkreis |
| 2002 | Best Paper Award for a remarkable international publication by a young researcher from the German Academic Association for Business Research (VHB) |
| 2000 | Award for doctoral thesis from the Westfälisch-Lippische Universitätsgesellschaft |
| 2021-2025 | Member of the Advisory Board of the international research group Fiscal Citizenship in Migrant Societies: An International Cross-Country Comparison (DFG grant with international refer-ence to TARC, University of Exeter, United Kingdom, and Univer-sity of Calgary, Canada, project number 440793159) |
| 2021-2025 | Managing Editor of Schmalenbach IMPULSE |
| since 2020 | Member of the publication commission of the Schmalenbach Business Research (SBUR) |
| 2018-2019 | Member of the Program Commission of Deutscher Betriebswirtschafter-Tag of Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft e.V. on 26th and 27th September 2018 |
| 2017-2020 | Member of Advisory Editorial Board of Schmalenbachs Zeitschrift für betriebswirtschaftliche Forschung (ZfbF) |
| 2017-2018 | Program Coordinator arqus annual conference |
| 2017-2018 | Scientific Committee of the EAA Annual Congress |
| since 2017 | Committee of Business Theory and Politics of Verein für Socialpolitik e.V. |
| since 2016 | European Accounting Review (Editorial Board) |
| 2014-2015 | Committee Interne Akademie-Strukturen of North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and Arts (AWK NRW) |
| 2014 | Selection panel Junges Kolleg 2015 of North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and Arts (AWK NRW) |
| 2014 | Chairperson of the program commission for the conference "Deutscher Betriebswirtschaftler-Tag" organized by Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft e. V. on 24th und 25th September 2014 PDF |
| 2014 | Scientific Advisory Board Leibniz-WissenschaftsCampus MannheimTax (MaTax) |
| 2013-2015 | Scientific Comittee of the EAA Annual Congress |
| since 2011 | Center for Accounting Research (CAR) at Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz (Advisory Board) |
| 2009-2010 | American Tax Association Annual Program Committee |
| 2009-2016 | Die Betriebswirtschaft (Co-Editor) |
| 2008-2009 | Editorial Board Die Betriebswirtschaft |
| 2007-2010 | Committee for Research and Young Academics at University of Paderborn |
| since 2007 | Business Research (Editorial Board, Accounting) |
| since 2006 | Review of Managerial Science (Editorial Board) |
| since 2005 | arqus Diskussionsbeiträge zur Quantitativen Steuerlehre |
| since 2024 | Member of the Steering Committee of the Network for Empirical Tax Research at the Federal Ministry of Finance (NeSt) |
| 2017 | External Affiliated Member of NoCeT Norwegian Centre for Taxation, NHH, Bergen, Norway |
| since 2015 | Member of Research Institute for International Taxation at Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria |
| since 2014 | Member of Working Group Transfer Pricing (Arbeitskreis Verrechnungspreise) of the Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft für Betriebswirtschaft e.V. |
| since 2013 | Full Member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts (AWK NRW) |
| since 2013 | Member of Working Group Taxation (Arbeitskreis Steuern) of Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft für Betriebswirtschaft e.V. |
| since 2011 | Paderborner Hochschulkreis (PHK), alumni association of the Faculty of Economics at Paderborn University |
| since 2010 | Corporate Accounting Committee of the Verein für Socialpolitik |
| since 2010 | Member of the doctoral examination board of the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics at University of Paderborn |
| since 2008 | Schmalenbach Association for Business Administration (Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft für Betriebswirtschaft e.V.) |
| since 2007 | AAA, American Accounting Association |
| since 2007 | CETAR, Center for Tax and Accounting Research |
| since 2007 | IIPF, International Institute of Public Finance |
| since 2005 | EAA, European Accounting Association |
| since 2005 | Founding member of arqus, Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre |
| since 2002 | Deutscher Hochschulverband |
| since 2002 | German Academic Association for Business Research (Verband der Hochschullehrer für Betriebswirtschaft - VHB) - comission for business taxation - comission for accounting |
| since 2001 | GEABA, German Economic Association for Business Administration |
| since 2001 | Verein für Socialpolitik e.V. |
| Memberships of scientific advisory and supervisory boards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021- | Member of the advisory board of the international research group Fiscal Citizenship in Migrant Societies: An International Cross-Country Comparison (DFG-funded international project in cooperation with TARC, University of Exeter (United Kingdom), and University of Calgary (Canada), project no. 440793159) | ||
| Since 2014 | Scientific Advisory Board Leibniz-WissenschaftsCampus MannheimTax (MaTax) | ||
| Since 2011 | Advisory Board of the Centre for Accounting Research (CAR), Karl-Franzens-University Graz | ||
| Memberships of other supervisory boards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Since 2023 | Deloitte GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Deloitte Deutschland GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft | ||
| Since 2016 | Member of the Board of Trustees of the Prof. Dr. oec. Westerfelhaus Foundation | ||