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Cedric Lesage, PhD

Pronouns: He/Him

Thesis supervisor Accepting inquiries

Associate Dean of Research & Impact

Lawrence S. Bloomberg Chair in Accountancy

Contact information

Biography

Cédric Lesage currently serves as Associate Dean Research & Impact at John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, in Montreal, Canada, and holds the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Chair in Accountancy.  His career includes key leadership roles such as President of the Association Francophone de Comptabilité (AFC), Vice President at large of the International Association for Accounting Education & Research (IAAER), and directorship of the doctoral program at the John Molson School of Business and of the CEFAG Doctoral Program of Excellence in France.

Beginning his professional journey with experience in an audit firm (Ernst & Young Paris), he went on to earn his PhD from the University of Rennes 1. Dr. Lesage's academic path evolved from Assistant to Associate Professor at IAE Rennes, eventually reaching the rank of Professor. His academic affiliations include the IAE of Rennes, the IAE of Paris at the University Paris La Sorbonne, and a decade-long tenure at HEC Paris as an Associate Professor. He has shared his expertise as a guest speaker at various universities in Europe and North America, and has held visiting professorships at Concordia University in Canada (2012) and New York University-Shanghai in China (2014).

Dr. Lesage's academic contributions encompass co-authoring two books: "Introduction à la Comptabilité" with B. Colasse, and "Connectionnist Approaches in Management" with M. Cottrell. Additionally, he has published numerous research articles in accounting and ethics journals. His primary research theme revolves around governance issues, particularly from an auditor's perspective, as well as the examination of fraudulent behavior within companies. He actively participates in the scientific committees of several international scientific associations and serves as an associate editor and board member for various international scientific journals.

Supervised programs: Business Administration (PhD)

Research areas: Ethics, Corporate Governance, Audit, Fraudulent Financial Statements

Teaching domains: Accountancy, Research in Audit, Accounting Theory, Foundations of Business Research

Intellectual contributions (last 10 years)

Peer-reviewed journal articles

BARROSO, R., BEN ALI, C., LESAGE, C., OYON, D. (2023). Blockholder heterogeneity and audit fees: Does private information matter? Accounting in Europe, 20 (1), 1-36. doi:10.1080/17449480.2022.2091465.

BEN ALI, C., BARROSO, R., LESAGE, C., OYON, D. (2023). Auditing complex company structures. AB Magazine.

LARMANDE, F., LESAGE, C. (2023). Auditor's professional judgment, audit efficiency and interplay between legal liability and regulatory oversight. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 42 (6), 107130. doi:10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2023.107130.

PIMENTEL, E., LESAGE, C., ALI, S. B. H. (2023). Auditor independence in kinship economies: a MacIntyrian perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 183 (2), 365-381. doi:10.1007/s10551-022-05073-6.

BARROSO, R., BEN ALI, C., LESAGE, C. (2018). Blockholders’ ownership and audit fees: The impact of the corporate governance model. European Accounting Review, 27 (1), 149-172. doi:10.1080/09638180.2016.1243483.

HOOS, F., SAAD, E. B., LESAGE, C. (2018). Why are auditors blamed when something goes wrong? Experimental evidence. International Journal of Auditing, 22 (3), 422-434. doi:10.1111/ijau.12126.

COHEN, J., DING, Y., LESAGE, C., STOLOWY, H. (2017). Media bias and the persistence of the expectation gap: An analysis of press articles on corporate fraud. Journal of Business Ethics, 144 (3), 637-659. doi:10.1007/s10551-015-2851-6.

LESAGE, C., RATZINGER-SAKEL, N. V. S., KETTUNEN, J. (2017). Consequences of the abandonment of mandatory joint audit: An empirical study of audit costs and audit quality effects. European Accounting Review, 26 (2), 311-339. doi:10.1080/09638180.2016.1152558.

LESAGE, C., HOTTEGINDRE, G., BAKER, C. R. (2016). Disciplinary practices in the French auditing profession. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 29 (1), 11-42. doi:10.1108/AAAJ-12-2012-1169.

Book chapters

PIMENTEL, E., LESAGE, C. (2023). Auditing and ethics. In Marion Brivot, Charles Cho (Eds.), Research Handbook on Accounting and Ethics (pp. 84-100). Edward Elgar Publishing. doi:10.4337/9781800881020.00015.

Conference presentations

LESAGE, C., PIMENTEL, E., ALI, S. B. H. (2024). Tunisian auditors in a post-colonial context: Fahlawa as a third space. European Accounting Association (EAA) Annual Congress, Bucharest.

BEN ALI, C., BARROSO, R., LESAGE, C., OYON, D. (2022). Blockholder heterogeneity and audit fees: does private information matter? Association Francophone de Comptabilité (AFC) Annual Conference, Bordeaux.

BEN ALI, C., BARROSO, R., LESAGE, C., OYON, D. (2022). Blockholder heterogeneity and audit fees: does private information matter? International Conference on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Family Business, Tunis.

LESAGE, C., BELZÉ, L., HOTTEGINDRE, G., LOISON, M.-C. (2022). What do we know about lobbying in accounting? Canadian Academic Accounting Association (CAAA) Annual Conference, Saskatoon, SK.

BARROSO, R., BEN ALI, C., LESAGE, C. (2019). Blockholder heterogeneity and audit fees: Does private information matter? Conférence Internationale de Gouvernance (CIG), Brusells.

BARROSO, R., BEN ALI, C., LESAGE, C. (2018). The moderating effect of small significant shareholders on shareholder protection. Association francophone de comptabilité (AFC) congrès annuel, Nantes.

BEN ALI, C., BARROSO, R., LESAGE, C. (2018). Blockholder heterogeneity and audit fees: Does private information matter? Paris Financial Management Conference (PFMC), Paris.

Research seminars

LESAGE, C. (2022). What do (and don't) we know about lobbying in Accounting? Chaire de Coopération Guy Bernier, UQAM, Montreal, QC.

LESAGE, C. (2016). Invited presentation. HEC Montreal, Montreal, QC.

LESAGE, C. (2016). Invited presentation. Innsbrück University, Innsbrück.

Invited speaker at conference

LESAGE, C. (2022). How different contexts impact different doctoral ecosystems? EFMD Doctoral Conference.

LESAGE, C. (2018). Accounting and ethics. European Accounting Association Conference, Maastricht.

LESAGE, C. (2018). Comportement éthique et pratiques de la RSE. Association Francophone pour le Savoir (ACFAS).

Research funding (last 10 years)

External research funding

2023 - 2024: John Molson Perspective
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canada
2021 - 2023: How companies managed quarterly earnings during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Canadian Academic Accounting Association (CAAA), Canada
2020: Do companies manage earnings during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Canada

Internal research funding

2019: Concordia Accounting Research Seminars
Aid to Research Related Events, Exhibition, Publication and Dissemination Activities (ARRE), Canada
2018: Concordia Accounting Research Seminars
Aid to Research Related Events, Exhibition, Publication and Dissemination Activities (ARRE), Canada
2017: Concordia Accounting Research Seminars
Concordia University, Canada
2017: Influence of law regime on audit fees
Concordia University, Canada
2017: Concordia Accounting Research Seminars
Aid to Research Related Events, Exhibition, Publication and Dissemination Activities (ARRE), Canada

Student supervision (last 10 years)

Theses supervised completed

PhD dissertations

2021: Erica Pimentel, Making the Best of It: Three Essays on Overcoming Challenges in the Public Accounting Profession

2020: Zilu Shan, Three essays in Audit research

Theses committee membership

Teaching experience (last 5 years)

John Molson School of Business

Undergraduate

2017 - 2022: ACCO400 Accounting Theory

Graduate

Since 2024: EMBA610 Measuring and Reporting Financial Performance
2024: ADMI861 Accountancy and Control
2023 - 2024: ADMI871 Foundations of Business Research
2019 - 2022: ADMI861 Research in Auditing

External

Since 2014: Financial Accounting - Mediterranean School of Business

Honours, awards, prizes, and distinctions (last 10 years)

Research

2023: Top 10% of Authors on SSRN by all-times downloads
Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN), United States
2022: Top 10% of Authors on SSRN by all-times downloads
Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN), United States
2021: Top 10% of Authors on SSRN by all-times downloads
Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN), United States
2020: Top 10% of Authors on SSRN by all-times downloads
Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN), United States
2020: The Lazaridis Institute Prize for Best Paper on Accounting Issues Relevant to Technology Firms
Canadian Academic Accounting Association (CAAA), Canada
2019: Top 10% of Authors on SSRN by all-times downloads
Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN), United States
2018: Top 10% of Authors on SSRN by all-times downloads
Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN), United States
2017: Top 10% of Authors on SSRN by all-times downloads
Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN), United States

Work experience

John Molson School of Business

Since 2023: Associate Dean of Research & Impact

Since 2016: Lawrence S. Bloomberg Chair in Accountancy

Since 2016: Professor, Department of Accountancy

2019 - 2023: Director of the PhD in Administration

2012: Visiting Associate Professor

External

Academic

2006 - 2016: Associate Professor
HEC Paris, France
2014: Visiting Associate Professor
New York University Shanghai, China
2003 - 2006: Professor
Université Rennes, France
2000 - 2002: Assistant Professor
Université Rennes, France

Industry

1991 - 1996: Auditor Manager
Ernst & Young
1990 - 1991: Officer
French Navy, France

Education

Degrees

1999: Doctor of Philosophy
Université Rennes, France
1996: Master of Philosophy
Université Rennes, France
1990: Master of Science (MSc), Business Administration, Accountancy
École Superieure de Commerce de Rouen, France
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