Lerong (Lara) Cai
PhD Candidate at Monash Business School
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Lerong (Lara) Cai
(She/Her)
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Accounting
Biography
Lara is a PhD candidate, Teaching Associate, and Research Associate in the Department of Accounting at Monash University. She holds a Master of Commerce in Finance from the University of Auckland, a Master of Commerce in Accounting and Finance from the University of Sydney, and a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and Management from the University of Auckland. Her current research uses textual analysis to study firms’ earnings conference calls, with a particular focus on understanding labor frictions and their implications for corporate financial decision-making.
Her research interests center on corporate governance, labor finance, angel investing behavior, and the state-of-the-art use of artificial intelligence in financial settings. She is an ad hoc reviewer for Economic Modelling and has served in several student representative roles for the PhD community.
Research Interests
Corporate Governance
Labor Finance
Angel Investing
Emerging Technologies
Teaching Experience
ACF5320 - Business Analytics (Sem 1, 2026)
- Power BI and Excel-based business analytics for financial accounting, management accounting, auditing, and taxation.
- Teaching Evaluation Score: 91/100
Awards
Best Paper Award (July 2026)
Awarded for the paper "Firm-level Labor Risk Exposure: An Artificial Intelligence Approach"
at the Macquarie University Accounting and Finance Conference 2026
Working Paper
“Firm-level Labor Risk Exposure: An Artificial Intelligence Approach”
With Cameron Truong and Xiaoxiao Yu
Presented at 2026 Hawaii Accounting Research Conference (HARC 2026),
2026 Accounting & Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand Conference (AFAANZ 2026) ,
2026 Macquarie University Accounting and Finance Conference.
“Narrative Transportation in Entrepreneurial Pitch Narratives: Evidence from Shark Tank”
With Cameron Truong and Xiaoxiao Yu
Presented at 2026 AAA Global Doctoral Student/Faculty Interchange Program (AAA Spark Meeting 2026)
Conference Presentation
2026 Hawaii Accounting Research Conference (HARC 2026)
2026 Accounting & Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand Conference (AFAANZ 2026)
2026 AAA Global Doctoral Student/Faculty Interchange Program (AAA Spark Meeting 2026)
2026 Macquarie University Accounting and Finance Conference
Professional Service & Volunteer Roles
Ad Hoc Reviewer for
Economic Modelling (ABDC Journal Quality Rating: A)
2026 Hawaii Accounting Research Conference (HARC 2026)
PhD Student Representative for
Monash Accounting Department (Current)
Monash Business School Research Degree Committee (Former)
Monash Business School Dean's Student Forum (Former)
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