Utz Schäffer

Professor Schäffer is a full professor of Management Accounting and Control and Director of the Institute of Management Accounting and Control (IMC) at WHU. He also acts as speaker of the Accounting & Control Group.

Prof. Schäffer studied business administration at WHU as well as at the EM Lyon and the Kellogg Graduate School of Management in Chicago. In 1996, he received his doctorate at the Chair of Controlling and Telecommunications at WHU under Professor Jürgen Weber and qualified as a university professor there in 2001. A year later, he accepted the Chair of Business Administration, particularly Management Accounting and Control, at the EBS Business School in Oestrich-Winkel where he also held the academic position of Associate Dean for Research and served as Chair of the Doctoral Committee from 2003 to 2007.

His research focuses on the development, implementation and use of management accounting systems, as well as the influence of top management team members on these systems. Professor Schäffer’s research has been published in many international journals such as Management Accounting Research, European Accounting Review and others. He also serves as reviewer for various scholarly accounting journals and is co-editor of Journal of Management Control, as well as Zeitschrift für Controlling und Management. He is co-author of the leading German-language textbook “Einführung in das Controlling” (16th edition) which has since been translated into Chinese, English, Russian and Polish.

Academic Positions

• Since 2007 WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Vallendar, Germany Chair of Management Accounting & Control, Director of the Institute of Management Accounting and Control (with Lukas Löhlein and Marko Reimer)
• 2002 – 2007 EBS Business School, Oestrich-Winkel, Germany Chair of Management Accounting & Control
• 1998 – 2001 WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Vallendar, Germany Assistant Professor, Venia Legendi for Business Administration

Education

• 1993 – 1996 WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Vallendar, Germany Ph.D. in Management (Dr. rer. pol.)
• 1989 – 1993 WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, Vallendar, Germany Studies in Business Administration with exchange semesters at Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, Chicago (USA), and EM LYON Business School, Lyon (France)

Practical Experience

• since 2007 CTcon GmbH, Vallendar and Düsseldorf, Germany Member of Scientific Advisory Council
• 1996 – 1998 McKinsey & Company, Inc., Munich, Germany Consultant
• 1993 – 1994 CTcon GmbH, Vallendar and Düsseldorf, Germany Consultant

Activities and Functions

• Visiting Professorships Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway (2022) Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, Dalian, China (2012–2015) University of Innsbruck, Austria (2003–2004)
• Appointments Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the International Association of Controllers (since 2020) Chairman of the Accounting Section of the German Association of Business Research (since 2022)
• Editorships Journal of Management Control Controlling & Management Review
• Positions at WHU Ombudsperson (since 2009) Group Speaker Management Group (2013-2019) Group Speaker Accounting & Control Group (2008–2013)

Awards

• AAA Management Accounting Best Paper Award 2022
• VHB Textbook Award 2021
• David Solomons Prize 2016
• WHU Best Teacher Award (MLB Program) 2010