Professor Aaron Yoon is interested in how to account for a firm's Environment Social Governance (ESG) efforts and integrate the information into portfolio decision making process. According to the Financial Times, his research on ESG was a turning point on how investors viewed and integrated ESG information and also a tipping point for action. His work has been regularly cited in other outlets such as Bloomberg, Forbes, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. 

He also won multiple awards for his research and teaching, including the Responsible Business Education Award from the Financial Times, Best 40 Under 40 Professors Recognition from Poets & Quants, Crowell Prize for Best Paper in Quantitative Investing from PanAgora Asset Management, Chair's Core Teaching Award from Northwestern Kellogg, Best Dissertation Award from the American Accounting Association, and Graham and Dodd Scroll Award from the CFA Institute. 

Professor Yoon earned his Doctorate from Harvard University and his master’s and bachelor’s from Northwestern University. Prior to academia, he worked as an equities salestrader and a research analyst at Credit Suisse.

• DBA, 2018, Accounting and Management, Harvard Business School
• MA, 2011, Economics, Northwestern University
• BA, 2011, Economics & Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences (MMSS), Northwestern University

• Assitant Professor, Donald P. Jacobs Scholar, Accounting Information & Management, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

• Equities Salestrader/Quantitative Analyst, Credit Suisse, 2011-2013
• Air Traffic Controller, 8TH U.S. Army, 2007-2009

• Best Paper Award, Chinese Accounting Professors’ Association of North America Conference
• Graham and Dodd Scroll Award, CFA Society
• Responsible Business Education Award, Financial Times
• Deloitte Research Award
• Poets and Quants Best 40 Under 40 Professors Award
• Dr. Richard A. Crowell Memorial Prize for Best Paper in Quantitative Investing, Pan Agora Asset Management
• Northwestern Kellogg MBA Chair's Core Teaching Award, 2019-2020
• Best Reviewer Award, International Accounting Section of the American Accounting Association
• Outstanding Dissertation Award, International Accounting Section of the American Accounting Association

• Referee, Journal of Financial Economics, 2023
• Editor, Accounting Horizon, 2024
• Editor, The International Journal of Accounting, 2024
• Associate Editor, European Accounting Review, 2024
• Associate Editor, Accountability in a Sustainable World, 2022
• Associate Editor, China Accounting and Finance Review, 2022
• Editor, British Accounting Review Special Issue on Green Finance, 2023-2024
• Editor, The International Journal of Accounting Special Issue on ESG, 2023

ESG Investing and Sustainability Reporting (ACCT-459-0)
This course introduces students to ESG investing and sustainability reporting. It is an exercise to bridge the gap in traditional financial reporting and fundamental analysis, and to provide a new view on how a firm's social and environmental performance are related to firm value. Through cases, interactions with guest speakers, and a group research project, students will learn about how firms communicate ESG information, how data vendors and analysts analyze ESG information to build sustainability-related metrics, how investors use them to make portfolio decisions, and most importantly, how to overcome some of the associated challenges.

Financial Accounting (ACCT-430-0)
This course acquaints students with the process used to construct and understand the financial reports of organizations. The objective is to understand the decisions that must be made in the financial reporting process and to develop the ability to evaluate and use accounting data. Emphasis is placed on understanding the breadth of accounting measurement practices and on being able to make the adjustments necessary for careful analysis. The course highlights the linkages between accounting information and management planning, and decision making and control. Course sections that end in "H" will be taught in a format that combines the convenience and flexibility of online learning with the social and instructional benefits of face-to-face classroom experiences. Online sessions are conducted synchronously with classmates and faculty.