In conversation with Prof Tan Hun Tong: A career rooted in service

Text: Jesmine Ong

Appointed as the inaugural holder of the United Overseas Bank (UOB) Professorship in Banking in 2005, Professor Tan Hun Tong’s connection to the professorship is deeply personal. As an Accountancy undergraduate in Singapore, he was a recipient of a three-year scholarship from the then Overseas Union Bank. This support eased the financial burden on his family and enabled him to embark on what would become a lifelong academic journey. When Overseas Union Bank was later acquired by UOB, the relationship came full circle.

Prof Tan Hun Tong – inaugural UOB Professor in Banking.

“As I reflect on my academic journey, I see UOB supporting me all the way from my undergraduate studies to my path as a professor. Holding this title reminds me of my humble roots, of the importance of support for education, and motivates me to be a good educator to give back to society,” he shares.

The timing of the appointment was also significant. It marked the conclusion of his seven-year tenure as Head of the Accounting Division at Nanyang Business School.

“Those were formative years,” Prof Tan recalls. “We are a group of young academics building a school, guided by shared values of scholarship and service.”

The UOB Professorship remains, for him, both a marker of that era and a reminder of the responsibility that comes with it. As the college’s only local endowed chair professor , his appointment reflects a belief in developing home-grown academic leadership that resonates globally.

Accounting with a human lens

While accounting is often associated with numbers and standards, Prof Tan’s work focuses squarely on people. His research examines judgment and decision-making in accounting, drawing on psychological theories and experimental methods to understand how individuals respond to policies, disclosures, incentives, and emerging technologies.

For example, Prof Tan examines how accounting rules and compensation incentives influence loan officers’ lending decisions and risk management. The findings offer practical insights for banks seeking to design better credit processes, incentives, and risk controls. This approach allows him to generate ex-ante evidence – insights into how proposed standards or practices may influence behaviour before they are implemented.

“Policy makers and firms want to understand consequences in advance,” he explains. “Experiments allow us to examine not just economic outcomes, but human ones, including unintended effects that might otherwise be overlooked.”

One of his most ambitious current projects reflects this philosophy. Working with a public accounting firm in China, Prof Tan is conducting a field experiment on the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in auditing. As audit firms invest heavily in AI capabilities, regulators have raised concerns about whether these tools truly enhance audit quality. By analysing granular data at the level of individual auditors and engagements, the study seeks to provide rare causal evidence in an area where empirical insights have been limited.

The project has already attracted international attention. In September 2025, it was selected for presentation at a conference co-hosted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in the United States, where senior regulators expressed strong interest in its findings. For Prof Tan, this exemplifies how research supported by endowed professorships can inform global policy discussions.

Prof Tan presenting his research on the use of Gen AI in auditing at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in the US in September 2025.

Global recognition and thought leadership

Since taking on the UOB Professorship, Prof Tan has reached several milestones that underscore his standing in the field. He was awarded Singapore’s Public Administration Medal (Silver) at National Day Awards 2016.

In 2021, he received the American Accounting Association’s Notable (Lifetime) Contribution Award in Behavioural Accounting – one of the discipline’s highest honours. The following year, he was appointed editor-in-chief of Accounting, Organizations and Society, a leading international journal and part of the Financial Times Top 50 list. He is the journal’s first Asian editor-in-chief.

These leadership roles extend the impact of his professorship well beyond his own research. As an editor, Prof Tan helps shape research agendas, editorial standards, and scholarly dialogue across the global accounting community.

The stability and support provided by the UOB Professorship have been critical in enabling him to take on these responsibilities while continuing his own research.

“It is a big responsibility,” he reflects, “but one that allows me to contribute to the field in a broader way, by supporting rigorous and meaningful research.”

Prof Tan speaking at the International Symposium on Audit Research 2025, co-organised by NTU and other universities.

Mentoring the next generation

Teaching and mentorship are central to Prof Tan’s academic mission. Experimental research often requires extensive field engagement, overseas collaboration, and participant funding – all made possible through the UOB Professorship.

To date, he has supervised more than 20 doctoral students, many of whom are now faculty members at leading universities across Asia, Australia, Europe and the United States.

Through their work as educators and researchers, these graduates extend NTU’s influence worldwide, shaping students, institutions, and policy conversations in their respective countries. “They are not just academics,” Prof Tan observes. “They are multipliers.”

Prof Tan (standing, 4th from left) with his current and former doctoral students during a visit to China in 2025.

Prof Tan’s commitment to giving back extends beyond the university. For nearly three decades, he has served on boards and committees across multiple government ministries. One notable role is being on the Board of Visitors at the Ministry of Family and Social Development.

Beginning with destitute and old folks’ homes, and later extending to orphanages, homes for delinquent youths, and adult disability homes, his role involves safeguarding care standards and spending time listening to residents and understanding their needs. For Prof Tan, who comes from a modest background, this service reflects a deeply held belief that education and opportunity carry a responsibility to serve.

“I wanted to serve in ways that engaged the heart,” he reflects. In parallel, he has spent 30 years as advisor to the NTU Buddhist Society, mentoring generations of student leaders. More recently, he has trained as an inner work facilitator, supporting individuals through periods of personal transition – with all fees directed to charity.

Prof Tan (front row, 3rd from left) with members of the NTU Buddhist Society in 2018.

Prof Tan’s journey is a reminder that when education is supported at the right moment, its impact can last a lifetime. Through endowed professorships, philanthropic support has enabled ideas to grow into insight, students into leaders, and research into real-world change.

Learn more about NTU’s Professorships here.