Helmi Hammami

Professor Helmi Hammami is a Full Professor of Accounting at Rennes School of Business, France, where he is currently Senior Advisor for Knowledge Transfer. His portfolio covers research valorization and making research more embedded in society and more closely connected to societal issues.

Until September 2021, he was Academic Dean of Rennes SB, managing the school’s academic affairs. He has also held several other leadership positions there, including Senior Advisor for Accreditations, Head of the Department of Finance and Accounting, and Head of the Department of Strategy and Innovation.

Before joining Rennes SB, he worked for several years at Qatar University, where he was very active in university reform. He was Head of the Department of Accounting and Information Systems, with responsibilities covering several aspects of the school’s academic affairs. He has also held professorships and consulting appointments in Tunisia and Italy.

He has led several committees on quality assurance, faculty affairs and accreditations. With extensive international experience, he is well versed in academic reform, especially in relation to the requirements of international accreditation bodies, with which he is closely engaged, and in faculty management in multicultural settings. He has a good knowledge of the North American and French education systems and, in particular, of Middle Eastern and African education systems.

He holds a PhD in Accounting and Finance from Bocconi University, Italy. He is a former resident fellow of the Collegio di Milano and a recipient of the French Government fellowship for outstanding overseas academics.

He specializes in accounting topics, notably financial reporting (IFRS), fraud risk governance and accounting for economic development, and has several publications in international refereed academic journals. He works extensively with professional accounting bodies to strengthen ties between academia and practice: he was Vice-President for Academic Relations of the French chapter of the IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) and is active with French and other accounting bodies. He is currently a member of the accreditation governance of the Association of African Business Schools (AABS).

Giving back to the community, he sits on the boards of several SMEs and advises emerging entrepreneurs.