The 39th International Finance Symposium was held between October 23–26, 2025, at Juju Premier Palace Hotel in Kemer, Antalya, under the hosting of the Department of Finance, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences (FEAS), Afyon Kocatepe University (AKU).
The symposium, which brought together 163 scholars and featured the presentation of 81 papers, was attended by AKU FEAS Dean Prof. Dr. Gökhan Demirtaş, Chair of the 39th International Finance Symposium Organizing Committee and Head of the Department of Finance Prof. Dr. İhsan Cemil Demir, organizing committee members Dr. Pınar Bengi Kaya, Dr. Neslihan Karakuş Büyükben, Dr. Merve Malak, Research Assistant Dr. Senem Koç Arslan, Research Assistant İshak Altunışık, and numerous academicians.
During the opening ceremony, Prof. Dr. İhsan Cemil Demir, Chair of the Organizing Committee, and Prof. Dr. Gökhan Demirtaş, Dean of the Faculty, delivered their inaugural speeches.
In his opening remarks, Prof. Dr. İhsan Cemil Demir emphasized that the Finance Symposium has become a long-standing tradition and has now reached an international level. He noted that a total of 81 papers would be presented in 21 sessions and added, “Our distinguished speakers include Prof. Dr. Muhsin Kar, Member of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) Board, Prof. Dr. Benno Torgler from Queensland University of Technology, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Christoph Kogler from Tilburg University.”
Prof. Dr. Gökhan Demirtaş, Dean of the Faculty, expressed his satisfaction in hosting such a well-established symposium, stating, “Our Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences was founded in 1974 as the Afyon School of Finance and Accounting. To date, we have graduated more than 18,000 students, over 7,000 of whom are from the Department of Finance.” Reminding that the Faculty’s founder, Prof. Dr. Aykut Herekman, was also the founder and honorary president of the Finance Symposium, Demirtaş added that Herekman believed young academics would carry the symposium to even greater heights. He also emphasized that the faculty has been contributing to education and research in the field of finance for over fifty years.
Following the opening speeches on the first day of the symposium, CBRT Board Member Prof. Dr. Muhsin Kar delivered an invited lecture titled “Structural Transformation in Public Finance.” After the presentation and Q&A session, Prof. Dr. İhsan Cemil Demir presented a certificate of appreciation and a plaque to Prof. Dr. Muhsin Kar.
On the second day of the symposium, invited speakers Prof. Dr. Benno Torgler from Queensland University of Technology and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Christoph Kogler from Tilburg University delivered their online presentations titled “Methodological Opportunities in the Area of Tax Compliance” and “Information Processing in Tax Compliance Decisions,” respectively.
The 39th International Finance Symposium concluded with the General Assembly after two days of paper presentations.
