DR. SHARIF N.

AHKAM
House # 312 Flat A4, Road # 12
Block C, Bashundhara, Dhaka 1229
Bangladesh
E-mail:sharifahkam@gmail.com
Sharif.ahkam@northsouth.edu
Skype address: hakasha252
Phone: Cell: 0177-215-9307, 0194-322-3533

 
PRESENT POSITION: Director of Graduate Studies, North South University.
Professor of Finance, School of Business and Economics, North South University, Bangladesh.
AREAS OF INTEREST:
Teaching: Financial Management, Corporate Finance, Financial Derivatives, Capital Investment
Decisions, Investment, International Corporate Finance, at graduate and undergraduate levels.

Research: Financial management issues of multinational companies, capital budgeting and cost
of capital issues, valuation issues, working capital management, portfolio management and
mutual funds.

Consulting: Corporate Finance, International Finance, Investment, Management

EDUCATION:
Doctor of Business Administration. Kent State University, 1987. 
Dissertation Title:  An Application of the Bivariate Transfer Pricing Model for Forecasting
Foreign Exchange Rates.  Dissertation Committee Chair: Dr. James C. Baker.
M.B.A. Kent State University, 1983. 
M.Com. The University of Dhaka, 1975, First Class Second.
B. Com. (Honors), The University of Dhaka, 1974, First Class Third
 
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE:
January 1, 2017 to Present: Director of Graduate Studies, North South University, Bangladesh.
September 7, 2016 to present: Professor, Department of Accounting and Finance, School of
Business and Economics, North South University, Bangladesh. Currently teaching Managerial
Finance, Corporate Finance, Financial Derivatives, Capital Investment Decisions, International
Financial Management.
January 1, 2015 to September 7, 2016: Professor and Dean, Faculty of Business
Administration, Eastern University, Bangladesh.
Director, Institutional Quality Assurance Cell, Eastern University, Bangladesh.
January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2015: Professor, School of Business Studies, Southeast
University, Bangladesh. Director: Institute of Policy Research and Training, Southeast
University.
September 2011-December 31, 2013
Associate Professor of Finance and Program Coordinator for the Finance, Accounting and
International Business Disciplines North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Teaching

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courses titled Managerial Finance, Corporate Finance, Financial Derivatives, Capital Investment
Decisions, International Financial Management, and Business Seminar, at graduate and
undergraduate level. Teaching evaluation: Excellent.
June 1994 – June 2000
Assistant Professor of Finance, Rhode Island College, Providence, RI 02908.  I taught courses in
Managerial Finance, International Finance, Statistics, and Investment.  Directly involved in
developing a Major in Finance. 
July 1987 – May 1994
Assistant Professor of Finance, A. J. Palumbo School of Business Administration, Duquesne
University, Pittsburgh, PA 15282.  Courses taught: Introductory undergraduate and graduate
Business Finance, Advanced Problems in Business Finance (Case course both at MBA and
undergraduate level), Financial Markets and Institutions (at the undergraduate level),
International Corporate Finance (both at the MBA and undergraduate levels).  Led the
redesigning of the graduate and undergraduate finance curricula to meet the AACSB
accreditation requirements.  I was actively involved in developing a major in International
Business, both at the graduate and undergraduate levels.
1983-1987
Teaching Fellow, Graduate School of Management, Kent State University.  Courses taught:
Business Finance, Business Statistics, and Business Finance.
1980-1983
Graduate Assistant, Graduate School of Management, Kent State University.
 1978-1980
Lecturer, Department of Management, University of Dhaka.  Courses taught: Financial and
Managerial Accounting, Business Management.

IQAC related Experience

Training
Attended a two week training program at Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand held in
November, 2015, on Development of Quality Assurance Program at Institutes of Higher
Education.

January 1, 2015 to September 7, 2016: Professor and Dean, Faculty of Business

Administration, Eastern University, Bangladesh.

July 2015 to September 2016: I served as the Director of Institutional Quality Assurance
Cell (IQAC) of Eastern University from July 2015 to September 2016. I directed the efforts at
instituting quality assessment measures at all levels of the university, upgrade the curricula to
make it time appropriate, ensure quality and scholarship at all levels. I directed the hosting of
about 15 workshops and seminars from improving quality education and improving research
skills of faculty members.

As Director of the IQAC, I have led the Self-Assessment Report writing for the Faculty of
Business Administration and the Faculty of Arts and Social Science. The Draft SAR has been
submitted to the University Authority.

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Member, External Peer Review Team as subject Expert for Peer Evaluation of the BBA Program
at Prime Asia University, Bangladesh, December 2017.

Member, External Peer Review Team as Local Expert for Peer Evaluation of the BBA Program
at Bangladesh University of Business and Technology (BUBT), Bangladesh, April 2018.

CORPORATE EXPERIENCE

July 2009 – August 2011

Associate General Manager, Resources for Rhode Island Education, 95 Spooner Street, Hathway
Center, Providence, RI 02905
March 2006 – December 2008
Sales Associate: Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.
North Kingstown, RI02852
September 2003 – 2006
Consultant, Kiriaki & Associates.
21 Brook Street, Suite 11
Seekonk, MA02771
July 2000-September-2003
President, Bass Data Management Corporation, a medical transcription company
1977-1978
Investment Officer, Bangladesh Industrial Credit Corporation.  I managed a portfolio of
government investments in government and partially government owned industries.  In addition,
I handled some divestment of government-owned businesses to private ownership.  Directed the
budget development and financial projections of the investment banking department.

TEXTBOOKS, RESEARCH, PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

 
Text Books

1. Introduction to Corporate Finance with Applications for Bangladesh, published by Merlin

Books, 2011.
2. In progress: Introduction to International Financial Management.
3. The Practice of Financial Management in Bangladesh: A Close Look.

Journal Articles Published

1. Liquidity, Level of Working Capital Investment and Performance in an Emerging Economy,

Sharif N. Ahkam and Khairul Alom, International Journal of Business and Economics,
January 2020 (In press).
2. Return and Volatility Spillover between Financial Market Participants of Dhaka Stock
Exchange Using Asymmetric GARCH Methods, Sharif N. Ahkam and Mohammad Kamrul
Arefin, International Journal of Trade, Economics, and Finance, Vol. 8, No. 3, June (2017),
pp 133-140.

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3. Risk and Return In Bangladesh Stock Market and Correlation With The World Market-An
Update, Sharif N. Ahkam, Syeda Marjia Hossain, North South Business Review, Volume 6,
No 9, December (2015), pp 53-66.
4. Tax Rebate and Dividend Payout in Bangladesh, Sharif N. Ahkam, Shahzada Imran, Syeda
Marjia Hossain, China-USA Business Review, Volume 13, No 9, September (2014), pp 555-
563.
5. Did Foreign Firms in Bangladesh Pay Higher Dividend during Subprime Crisis? An
Investigation, Sharif N. Ahkam, Shahzada M. Imran, and Syeda Marjia Hossain, Journal of
Advanced Management Science, Vol 2, no. 1, March 2014, pp76-82.
6. Anomalous Market Reaction to Right Share Offers in Bangladesh, Sharif Nurul Ahkam and Tawfiq
Mostafa, Global Economy and Finance Journal, Vol 8, no. 2, September 2015.
7. Interest Rates, Risk Premium, and Cost of Capital in Bangladesh, Sharif N. Ahkam and Md.
Azizur Rahman, The Cost and Management, November-December, 2011
8. Application of Linear Programming to The Management of Economic Exposure to Exchange
Rate Risk, Sharif N. Ahkam and David W. Pentico, Journal of Global Business, Vol 6, No.
11, (1995)
9. A Model for the Evaluation of the Response to Economic Exposure Risk by A Globally
Diversified Multinational Company, Sharif N. Ahkam. Managerial Finance, Vol 21, No. 4,
(1995)
10. Cash Flow Estimation and Cost of Capital for Overseas Projects, Sharif N. Ahkam and James
C. Baker. Accounting and Business Journal, Vol 23, No. 90, (Spring 1993).
11. Robust Time Series Model and Statistical Process Control, David Booth, Thomas Isenhour,
and Sharif Ahkam, Industrial Mathematics, Vol 40, Part 1, (1990)
12. A Robust Multivariate Procedure for the Identification of Problem Savings and Loan
Institutions, David Booth, Pervaiz Alam, Sharif Ahkam, and Barbara Osyk, Decision
Sciences, Journal, Vol 20, No. 2, (Spring 1989)
13. Efficiency of the Foreign Exchange Market and Forecasting Future Spot Rates, Sharif
Ahkam, Richard Bennett, and James Baker, Midwestern Journal of Business and Economics,
Vol 4, No. 1, (1989)

Forthcoming
14. Estimating Annual Returns and Cost of Equity Capital in Bangladesh, Sharif N. Ahkam and
Syeda Marjia Hossain, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management, 2018

Under Review
1. Liquidity and Corporate Profitability in Bangladesh. Sharif N. Ahkam and Khairul Alom,
Asia Pacific Financial Review.
2. Determinants of Dividend Payout Policy in a Rapidly Growing Country, Coauthored by
Sharif N. Ahkam, Shahzada Imran, Syeda Marjia Hossain, All from North South University,
Journal of Knowledge Management.
3. Tax-Holiday, Discount Rate and Valuation, Sharif N. Ahkam. Under Review at Abacus, The
Journal of Accounting and Finance.
4. Break-Even Analysis Made Better, Submitted for publication in International Journal of
Accounting and Finance.

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Published in Proceedings
1 Return and Volatility Spillover between Financial Market Participants of Dhaka Stock
Exchange Using Asymmetric GARCH Methods. International Journal of Trade, Economics,
and Finance. Coauthor, Mr. Md. Kamrul Arefin.
2 Old IPOs vs new IPOs of Bangladesh. Syeda Marjia Hossain and Sharif Nurul Ahkam, ,
Presented in the 2nd Biennial Conference of the Bangladesh Academy of Business
Administration, held January 5-7, 2017.
3 The Spread between Market Price and NAV of Mutual Funds, Sharif Nurul Ahkam, Kashfia
Haque Neelom, Syeda Marjia Hossain, Presented in the 2nd Biennial Conference of the
Bangladesh Academy of Business Administration, held January 5-7, 2017.
4 Education in Asia: The Greatest Uniting Force, Sharif N. Ahkam, Presented in the One Asia
Convention Phnom Penh 2016, held on August 5-6, 2016 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
5 Teaching Business Finance in Bangladesh. Sharif N. Ahkam and Kamrul Arefin, Presented
the International Conference on Teaching Learning, held at Independent University of
Bangladesh on April 19 and 20, 2016.
6 Corporate Social Responsibility: Impact on Social Welfare, Sharif N. Ahkam, 13th South
Asian Management Forum 2015, held on March 26-27, 2015 in Columbo, Srilanka.
7 Cointegration Analysis for Working Capital and Profitability. Sharif N. Ahkam and Khairul
Alom, presented at the 2014 Annual International Business Conference sponsored by The
Clute Institute held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, October 5-8, 2014. (Included in abstract)
8 Did Foreign Firms in Bangladesh Pay Higher Dividend during Subprime Crisis? An
Investigation, Sharif N. Ahkam, Shahzada M. Imran, and Syeda Marjia Hossain,
3rdInternational Conference on Economics and Finance Research. Held in Kualalumpur,
Malaysia, December 27-29, 2013.
9 Determinants of Dividend Payout Policy in a Rapidly Growing Economy: The Case of
Bangladesh, Presented at the 25th Annual Meeting of the Association of Global Business.
Held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on November 21-23, 2013.
10 Studying Market Reaction to Right Share Offers in Bangladesh, proceedings of 3rd Global
Accounting, Finance and Economic Conference 5-7 May, 2013, Rydges Melbourne,
Australia.
11 Aggressive Current Ratio Policy and Corporate Profitability in Bangladesh, Proceedings, 24th
International Conference of Association for Global Business held November 15-17, 2012, in
Washington, D.C.
12 Reoptimization of Operating Structure in Response to Changes in Exchange Rates, Sharif N.
Ahkam and James C. Baker, Proceedings, 1995 Annual Meeting of the Association of Global
Business held in November, in Orlando, Florida.
13 Production Decisions when Locations are in Different Countries: Application of Linear
Programming and Stochastic Dominance to Economic Exposure Management, Sharif N.
Ahkam and David W. Pentico. Proceedings, The Twenty Fifth Annual Meeting of The
Decision Science Institute, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, November 20-22, 1994
14 Management of Economic Exposure to Exchange Rate Risk: Application of Linear
Programming, Sharif N. Ahkam and David W. Pentico. Published in the Proceedings, 1994
Annual Meeting of The International Academy of Business Disciplines held in April in
Pittsburgh, PA.

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15 A Model for Economic Exposure Management of A Multinational Company: A Linear
Programming Approach. Proceedings, 1993 Annual Meeting of the Association for Global
Business held in November, in Chicago, IL.
16 The Discount Rate for International Capital Budgeting Problems: The Parent Specific
Viewpoint, Sharif N. Ahkam. Proceedings, 1992 Annual Meeting of the Association for
Global Business held in November, in New Orleans, LA.
17 Stochastic Exchange Rates and Their Effects on The Value of A Foreign Project, Sharif N.
Ahkam and Manoharlal Sukhwani, Modeling and Simulation Proceedings of the Twenty-
Third Annual Pittsburgh Conference (1992).
18 Evaluation of Affiliate Profit Performance by a Geographically Diversified Multinational
Company, Sharif N. Ahkam and Scott D. Hill, Proceedings, 1992 Mid-Atlantic Regional
Meeting of the American Accounting Association, (1992).
19 Hedging Foreign Exchange Exposure: A Comparison of the Static Independent Approach
with the Dynamic Approach, Sharif N. Ahkam and Manoharlal Sukhwani, Modeling and
Simulation, Proceedings of the Twenty-Second Annual Pittsburgh Conference (1991).
20 Robust Time Series Models Applied to Statistical Process Control, David Booth, William
Acar, Thomas Isenhour, Sharif Ahkam, Proceedings, 1988 Annual Meeting of the American
Statistical Association.
21 Daily Spot Exchange Rate Forecasting with a Bivariate Transfer Function Model, Sharif N.
Ahkam, Proceedings, Nineteenth Annual Meeting of the Midwest Decision Science Institute,
(May 1988).
22 A Multivariate Problem Savings and Loan Identification Model, David Booth, Pervaiz Alam,
Sharif Ahkam, and Barbara Osyk, Proceedings, 1987 Annual Meeting of the American
Statistical Association, (1987).
Paper Presented at a Professional Meeting (not in the Proceedings)
1. Strategies and Policies for Managing Working Capital, Presented at the 3rd International Conference,
October 2018, organized by the Faculty of Business Studies, Dhaka University.
2. Tax-Holiday, Discount Rate and Valuation, Sharif N. Ahkam. Presented at the 13th International
Knowledge Globalization Conference, 2018, held in the IUBAT Campus at 4 Embankment Drive
Road, Dhaka 1230, Sector 10, Uttara.
3. Break-Even Analysis Made Better, Sharif N. Ahkam and Sayba Kamal Athoi, presented at the
International Conference on Business and Economics, held at the University of Nevada, Las
Vegas, from March 12-16, 2018.
3. Realignment of Productive Resources by Multinational Firms in Response to Changes in
The Exchange Rate: Evidence and Suggestions. Presentation at the 1993 Annual Meeting of
the Association for Global Business, held in November, in Chicago, IL.
4. Long Term Exchange Risk Management of MNCs: Application of Linear Programming
and Stochastic Dominance to Economic Exposure Management. Presented at the 1994
Annual Meeting of the Association for Global Business, held in Las Vegas, Nevada.
5. Tax Rebate and Dividend Payout in Bangladesh: Presentation at the 2nd Global
Conference on Business Management. Coauthored by Sharif N. Ahkam, Southeast
University Bangladesh, Shahzada Imran, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, and
Syeda Marjia Hossain, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. (Included in the
Abstract)

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Cases
1. Salvo Chemical Company. A Case Study focusing on Working Capital Needs of a growing
chemical company in Bangladesh.
2. Miracle Industries: A Case Study focusing on Issues Related to the Cost of Capital of a
Bangladesh Manufacturing Company.
Contribution to Newspapers
A regular contributor on finance, business management and education topics to newspapers in
Bangladesh.

Grant Received
1993 Awarded Noble Dick Faculty Development Grant. Duquesne University.
2012 Awarded Faculty Research Grant, North South University 2012.
2014 Awarded Faculty Research Grant, Southeast University. Liquidity and Profitability-A
Cointegrating Analysis of Bangladesh Non-financial Firms. With Khairul Alom.
2015 Awarded Tk78,35,000 for IQAC of Eastern University
2015 Awarded $75,000 over three years for the One Asia Program from One Asia Foundation.
2019 Awarded Tk 3,00,000 for Faculty Research

HONORS AND AWARDS

1. 2013 Best Paper Award at the World Business Institute Conference held in Melbourne,
Australia.
2. 1993 Merit Award for being among the best in Teaching, Research, and Service in the
School of Business, Duquesne University.
3. 1990 Best Researcher Award in the School of Business, Duquesne University.
4. 1988 Beta Gamma Sigma
5. 1987 Outstanding Young American.
6. 1987 Omicron Delta Epsilon.

ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES

A. Quality Assurance

I served as the Director of Institutional Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of Eastern University
from July 2015 to September 2016. I directed the efforts at instituting quality assessment
measures at all levels of the university, upgrade the curricula to make it time relevant, ensure
quality and scholarship at all levels. I directed the hosting of about 15 workshops and seminars
on improving quality education and improving research skills of faculty members.

As Director of the IQAC, I have led the Self-Assessment Report writing for the Faculty of
Business Administration and the Faculty of Arts and Social Science. The Draft SAR have been
submitted to the University Authority.

I have been recruited by two universities (Primeasia University and Bangladesh University of
Business and Technology) as experts for their peer review of the quality of business programs
and along with two other members of the team, submitted reports to the university authorities on
time.

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At North South University, I also coordinate and supervise compliance to curriculum and
standards for the Department of Accounting and Finance. Some exam papers are randomly
chosen to evaluate the skills acquired by the graduating students.

B. Director of Graduate Studies.

I served as the Director of Institute of Research and Training at Southeast University. I have
been engaged in designing a framework for conducting and encouraging research at Southeast
University. As part of this assignment, I have developed a constitution and organization
structure for the Institute, developed guidelines for submitting proposals, conducted a number of
workshops on research methodology.

I have developed a program for Women Entrepreneurs, sponsored by City Bank, to train small
business owners and aspiring women planning to run their own businesses. This program runs
for three months, and the fourth batch is expected to start on January 19, 2020.

B. Curriculum Development

I am on the Curriculum Development Committee of Southeast University and I am actively

working on strengthening the content of our business program and the structure of various
business programs.

I also served as the Program Coordinator of Finance, Accounting and International Business at
North South University. I am actively involved in splitting the current “Accounting and
Finance” major into two separate majors. In the process, I am overseeing new course
development and upgrading the contents of existing course.

I played a critical role in revamping the Finance Curricula at Duquesne University. I proposed
and had approved an undergraduate course in International Corporate Finance and a graduate
course in International Corporate Finance. I, with other colleagues of mine, redesigned graduate
introductory business finance course and developed a second corporate finance course to bridge
the gap between the introductory graduate corporate finance course and the advanced capstone
finance course.

I played an active role in establishing a major in Finance at Rhode Island College. I was actively
involved in the development of the program, designing program contents, and establishing
criteria for a finance major.

C. Service
1. At North South University
Currently, member of the Academic Council.
Served as Coordinator for Course FIN 440.
Working with younger faculty members in developing their research portfolio.
Organizing regular “Research Adda.”
Organized several seminars and workshops on research skill development.

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Organized Faculty Orientation and Development Programs on a regular basis.
Organizing Women Entrepreneurship Certificate Program with City Bank and IFC.

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 2. At Eastern University

Have hosted several major programs at Eastern University after joining in January, 2015.
Among major programs, there were the annual Budget Vabna, Career Fair, Social Business
Academic Conclave of 2015. Activities for Budget Vabna 2016 is in progress.

I was the person assigned to obtain the UGC HEQEP funding to establish the IQAC of Eastern
University. Intensely engaged in the IQAC process of Eastern University. Currently in the
process of survey and completing the Self-Assessment Report (SAR) of two Faculties.
Regularly conducting seminars and workshops to improve teaching-learning and research skills
of faculty members.

Have organized a business centered quiz competition for college students. The title was Eastern
University Business Challenge 2016. The program was aired by Asian TV in early April, 2016.

Allied for and won a $25,000 fund from One Asia Foundation. Organized a semester long
program making the case for building One Asia.

3. At Southeast University

Have conducted several seminars and workshops at Southeast University. Assisted faculty
members in preparing proposals for research.

Currently engaged in various activities related to enhancing the quality of academic programs at
Southeast University. I am also directing the efforts in developing a research program for the
whole university. I am a member of the Academic Council, Curriculum Committee of the
School of Business Studies, and various other committees. Actively participated in designing the
guidelines for student internship/dissertation.

I was a Program Coordinator of Finance, Accounting and International Business. I was also a
member of the Graduate Admissions Committee and Curriculum Development Committee,
School of Business, North South University

I was a member on the Student Life Committee for two years, and College Faculty Senate for
one year at Rhode Island College.

I was a member of the Research Committee at the A.J. Palumbo School of Business at Duquesne
University for two years.

I was a member of the Computer Resource Evaluation Committee at the A.J. Palumbo School of
Business at Duquesne University for one year.

Served in various other school committees.

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D. Guidance for Student Thesis

I chaired three student thesis committees and had been a member in several others at Duquesne
University. I guided several students at Rhode Island College in designing and completing their
theses.

Editorial Review

Reviewed Articles for The Following Refereed Journals:

1. Investment Management and Financial Innovation.

2. International Journal of Managerial Finance.
3. Journal of Applied Corporate Finance.
4. Midwestern Journal of Economics and Business.
5. Multinational Business Review.
6. North South Business Review.
7. Eastern University Journal
8. Stamford Journal of Business Studies.
9. Prime University Journal of Business.
10. Journal of Knowledge Globalization.

Reviewed Books for Dryden Press and Howarth Press.

I reviewed articles for the 1992 Annual Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic American Accounting
Association and the 1992 Annual Meeting of the Association for Global Business.

Participation at Various Professional Meetings in other capacities:

1. Served as track chair for the finance area for the 2nd biennial conference of Bangladesh
Academy of Business Administration, 2017. Chaired two sessions also in this
conference.
2. Served as a discussant at the following meetings:
a. Academy of International Business Annual Meeting, 1987.
b. Mid-Atlantic American Accounting Association Annual Meeting, 1992.
c. Association for Global Business Annual Meetings, 1993, 1995.
3. Chaired a session of the 1995 Association for Global Business Meeting.
4. Chaired a session at the International Conference on Teaching and Learning 2016.
5. I am selected as the track chair for finance track for the Second Biennial Conference of
Bangladesh Association of Business Administration.
5. Chaired a session and participated as discussant for various sessions at the Knowledge
Globalization Conference, 2018, held in the IUBAT Campus at 4 Embankment Drive Road,
Dhaka 1230, Sector 10, Uttara.
6. Chaired a session and participated as discussant for various sessions at the International
Conference on Business and Economics, held at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas,
from March 12-16, 2018.

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Literary Interest
Like to read and write short stories and novels at leisure time. Have published two novels in
2015. The third novel “Joti” has just been published in 2016 (Both a Bangla version and an
English version).
Chanda Machher Selfi Tola, published in 2019 Boi Mela. (Children’s book.)

Community Service
1. Director, Saco Trust. Saco Trust helps needy and destitute individuals to support
themselves. The Trust also helps victims of natural disasters.
2. Director, Socio-Economic Development Organization. This organization is involved
with helping the neglected segment of the community and help the members stand on
their own feet.
3. Trustee. Bangladesh Eye Trust Hospital

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