Accounting, Finance and Economics
The main focus of research within the department is on how accountability is achieved, explored from both theoretical and practical perspectives and encompassing a range of disciplinary and methodological approaches.
Research is currently conducted into corporate governance, external reporting and internal control structures and processes in a range of organisations, including large UK plcs, local and central government and charities. Researchers also investigate the thinking which underpins accountability in practice, such as stakeholder theory and accounting conceptual frameworks. In the information management area, areas of expertise focus on IS in SMEs and teleworking. Research in economics focuses on aspects of international trade, environmental economics and climate change, social cost-benefit analysis, political economy and international economic development.
Research into corporate governance regulation and the role of market actors has included a recent literature survey commissioned by HM Treasury on the effects of intervention in the investment chain. Other funded projects have included: a comparative study of responses to consultations on corporate governance regulation in the US and the UK (funded by ICAS) an award by IAAER and ACCA for a study of the nature of judgement in auditing, to inform the work of the IAASB and the award of a visiting research fellowship by ifs (formerly the Institute of Bankers) for a study of the state-owned banks following the recent financial crisis. The department has established a Third Sector Study Group and is currently developing research into the governance of Third Sector organisations, particularly charities, building on the ACES project established by the Accounting Fields, in which student volunteers are trained by a local accountancy firm to assist local charities with basic accounting.
New staff recently appointed: two Lecturers on fixed term contracts and one Senior Lecturer, all planning to start PhDs; two more about to join us, both completing PhDs (Durham, Bath).
Prof Laura Spira
Professor of Corporate Governance and Research Area Leader
Research Interests
The transfer of corporate governance mechanisms from the private to the public and third sectors; the role of non-executive directors; audit committees; internal audit; the use of metaphor in accounting and corporate governance.
Current Projects
Book contract (with Judy Slinn) with Oxford University Press: history of the Cadbury Committee, for Jan 2012; developing papers for publication on role of non-executive directors, visual metaphors of corporate governance, board diversity.
Dr Ian Dennis
Senior Lecturer
Research Interests
My research interests include enquiry into the idea of a conceptual framework for accounting and financial reporting. I am interested in extending the method of conceptual enquiry into other accounting expressions such as the idea of a 'principles-based' accounting system and the idea of 'judgement' in a 'principles-based' accounting system. I also have research interests in the 'expectations gap' in auditing and the nature of auditing standards resulting from the 'Clarity Project' undertaken by the IAASB.
Current Projects
Working on project funded by the ACCA on The Nature of Professional Judgement in Auditing. Book contract with Routledge: "The Nature of Accounting Regulation". Journal articles on the nature of judgement in financial reporting.
Catherine Dilnot
Senior Lecturer
Research Interests
Accounting education - in particular the use of 'real life' practice to enhance learning in the context of charities and also decision making by graduates. Charity accounting - in particular users and uses of charity accounts and the way ideas of users and uses are assumed in the formation of conceptual frameworks and accounting regulation of charities.
Current Projects
Project with Karen Handley for ICAEW looking at how graduates make choices about accountancy training. Writing paper on ACES project.
Stephen Duhan
Senior Lecturer
Research Interests
Stephen's research interests are in the strategic use of IS/IT, particularly in medium-sized SMEs. He has a particular interest in the resource-based view of strategy, the notion of organisational capabilities and in the application of systems theories in a variety of contexts.
Dr Sandra Einig
Senior Lecturer
Research Interests
My main area of interest is accountability in the investment chain. More specifically I am currently investigating two institutions in the investment chain: credit ratings agencies and nationalised banks. Future work in this area could include various aspects of regulation or governance of banks and other institutions in the investment chain.
Current Projects
Working on project funded by ifs (Henry Grunfeld Visiting Research Fellow) on nationalised banks.
Dr David Evans
Reader
Research Interests
Key parameters for social cost-benefit analysis: theory, estimation and application. Over the last 10 years, my research has mainly focused on social discount rates and equity welfare weights. Most of my journal publications have concentrated on member countries of the European Union.
Current Projects
Currently working on two journal papers:
- Long-term discounting under uncertainty (working with Dr Yoko Nagase).
Target journal: Economics Letters (3*). - Social valuation of income and equity welfare weights.
Target journal: Economica (3*)
Dr Kumari Juddoo
Senior Lecturer
Research Interests
Indirect taxation and compliance costs; personal taxation and tax gap studies.
Current Projects
Developing papers from PhD on 'The compliance costs of the Value Added Tax in Mauritius'.
Cathy Knowles
Senior Lecturer
Research Interests
I am interested in performance measurement and management, particularly in charities. I hope to investigate the role of different stakeholders and their management accounting requirements.
Current Projects
I have enrolled at Bristol University to undertake a PhD supervised by Professor Sheila Ellwood.
Dr Diana Limburg
Senior Lecturer
Research Interests
My research interest is the impact of IT on organisational form, especially teleworking. Related to this I am also interested in the use of IT to support management control, particularly in contexts of remote working, but also more generally. One instantiation of this is 'enterprise performance management', which is using IT to analyse consolidated performance data for an integrated performance management approach (operational, tactical and strategic). As much of such data is financial (and to reflect the nature of the department), this also leads to an interest in the impact of such technologies on the accounting function in organisations.
Current Projects
Working with SAS (Analytics company) to support research (particularly in 3rd sector). Research related to KTP with Chiumento.
Maureen McCulloch
Senior Lecturer
Research Interests
My research interests are in accounting for social enterprise and third sector organisations, particularly trading charities and co-operatives. Particular areas of interest – whether accounting structures obscure similarity of purpose between charities and co-operatives; problems raised by IFRS convergence particularly for the social sector; the equity/liability debate; integrated reporting in social enterprises and how and why this differs from reporting in purely commercial enterprises.
Current Projects
Working with CK and DL on the information needs of charity trustees – paper presented to NCVO conference Sept 2011, ICAS bid in preparation; Working on arts charities and co-operatives with the Independent Theatre Council UK, for a chapter in Sustainable Co-operative Enterprises, ed. Mazzarol & Riboud, Edward Elgar pub 2013 (a broad international collaboration). Paper presented to first International workshop on accounting for co-operatives, Sept 2011, Valencia. Enrolling for a PhD at Sheffield Hallam, supervisors Gareth Morgan and Rory Ridley-Duff, start March 2012.
Prof Scott McDonald
Professor of Economics
Research Interests
Climate change; this research is concerned with the impact of climate change on economic well-being with an emphasis on the impacts of climate change on Africa.
Health and Development: this research is concerned with the implications for development of infectious diseases. International trade and development: this research has concentrated on modelling the impacts of changes in trade and development policies with a particular emphasis on the income distribution and poverty.
Social accounting matrices (SAM): this research has concentrated on the development of data collation and estimation with emphasises on the disaggregation of institutional detail and the compilation of environmental satellite accounts.
Current Projects
Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) of climate change and the global economy; inter alia this model will be used to evaluate the impacts of climate change on Ethiopia.
Methodological development in whole-economy modelling: P. falciparum malaria control in Africa (funded by the Medical Research Council)
Quantitative Analysis of Macro Vulnerability Reduction and Diversification in Africa (funded by the World Bank)
An economic analysis of the Indian Rural Employment Guarantee Act (funded by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace).
Dr Samantha Miles
Reader
Research Interests
My research interest includes two broad areas. Firstly, the development of stakeholder theory since the popularization of the concept following Freeman's seminal work in 1984. This includes the way in which theory has developed and the contested debates surrounding 'who and what really count to managers'. Research explores the development and classification of stakeholder definitions and the exploration of the contested nature of this concept, for example through the application of Gallie's philosophy on essentially contested concepts to the expression 'stakeholder'. Secondly I am interested in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and CSR reporting, in particular the motivations behind voluntary reporting for corporates and the differences in drivers and processes at work in other emerging reporting organisation types such as universities.
Current Projects
Writing research papers on: a review of stakeholder definitions over the past 30 years; a model of classification of stakeholder definitions; dynamic mapping of stakeholders in downsizing; CSR reporting in the university sector.
Dr Yoko Nagase
Senior Lecturer
Research Interests
Under the general theme of sustainable resource use, two specific areas of my recent research interests are mathematical modelling of waste management and of population-resource dynamics.
The '3R' of waste management - reduce, reuse, recycle - has become a motto in many nations. Desirability among waste disposal alternatives, however, depends on many factors in society. My analytical methods consist of constructing partial equilibrium models of the behaviour or regulated parties and applying the models to relevant circumstances.
For the study of modelling of population-resource dynamics, my projects have so far focused on models that are by construction a combination of a static general equilibrium model and a simulation model whose transitional process is given by a set of differential equations. This type of model can be adopted for computer simulation relatively easily, using systems analysis programmes.
Current Projects
One of my current projects focuses on the modelling of certain types of waste regulations that help analysing the waste management policies of the UK.
I am exploring and expanding the currently restrictive choices of functions for this type of models so that the models can better represent sustainability criteria and other intended relationships between the relevant variables.
Dr Helen Rogers
Senior Lecturer
Research Interests
My main area of research is tax specifically: tax compliance international tax and the link between accounting profits and taxable profits.
Linking tax and management accounting I have a strong interest in transfer pricing. Linking tax with a more critical perspective I have a strong interest in the construction of the tax and accounting profession.
Current Projects
Developing papers on tax compliance and transfer pricing.
Dr Pritam Singh
Reader
Research Interests
I focus on two areas: political economy of development in South Asia, and the sustainability implications of the spatial shift taking place in the global capitalist economy. I have published two books (2008, 2010) in the first area, and working on papers in the second area.
Current Projects
- About to complete a book co-authored with scholars from UK and USA on India.
- Working on a co-authored paper that explores Nepal's development potential by developing a new theoretical concept 'geo-strategically contained development' and applying it to assess the impact of China - India rivalry on Nepal's development. The journal aimed is Journal of Development Studies (3*)
- Working on a co-authored paper on Fair Trade and Ecological Sustainability. It is initially aimed as a conference paper and the target journal has not been specified.
Renfred Wong
Senior Lecturer
Research Interests
My research interests include enquiry into corporate accountability, corporate social and environmental reporting and assurance and corporate governance issues.
Current Projects
Working on a paper previously submitted to an accounting journal on a 'R&R' basis. Working on two other papers with a view to submitting to a peer reviewed journal in the next six months.
