We aim to provide an evidence-based critique of the role of accounting in society, and suggest insightful contributions to resolving problems of accountability and control in these contexts.
Addressing real-world problems and providing data-backed insights means our research is used by organisations, policymakers and stakeholders to make a positive impact on society and our communities.
The Accounting Department has a well-established reputation of research in three key areas:
- auditing and governance
- accountability and sustainability
- accounting education and pedagogy.
Our approach to research is highly collaborative across the department as well as with other disciplines and schools, involving partnerships with businesses at a local, national and global level along with academic institutions in the UK and across the globe. We aim to develop knowledge that directly informs our teaching and makes a sustainable difference to people, organizations and society. This means we engage with policy makers, organisations and societies within the West Midlands and beyond.
We want our research to be sustainable and recognised in its many dimensions. This includes developing and delivering research projects guided by a diverse range of research interests, leading externally funded projects, organising international conferences and events, and supervising successful doctorate research.
Our research takes a variety of forms including case studies, surveys, qualitative (interpretive, critical) and historical methods, experimental and analytical methods. This allows us to analyse the often intricate and unexpected issues that arise when accounting and financial information, tools, instruments and/or practices (in the broadest sense) are implemented and/or enacted in organisations.
- People and Publications
A departmental overview (including people and publications) can be accessed on Aston Research Explorer.
- Emeritus Professors
Prof Stan Brignall, Emeritus Professor
Prof Margaret Woods, Emeritus Professor- Events
Management Accounting Research Group Hybrid conference
17th – 18th November 2022
- Potential Supervisors
- The fields of taxation (UK, comparative and international taxation).
- Personal finance (financial education/literacy/capability and financial wellbeing) and information systems (particularly the use and impact of the internet).
- Environmental performance and disclosure, CSR and corporate risk and performance.
- Corporate governance in the UK and China: board independence, the role of independent directors, directors’ busyness and remuneration, audit committee effectiveness, corporate governance in the non-profit sector.
- Property tax and local government reform
- Fiscal decentralisation and local government financing
- Interdisciplinary perspectives in taxation
- Tax policy, tax reform and tax administration
- Tax compliance and tax morale
- Culture and power
- Interdisciplinary Critical Qualitative Accounting Research
- Accounting profession
- Accounting History
- Accounting regulation
- Gender and Ethnicity in Accounting
- Tax havens, tax avoidance, tax evasion using critical perspectives
- Innovations in Auditing Technologies of Governance
- Accounting as a social practice
- The market for audit services in the private and public sectors.
- The theory of the audit firm, the alumni effect.
- Earnings management and financial reporting quality.
- Audit quality.
- Corporate governance.
- Audit Committees.
- The history of accounting and auditing.
- The regulation of accounting and the accounting profession.
- Auditor behaviour and audit functions.
- Accounting education.
- Quantitative research.
- Corporate governance
- Auditing
- The application of (Textual analysis, content analysis, narrative disclosure, semantic analysis, Natural Language Processing (NLP), machine learning, text mining, disclosure behaviour, and sustainability) in the domain of accounting and auditing.
- Audit quality, reporting quality, corporate narrative reporting, risk disclosure, climate change disclosure, carbon disclosure, modern slavery.
- The adoption of financial and auditing reporting standards and corporate governance.
- Accounting as a social and organisational practice.
- Social accounting.
- Accounting changes in UK social housing.
- Accounting as ritual.
- Operationalisation of Sustainable Development Goals.
- Governance and control of the Higher Education Sector.
- Rationalisation and operationalisation of public policies in education, health and infrastructure sectors.
- Implications for accounting controls in a network form of public sector organisations.
- Islamic Accounting and Finance,
- Ethical Issues and Accountability
- Earning Management
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Critical Accounting