Accounting and Finance

The School of Accounting and Finance aims to offer postgraduate students the supervision and facilities necessary for them to achieve their postgraduate qualification in a friendly environment. Postgraduate students have access to several computing and study facilities and all students have access to their supervisors on a regular basis. Students also benefit from the advice of other staff members at frequent postgraduate presentation sessions. This strength of support and helpful environment have recently been recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council in the UK which accredited the Research Masters, the MSc in Accounting and Finance, and Doctoral programmes offered.

RAE 2008

In the UK's latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), the mean weighted average (MWA) of our research profile indicated that we were a leading research unit in Accounting and Finance in Scotland. Once the MWA is adjusted to reflect the amount of work submitted for assessment, the Dundee School emerges as clearly the best research unit in Accounting & Finance in Scotland. Indeed on the same basis of evaluation we are ranked third in the UK (a comparison with Accounting and Finance work submitted to be assessed in the category Business and Management is difficult). In absolute terms we had the highest amount of published work assessed as in the two highest categories of the assessment. Further, our trajectory of improvement as a research unit has been especially impressive.

The RAE, along with the British Accounting Review Research Register, also clearly indicates that we are the most research active unit of Accounting and Finance in Scotland. Nineteen full time equivalent staff's work was submitted for assessment, more than any other unit in Scotland. The Research Register indicates that we have a very high number and proportion of research orientated staff in Accounting and Finance. Together with the fact that we have ESRC recognised programmes for postgraduate/PhD study, the above indicates that the School is a great environment for research, research training and doctoral study.

Main Research Interests

The School's main areas of research are summarised below. For more details of our staff's research interests please refer to the School web page. From this link you can explore in further detail the more specific research interests of individual staff.

Management and Management Accounting

The School has a strong history of research in management and management accounting. Past research projects have focused on performance measurement across different sectors in various countries. Current research interests include: management accounting change; the (changing) role of accountants; management control and accounting for new product development.

Financial Reporting

The School has excelled for many decades in its research of financial accounting. Recently, staff have supervised in such areas as the nature of Islamic accounting, International Financial Reporting Standards, accounting regulation, and the impact of pronouncements by regulatory authorities.

Corporate Finance and Financial Markets

Our team of finance researchers explore the operation of security markets in both developed and emerging economies. They also examine how companies communicate their performances to financial markets through dividend and other announcements. Recent projects of our finance group include corporate governance, the impact of codes of practice on company activities, and risk management.

Accounting Education

Several of our staff are researching issues such as the use of computer-based technology in accounting education, the role of the accounting profession in developing the potential of their students, recruitment to the accounting profession and comparative analyses of how students learn.

Critical and Social Analysis of Accounting

This area theorises accounting and related business practices through a critical and interpretive methodological lens. In particular, our research specialists in this area focus their attention towards a critical analysis of international accounting and accounting history.

Social and Environmental Accounting

Staff who research in this area particularly explore the impact of accounting in the natural environment and in not-for-profit organisations. Previous postgraduate students have studied various attempts by different countries to mandate social and environmental accounts by organisations. They have also examined the role of accounting in both public and private organisations where profit is not the dominant goal.

Key Staff

Dean of the School of Accounting & Finance

Professor C V Helliar, BSc, PhD, FCA, FRSA, ILTM

Professors

Professor J Burns BSc, PGCE, MA, PhD
Professor S Gallhofer MPhil, DPhil, MA(Econ), MSc(Econ), ILTM, FRSA
Professor J Haslam BA, PhD, ACA, CA(NZ), ILTM, FRSA
Professor C V Helliar, BSc, PhD, FCA, FRSA, ILTM
Professor W A Nixon BComm, MBA, PhD, FCA, MIMgt, CA, FRSA
Professor D M Power BComm, MSc, PhD, FRSA, ILTM

Contact

Professor S Gallhofe
Tel: 01382 386 706 / +44 1382 386 706
Fax: 01382 388 421 / +44 1382 388 421
Email: s.gallhofer@dundee.ac.uk