Dr Colin Dey
Professor
University of Dundee School of Business, School of Business
Accountancy & Finance, School of Business
Contact
Biography
Dr Colin Dey is Professor of Sustainability Accounting at the University of Dundee School of Business. He is an elected fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the executive council of the Centre for Social & Environmental Accounting Research.
Colin’s research and teaching focuses on exploring new forms of accounting for social & environmental impact, at a societal and systemic as well as an organisational level. His research has received several awards, including three high commendations for studies published in Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal. He is currently Joint Editor of Social & Environmental Accountability Journal.
Colin started his academic career in Dundee in the 1990s, completing a ESRC funded PhD and working as a lecturer in accounting, before moving to Stirling University in 2010. While at Stirling, he spent three years as Deputy Head of Accounting & Finance and won Stirling University’s teaching award for dedication to sustainability in 2020 and 2021. He returned to take up his current role at Dundee in October 2022.
Outside of work, Colin is a keen cyclist and has competed in the Etape Caledonia cycle race and Montrose Triathlon.
Research
Colin has published widely including, in Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Accounting Forum, Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Journal of Applied Accounting Research and Social & Environmental Accountability Journal. Over the last 25 years, he has helped to develop the first systematic social account produced by a UK plc, worked in conjunction with the Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability charity to explore the work of pioneers in integrated reporting, examining the role of accounting from the perspective of poverty, inequality, ecosystems and biodiversity, and undertaken ground-breaking research into the role of accounting in conflicts between corporations and activists in areas such as tobacco control and land-use. His current projects include an exploration of the nature and significance of ecology in accounting research, including in relation to notions of degrowth.
Teaching
Current modules include:
Sustainability Reporting (BAcc)
Financial Reporting Theory (BAcc)
Research Methods in Accounting & Finance (BAcc)
Corporate Social Responsibility (MSc Accounting & Finance)