Research
We take pride in conducting world-class research that is relevant to professionals, students, colleagues and the community. Our research culture encourages and supports staff to undertake research and publish the results. We focus on two areas of research:
- Accountability, regulation and governance: Our research covers contemporary issues that face business professionals, accountants and financial managers in today's rapidly changing organisations, in both private and nonprofit sectors.
- Nonprofit and social enterprise: The research in this area is at the cutting edge of the problems that face society today. How do organisations address sustainability, not only for themselves, but also for society?

Our centres and groups
Auditing and Financial Reporting
We seek to provide a better understanding of external reporting – financial and non-financial, mandatory and voluntary – and the role of auditing and assurance services in enhancing business performance and quality.
Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies
We help individuals, groups, organisations, and stakeholder networks innovate and strategise: to leverage their capabilities, adapt to change and encourage growth and prosperity.
Visit Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies
Corporate and Behavioural Governance
We investigate the human aspects of how corporations and organisations are controlled, including the impact of government practices on capital markets, firm performance, and financial reporting quality.
Not-for-profit accounting and accountability research group
Our focus is the accountability dynamics of the not-for-profit sector, with an emphasis on accounting, financial and non-financial reporting, and the regulation of the sector.
Accounting for Social Change
We seek to answer how businesses and regulators can best respond to social change, innovate and adapt to enable economic growth, and improve reporting and accountability to stakeholders.
Our topics and projects
Honours
Vacation research experience scheme
Master of Philosophy
- Accounting for infrastructure and cost-benefit analysis in the assessment of major projects
- Agricultural Cooperatives: considering performance and accountability
- An empirical analysis of audit effectiveness in light of recent regulatory changes
- An insight view on board faultlines: company secretaries' perception of board faultlines, their effect on board performance and strategies to increase board cohesiveness
- Assurance in Not-for-Profit Organisations in Australia
- Blockchain technology and its implications for accounting
- Blockchain's application to infrastructure funding
- Blockchain: Evolution or illusion?
- Can executive compensation improve investment efficiency?
- Compensation consultants: Whom do they serve? New evidence on pay for performance
- Control and collaboration in the boardroom: an observational investigation
- Corporate board gender diversity and accounting conservatism
- Culture and corruption risks in local government: the role of technology in detecting fraud
- Faithful Representation and the usefulness of Financial Information
- Floods and insurance in Queensland
- Forced saving: a comparative analysis of mandatory retirement funding schemes in Australia and Hong Kong
- Fraudulent Financial Reporting in China
- From annual reports to evaluation portfolios: developing nonprofit impact evaluation narratives
- Gender diversity and IT governance
- Making machine learning understandable for human decision support in credit risk assessment
- Outcomes transparency and the democratic paradox in Australian superannuation standard setting: does ED223 promote and protect fund-member interests?
- Pet Insurance and Value
- Private Health Insurance
- Promoter penalties in Australia: an effective deterrent?
- Risk management and financial systems integrity. Enhancing outcomes for indigenous not-for-profit organisations
- The Feasibility of Universal Basic Income in Australia
- The effect of information representation on the success of crowdfunding campaigns
- The gender profile of the insolvency profession
- The role of accounting in the Queensland coal seam gas (CSG) political debate
- The role of culture as a contributor to fraud, bribery and corruption in Australia
PhD
Research seminar series
Our research seminar series features prominent national and international business academics, presenting in the areas of accountancy and business law. These seminars are a great tool to develop research, and an opportunity to network with other researchers.
Upcoming School of Accountancy events
2020 presenters and topics
6 March: Investments in Accounting Resources and the Implications for External Reporting and Disclosure presented by Dr Gabriel Pundrich, Bocconi University.
13 March: Artificial Agents in Corporate Boardrooms, presented by Dr Sergio Gramitto Ricci, Monash University
3 April: Dr Colette Southam, Bond University*
24 April: Dr Belen Blanco, The University of Adelaide*
1 May: Professor David Lont, Otago University*
* Cancelled visits due to 2020 travel restrictions
2019 presenters and topics
8 March: Auditing the Derivative Usage of Bank-Holding Companies, presented by Assistant Professor Joseph Johnston, Illinois University.
22 March: Does better governance improve the quality of non-GAAP earnings disclosures?, presented by Professor Susan Wright, University of Newcastle.
5 April: Competing Logics, Performance Management Systems and Social Enterprises: Evidence from An Australian Not-for-Profit Entity, presented by Professor Nava Subramaniam, RMIT University.
4 May: Diagnosing the VAT compliance Burden: Process, Findings and Implications, presented by Professor Chris Evans, University of New South Wales.
31 May: The effectiveness of group assessment types in developing teamwork skills, presented by Professor Jacqueline Birt, University of Western Australia.
2 August: Value relevant of historical cost and fair value accounting information: Evidence from the European Real Estate industry, presented by Fan Yang PhD Candidate, The University of New South Wales.
30 August: Algorithm as Director: The Future of Corporate Governance?, presented by Professor Suzanne Le Mire, The University of Adelaide.
6 September: The R & D Tax Incentive and minerals exploration in Australia, presented by Mr Samuel Sherry, PhD Candidate, Australian National University.
27 September: Changing Accountabilities: Combining hierarchical and intelligent accountability practices in a public service organization, presented by Dr Robyn King, University of Queensland.
2018 presenters and topics
2 March: Strategic insider trading around earnings announcements in Australia, presented by Dr Dean Katselas, ANU College of Business Economics, Australian National University.
23 March: Auditing and financial reporting, presented by Professor Steven Cahan, Business School, University of Auckland.
20 April: Management accounting/Cost of carbon, presented by Dr Binh Bui, School of Accounting and Commercial Law, Victoria University of Wellington.
4 May: Corporate governance/Corporate social responsibility, presented by Assistant Professor Nam Tran, Melbourne Business School.
3 August: Accounting education - pedagogy, presented by Dr Gillian Vesty, School of Accounting, RMIT University.
17 August:Financial accounting, auditing and corporate governance, presented by Dr Chris Adrian, Department of Accounting, Monash University.
31 August: Auditing, nonprofit accounting, governance and regulation, presented by Professor David Gilchrist, Accounting and Finance, University of Western Australia.
14 September:Contemporary management accounting practices, presented by Associate Professor Paul Andon, University of New South Wales.
5 October:Accounting education, presented by Professor Phil Hancock, University of Western Australia.
2017 presenters and topics
Governing the poor: Evidence from New Zealand's Tax and Welfare Systems, presented by Associate Professor Lisa Marriott, Victoria University, New Zealand.
University-community engagement: Reflections on a work experience project, prestented by Dr Dianne McGrath, Charles Sturt University.
Controlling for risk: From board appetite to individual proclivity, presented by Professor Michael Davern, The University of Melbourne.
What drives trustee-director compensation in Australian superannuation funds? Presented by Dr Kevin Liu, University of New South Wales.
Scotland Scientific management and accountability through the efficient office: Visualising theoretical debates, presented by Distinguished Professor Lee Parker, RMIT University and Glasgow University.
How does international experience lead to higher levels of cultural intelligence? A qualitative study using accounting academics teaching transnationally. Presented by Professor Brendan O'Connell, RMIT University.
Multidimensional diversity in adult teams, presented by Associate Professor Bryan Howieson, University of Adelaide.
Prospectus forecast errors and mandatory explanations: Evidence from New Zealand, presented by Professor David Hay IPO.
Is there a business case for culture and gender diversity on corporate boards? Presented by Associate Professor Shireenjit K Johl, Deakin University.
Corruption and microfinance: A case study of Grameen Bank, presented by Dr Sharod Khandaker, Swinburne University of Technology.
2016 presenters and topics
Thriving on Digital Economy, presented by Professor Marek Kowalkiewicz, Distinguished PwC Chair Digital Economy.
Regulating audit quality via inspections and checklists: impact on auditor commitment and turnover intentions. Presented by Professor Robyn Moroney, Monash University.
Ireland Internal Controls in Euphoric and Recessive Economic Environments: A Longitudinal Study, presented by Professor Pall Rikhardsson, School of Business, Reykjavik University.
An Enigma Set to Remain a Fizzer? On the Absence of Social and Environmental Reporting in New Zealand. Presented by Professor Markus Milne, University of Canterbury, New Zealand.
Accountants’ views of their intra-organisational communication challenges and strategies: a not-for-profit sector perspective. Presented by Dr Lyn Daff, University of Southern Queensland.
The impact of the financial and tax audit regimes on audit characteristics, audit-client relationships, and audit quality and efficiency. Presented by Associate Professor Maria Dyball, University of Sydney.
Involuntary disclosure of intellectual capital: Is it relevant? Presented by Associate Professor Johannes Dumay, Macquarie University.
Whistleblowing, Audit Fees, and Internal Control Deficiencies, presented by Dr Gladys Lee, University of Melbourne.
Directors network and accruals quality in Malaysia, presented by Dr Abdul Wahab, Curtin University.
Visiting academics
Our visiting academics bring with them a wealth of accountancy knowledge from across the globe. Their expertise provides opportunities for academics and research students to collaborate and network.
2020 visitors
- Professor Adrian Sawyer, Canterbury University
- Dr Gabriel Pundrich, Department of Accounting, Bocconi University
- Dr David Herold, Vienna University of Economics and Business
- Associate Professor Thomas Wrona, Hamburg University of Technology
- Dr Djordje Djurica, Vienna University of Economics and Business*
- Associate Professor Irma Mosquera, Leiden University*
- Associate Professor Amedeo Pugliese, University of Padova*
- Dr Feng Xiong, Xiamen University*
- Dr Yie Xie, Xiamen University*
- Professor David Lont, Otago University*
- Assistant Professor Richard Kent, University of Michigan-Dearborn*
* Cancelled visits due to 2020 travel restrictions
2019 visitors
- Professor Jacqueline Birt, University of Western Australia, Australia
- Assistant Professor Joseph Johnston, Illinois University, USA
- Dr Amedeo Pugliese, University of Padova, Italy
- Professor Rick Krever, University of Western Australia, Australia
- Dr Encarna Guillamon-Saorin, University of Carlos III de Madrid, Spain
- Professor Tom Smith, Macquarie University, Australia
- Professor Martina Linnenluecke, Macquarie University, Australia
2018 visitors
- Professor Ferdinand Gul, Deakin University
- Dr Gabriel Pereira Pundrich, Bocconi University, Italy
- Professor Steven Cahan, University of Auckland, New Zealand
- Dr Gayathri Gunatilake, Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom
- Professor William Q. Judge, E.V. Williams Chair of Strategic Leadership, Strome College of Business, USA
- Professor Niamh Brennan, University College Dublin, Ireland
- Dr Lily Chen, University of Auckland, New Zealand
- Associate Professor Bryan Howieson, The University of Adelaide, Australia
- Associate Professor Encarna Guillamon-Saorin, University of Carlos III de Madrid, Spain
- Professor James Guthrie, Macquarie University, Australia
2017 visitors
- 30 January to 7 February: Professor David Lont, Otago University, New Zealand
- 1-15 March: Dr Simon Tan, Kings College, United Kingdom
- 1-6 May: Professor Craig Deegan, RMIT University
- 31 March to 14 April: Dr Jodie Moll, Manchester University, United Kingdom
- 4-7 July: Professor Adrian Sawyer, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
- 6-19 August: Professor Rick Krever, University of Western Australia
- 12-31 August: Assistant Professor Iman Harymawan, City University, Hong Kong
- 21 August to 1 September: Dr Dean Katselas, Australian National University
- 4-15 September: Professor David Hay, University of Auckland, New Zealand
- 6-11 November: Professor Blanaid Clarke, Trinity College Dublin/McCann Fitzgerald Chair in Corporate Law, Ireland
- 1-15 October: Associate Professor Cindy Durtschi, Driehaus College of Business, De Paul University, USA
- 29-31 October: Associate Professor Millicent Chang, University of Western Australia
- 30 October to 4 November: Associate Professor James Routledge, Hitotsubashi University, Japan
- 11-15 December: Professor Dorota Dobija, Kozminski University, Poland
- 2017 Executive in Residence: Bernard Curran, BDO Partner
Contact us
If you’re interested in researching or collaborating with us, contact us.