Centre

Essex Accounting Centre (EAC)

Part of Essex Business School

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We produce theoretical and empirical research at the forefront of the field of accounting

Our work is interdisciplinary, drawing on religion, sociology, law, politics, government and organisational studies to inform public policy and solve real-work problems for organisations across the globe in the private, public and third sectors.

We have strong links with professional accountancy bodies, such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS). Our research has been supported by a number of grants from organisations, such as the British Academy, Nuffield Foundation, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). We also work closely with British Accounting and Finance Association special interest group, Accounting and Finance in Emerging Economies, as well as the Centre for Global Accountability.

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Read our research

Read our latest accounting research papers in the Essex Research Repository. Explore our publications and see the wide variety of fields we work in, from accounting, finance, management and entrepreneurship to broader societal issues.

Visit the Research Repository

Our research themes

Accounting and economic development

We are at the leading-edge of national and international research into the specific accounting problems currently faced in emerging economies.

Working alongside the British Accounting Association special interest group Accounting in Emerging Economies, we emphasise the distinctiveness of conditions facing these nations and the need for solutions which do not simply emulate those of industrialised countries.

Accounting in the public and third sectors

This broad area includes research into:

  • management accounting practices
  • accounting information systems and performance measurement
  • management in the public sector in the UK and elsewhere
  • social accounting and accountability issues within religious and voluntary organisations
  • the cultural-political role of accounting language and rhetoric

Regulation

We study the interactions between regulation - be it from the stock market, the profession or the law - and accounting and accountancy. We explore the following:

  • financial accounting - research that examines the role of accounting in providing information for investors and other participants of the capital market
  • capital market based accounting - an area that integrates closely with finance
  • corporate governance - examining the way firms are governed, both in terms of how this impacts a firm’s performance and shareholders and the way it affects society at large
  • auditing - exploring the relationship between auditors and accounting, focusing on audit quality and innovations in the audit process

Corporate social responsibility

We explore a wide range of issues in CSR theory and practice, both in the UK and internationally. We aim to contribute to the current understanding of CSR from multidisciplinary and global perspectives and inform public policy. We study contemporary corporate practices (at both micro and macro level) and examine their implications for society.

Our research engagement

News

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Visit our event calendar

Essex Business School run regular seminars, lectures and events. We invite many guest lecturers and City practitioners to speak. Visit our Department's event calendar and discover our series of upcoming events.

Visit the Department's event calendar

Highlights from our past events

2021

2020

2019

2018

  • 21 November - Global-local partnerships for development: Analysing the needs of international organisations in Myanmar - Professor Isabella Nolte, Berlin School of Economics and Law
  • 17 October - CSR disclosure, board characteristics and country-level culture - Professor Ana Marques, UEA
  • 28-29 June - Accounting and Accountability in Emerging Economies (AAEE) Conference 2018
  • 13 June - Accountability in Collaborative Governance - Dr Christine Kenney, senior researcher and Māori sociologist at the IRDR International Centre of Research Excellence in Community Resilience
  • 6 June - State investments and human rights? The case of the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global - Professor Ken McPhail, University of Manchester
  • 25 April - Multinational tax avoidance: is it all about profit shifting? - Dr Christof Beuselinck, IÉSEG School of Management, France

Our archived events

2017

  • 21 June - Adventure and Multiple Organisational Accountabilities in a Danish Slave Trading Company in the Early 18th Century Gold Coast - Professor Gloria Agyemang, Royal Holloway
  • 14 June - Accounting Quality Effects of Imposing Quotas on Boards of Directors - Juan Manuel Garcia Lara, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
  • 31 May - Accounting and the Rhetoric of Material Objects: The Founder's Building at Royal Holloway, 1887-1897 - Professor Christopher Napier, Royal Holloway
  • 3 May - Intertextuality and Discursive Framing in Private and Public Communication After the Fukushima Disaster - Dr Doris Merkl-Davies, Bangor University
  • 22 March - The Perceived Usefulness of Financial Accounting Information - Professor Mark Clatworthy, University of Bristol
  • 14 March - Using the Press and Social Media to Tackle the REF - EBS Impact Academy event
  • 8 March - Dollarising Extreme Poverty - Dr Palash Kamruzzaman, University of South Wales
  • 1 March - Mediating Materiality and Tax Risk in Tax Disclosures - Professor Kevin Holland, Cardiff University
  • 15 February - Professor Marc Goergen, Cardiff University
  • 8 February - The Corporate Governance–Executive Pay Nexus - Professor Collins Ntim, University of Southampton
  • 25 Jan - Moving the Conceptual Framework Forward: Accounting for Uncertainty - Professor Richard Barker, University of Oxford
  • 2016

    2015

    2014

    2013

    Profile picture of Prof Shahzad Uddin
    Professor Shahzad Uddin receives the BAFA Distinguished Academic Award for 2022

    Read more about the prestigious award and Professor Uddin's work on researching accounting in emerging economies.

    Read the Essex news story
    Contact us
    Essex Accounting Centre (EAC) University of Essex
    Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ
    Essex Business School University of Essex
    Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ
    Telephone: 01206 873333