Management - Accounting Discipline Norms

PROFESSORIAL BANDING

DISCIPLINARY NORMS AND EXPECTATIONS

Department/School: School of Management

Discipline (only if different to the above): Accounting

Faculty: Management and Economics

I confirm that the discipline norms detailed below were completed following consultation with Professors in the department, and have been verified by an external advisor.

Completed by: Jeffrey Unerman Date: 12/08/2014

RESEARCH

1. What are the top-rated forms of research work in your discipline? E.g. journal articles, monographs, editions

Journal articles are regarded as the most significant form of research output in accounting. In the RAE 2008 and REF 2014, very few monographs were submitted. An important secondary form of research output (which would normally be considered as having high potential impact) is commissioned research studies published by professional accountancy bodies or regulators.

Many well-regarded accounting professors also edit and contribute chapters to scholarly books. Contributions to major handbooks such as the Oxford or Sage Handbook Series are considered as highly prestigious and an indicator of eminence in the field.

2. What lesser publications such as encyclopaedia entries, programme notes, reviews etc. command respect in your discipline?

Items such as book reviews are not rated very highly, unless they represent substantial review articles. Invitations to provide encyclopaedia entries would be signs of esteem, but the entries themselves are not highly rated as publications. Important textbooks are respected.

3. What are the top-rated outlets for dissemination of research in your discipline? E.g. major publishers, top journals?

In In the UK (and in Australia, New Zealand and much of continental Europe), there is a strong tradition of interpretive and critical research using qualitative methods, archival research or annual reports of companies. The “capital markets” accounting research that is highly rated in the USA is less significant and tends to be strong in only a few institutions. However, the compilers of the Association of Business Schools (ABS) academic journal quality guide appear to have a quantitative bias, with four of the five 4-rated journals being in this area. Accounting, Organizations and Society (AOS) is the only one of the ABS 4-rated journals edited in the UK and with a genuinely international editorial board – the other journals are edited from the USA and have almost entirely North American editorial boards. The ABS ranking of accounting journals is widely believed within the discipline in the UK to understate the quality reputation of journals outside the quantitative research approach. In the Environment of Research in Australia (ERA) journal rankings of recent years, it is noteworthy that other journals have been highly rated, such as Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal and European Accounting Review. The competition to publish in these journals or AOS is fierce, and indeed many UK accounting professors seldom succeed in publishing in them during their careers.

Other very highly-regarded outlets for UK accounting academics are Accounting and Business Research, Abacus, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Journal of Business Finance and Accounting and Management Accounting Research.

No single publisher stands out as “top-rated.

4. What are the guiding assumptions about sole authorship, PI status, percentage contribution, joint editorship, etc.?

Many leading UK accounting professors have a combination of sole-authored and collaborative work. There are no particular preferences in this context, with some researchers working with regular partners for most of their outputs, others collaborating on an ad hoc basis, and still others mainly writing by themselves.

5. What is the volume of productivity over what sort of timeline that might signify a.) a reasonable performance; b) a positive step-change for a professor in your discipline?

Leading accounting academics in the qualitative research tradition tend to write longer articles (often 15,000 to 20,000 words) than academics in the quantitative tradition (where a length of 7,000 to 8,000 words is more typical), so crude counts of articles are likely to misrepresent comparative output. A successful UK accounting professor might try to average around one paper per year in such journals as mentioned in (3) above, possibly supplemented by other publications. However, an output less than that (supplemented by other esteemed activities) would still be a reasonable performance. Further, it is not uncommon to see “lumpy” output patterns, where substantial research projects lead to several related publications appearing in a short time, after a couple of years of relatively fewer outputs.

6. What are the top-rated funding sources for Research in your discipline? E.g. ESRC, AHRC, Leverhulme Trust, Wellcome etc.

In the past, much high quality accounting research has been perceived as being relatively cheap to undertake, and there is often a clear split between researchers who regularly apply for and obtain external research funding and equally productive researchers who do not actively seek research funding on a regular basis.

The main sources for large grants (although there are comparatively few of these) would be the ESRC and the European Union. In addition, the main professional accountancy bodies (the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) all offer research funding, and receipt of grants from any of these would be considered a mark of esteem.

7. What levels of funding would you regard as indicating a) a reasonable performance; or b) high performance in your discipline?

As noted above, many highly regarded UK accounting researchers do not actively seek external research funding, and so success in generating research income is regarded as a bonus rather than as a necessary contributor to performance. REF guidelines recognise that some types of research do not need funding.

8. Are invited lectures/ conference plenaries/ conference organization/ visiting professorships/ particularly significant in your discipline, and in what sort of ranked order?

Invitations to give plenary or keynote lectures at leading conferences (for example, the annual conferences of the main academic bodies such as the American Accounting Association, European Accounting Association, British Accounting and Finance Association, or the major triennial conferences Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Accounting, Asia-Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting, and Accounting and Regulation) are highly regarded as marks of esteem, as are invitations to speak at major conferences that mix professionals with academics (such as the ICAEW’s annual Information for Better Markets Conference, or conferences organised with the International Accounting Standards Board). Visiting professorships are considered to be indicators of esteem. Participation in conference organisation usually takes the form of membership of scientific committees, but this role is taken on by academics at relatively junior as well as more senior levels.

9. What awards, prizes and honours if any, are significant in your discipline?

Awards from international accounting bodies, such as the American Accounting Association, are highly regarded. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales gives the Founding Societies Award on an annual basis, and some academics have won this – gaining this award would be considered a particular mark of prestige. The British Accounting and Finance Association gives the Distinguished Accounting Academic award each year along with some Lifetime Achievement Awards, and these are also considered prestigious awards. Recognition by overseas bodies (e.g. honorary memberships) would denote esteem. Some leading journals award ‘best paper’ prizes, and these are highly respected.

10. Membership of which learned societies or other discipline-specific groups or organizations carry weight in your discipline?

Fellowship of the British Academy or the Academy of Social Sciences has rarely been given to accounting academics, and such a fellowship would be a clear mark of the highest esteem.

Fellowship (or membership) of one of the professional accountancy bodies would also carry significant weight. Across the UK, accounting academics with a professional accountancy qualification are highly regarded and in demand.

TEACHING

1. How many PhD students (in FTEs) would you expect to be supervised by Professors in your discipline?

This varies considerably from one institution to another, as a few places have more formal PhD programmes in accounting. Across the UK, the average would be around one PhD student at any time per professor, with even the highest-regarded accounting professors supervising no more than three or four students at any time. Indeed, having “too many” PhD students (say eight or more) at a particular time would be regarded as a negative indicator, since it suggests that the supervisor is concerned more with quantity than with quality.

2. What are the norms for contribution by Professors to Masters courses and their validation in your discipline?

This varies considerably from one institution to another, as a few places have more formal PhD programmes in accounting. Across the UK, the average would be around one PhD student at any time per professor, with even the highest-regarded accounting professors supervising no more than three or four students at any time. Indeed, having “too many” PhD students (say eight or more) at a particular time would be regarded as a negative indicator, since it suggests that the supervisor is concerned more with quantity than with quality.

3. What are the norms for Professors devising and teaching undergraduate courses in your discipline?

This is also where much of the teaching contribution by professors is found. There is a high demand for Business and Management undergraduate courses and professors in all disciplines contribute to teaching and curriculum development at the undergraduate level. Teaching large numbers of undergraduate students is considered normal in each discipline of management.

Leadership in teaching at the undergraduate level can be demonstrated through successful innovation in curriculum design (at the course and/or programme level); use of innovative and engaging teaching methods; and development and effective implementation of high quality assessment and feedback mechanisms/practices. Accounting professors are less likely to be involved in teaching large compulsory modules in the earlier years of undergraduate programmes, though they sometimes have an important role as programme directors. The main teaching input is often through final year or honours year specialist courses and through supervision of undergraduate dissertations.

Undergraduate teaching is heavily influenced by the requirements of the professional accountancy bodies, who will give recognition to degree programmes, leading to exemptions from professional examinations for graduates of those programmes. At Royal Holloway, we have intentionally not aimed to have a purely “professional” undergraduate programme, but professional accountancy nonetheless informs our degrees. In 2014, we have started to plan new degrees which are expected to gain accreditation from the profession. Therefore, having senior accounting academics with professional qualifications has become vital to our credibility.

EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT AND IMPACT

1. What are the norms for external involvement in your discipline within University of London, UK universities, international HE activity etc. that indicate a) a reasonable performance; b) a high performance?

This tends to be very much a personal matter – some accounting professors are actively involved as external examiners for PhD, masters and undergraduate programmes, as external assessors for academic appointments, as external advisors for programme validation, and similar activities. It is not reasonable to attempt to quantify here.

More broadly, some accounting professors are active in professional accountancy bodies, sitting on committees (even Councils), providing advice and undertaking commissioned work. Such activity is regarded in a positive light within the disciplinary community. An increasingly important involvement relates to the regulation of financial reporting and in particular to accounting standard setting. Some accounting professors contribute significantly to the standard setting process, usually through membership of advisory bodies but in exceptional cases through membership of standard-setting bodies themselves.

2. What particular forms of external academic, and where relevant non-academic, impact would indicate an acceptable and high performance in your discipline?

Measures of academic impact such as citation scores have some limited validity, but it is necessary to look at long- term rather than short-term citations because there is a lag of several years between initial publication and extensive citation. Those accounting professors who write textbooks often achieve considerable impact in terms of their influence on teaching and research in their specialist areas. Non-academic impact is often evidenced by public reference to research in press and other media, and by use of ideas by accounting standard setters.

Interventions in the areas of practice and policy-making can have impact. This could include contributions to written submissions to regulators or to public hearings held by them. Some professors are active in professional bodies, sitting on committees (even Councils), providing advice and undertaking commissioned work. Such activity is regarded in a positive light.

Impact can also be in terms of research collaborations with individual, or networks of, business organizations, and/or professional bodies where academic research-informed input influences the direction of the group/organization’s policy and strategy and their input to formation of public policy.

3. What kind and volume of Third Stream activity (including patents, spin-outs, outreach, knowledge transfer, consultancies, cultural interventions etc.) of benefit to the College etc. would be important in your discipline?

Consultancy activity is encouraged in some institutions, but many accounting professors value university careers precisely because they are not undertaking consultancy.

LEADERSHIP AND ENHANCEMENT 1. What forms of leadership, internal and external, command respect in your discipline?

Intellectual leadership through the quality of research is highly regarded. Managerial leadership (head of department or discipline, senior management roles within an institution) or representational leadership (office holding in relevant academic associations, membership of REF panels) is valued, though there are some highly respected accounting professors who have not held managerial roles but are rated highly because of the quality of their research.

Journal editorship is highly regarded, as is membership of editorial boards of highly-rated journals.

2. What forms of enhancement, such as support of improved performance by colleagues, command respect in your discipline?

More senior professors whose students and junior colleagues have themselves achieved professorial appointments or senior external positions are regarded highly. Successful mentoring of junior colleagues, perhaps involving co- authorship, commands respect. This could be in one’s own institution or via PhD colloquia.