Accounting is the blind spot of economics
Economic theory depends on accounting – yet it ignores the role of accounting in distributing value. Why does that matter? Because it ...
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Read my articles and research papers
Here are a selection of articles and research papers that I have either authored or co-written with colleagues.
- Apr 23, 2023
Assurance for sustainability: who is it really serving?
Assurance of sustainability reports is meant to tell us that the reporting has been done properly. Shouldn’t that question be answered ...
- Mar 27, 2023
Falling in love with assurance and audit
A series of four blogs on the importance of assurance for sustainability reporting, the risk of adding to green or impact washing if we...
- Nov 11, 2022
True and Fair? How directors should be presenting accounts in the 21st century
Right now, company directors’ reliance on international accounting standards means that sustainability issues are reported separately, if...
- Aug 8, 2022
Change or die – financial accounting faces two options
The financial accounting system we use today is hurtling towards irrelevance, undermined by the very inequality to which it has ...
- Apr 14, 2022
Reparations are long overdue – accountancy must change to repair the mess it helped to create
Historic abuse of human rights is hardwired into our financial accounting systems, says our columnist. So-called solutions are merely...
- Dec 15, 2021
GDP isn’t the problem – it’s financial accounting
GDP up, good; GDP down, bad? Not so simple, especially when assessing progress in terms of citizens’ wellbeing. A growing number of ...
- Nov 2, 2021
Financial accounting is failing us all. Could a gender lens help?
Our financial accounting systems were designed by white men, for white men – and those systems are contributing to an “almost...
- Oct 5, 2021
Go figure: why public accounting doesn't add up on social value
Accounting in the public sector should be all about serving the public interest, right? But what if the current system overlooks people’s...
- Sep 2, 2021
Accountancy can save the world: the prequel
Intangible assets have swiftly become a major consideration for investors, making up 90% of all enterprise value on the S&P 500. Yet ...
- Jul 13, 2021
What has the Charity Commission ever done for us?
If we apply Monty Python’s analysis of the Roman Empire to current challenges of reporting performance on ESG and corporate impact – we...
- Jun 1, 2021
Why auditors are the knights of the impact investing round table
Audit and assurance are the heroes we need on our quest if we are to understand what impact is and how to grow it. First published by...
- Apr 30, 2021
Will accountants save the world?
We need ‘warrior accountants’ so long as they are radical and more warrior like. Not focusing on helping to develop and standardise ...
- Mar 19, 2021
Who is the investor and what do they want to know?
Are we all in denial or do we actually care about organisations' ability to generate financial returns at the same time as value for...
- Feb 23, 2021
The missing piece from Mark Carney's Reith lecture on value
For most of us, accounting is so boring it is neither seen as part of the problem or part of the solution. But how can something that...
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