Summary

I am currently Professor of Accounting in the Faculty of Business and Law, and also former President of the British Accounting and Finance Association (2015-2020), a learned society for academics based in the UK. In 2025, I became a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and in 2024, I received the Distinguished Academic Award from the British Accounting and Finance Association.

I am one of the few accounting researchers to investigate the agri-food industry. I write about the effects of accounting and performance measurement practices on the industry, and on society more widely.In particular, I investigate fraud in the food and drink industry. I have also led a successful project, on the growing costs and other problems associated with retail returns in from online purchases. This work has brought me into contact with major retailers in Europe and is continuing with new projects around costing, lean management and circular economy in omnichannel environments.

My other area of expertise is in research methodology, particularly concerning accounting as communication practice and the use of social-theory in critical-interpretative work in accounting. I am currently Joint Editor of The British Accounting Review and on the Editorial Review Boards of several journals, including Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal and Accounting Forum. I am an Associate Editor for the AAA Journal of Forensic Accounting Research.

Biography

I began my career as an ACCA graduate trainee with Eastern Electricity and then with Ernst & Whinney (now Ernst & Young) in Ipswich. Subsequently, I worked as an auditor in local government and higher education. After ten years auditing, I moved into teaching professional accountancy and management programmes in further education and HEIs, becoming a qualified teacher as well as a qualified accountant. Taking my PhD as a mature student, I was senior lecturer at University of Essex, moving to Portsmouth as Professor in Accounting in 2009.

In 2024, I was appointed to the REF2029 UOA17 Sub-panel for Business and Management, a role I also held for REF2021. I have also held external roles for the ICAEW, CIEH, Management Control Association, the British Accounting and Finance Association and CABS Journal Guide.

My research interests lie in the way accounting communications are used in organisations and supply chains. I am particularly interested in the use of social theory investigate the reasons why accounting tasks are done in the way they are and why they might be done differently, to paraphrase Raymond J. Chambers.  My book 'Accounting and Social Theory: an Introduction' was published in October 2016 and explores the use, mis-use and abuse of accounting communications and how these affect relationships in societies. Particular topics include:

• accounting and performance measurement in the food industry;
• food fraud;
• accounting communication practices;
• cost of returns and fraudulent returns in retail;
• strong structuration theory in accounting research.

Teaching Responsibilities

I currently teach on the module 'Financial Crime and the Law' on the MSc Forensic Accounting course. I also teach qualititative research skills for the Doctoral Development Programme. At Portsmouth, I have in the past run the MSc Research Methods for the Faculty, supervised dissertations for undergraduate and postgraduate courses, and taught various modules on strategic management accounting.

PhD Supervision

I have supervised a number of PhD projects with the most recent being in food safety governance; consumer fraud in lean retail environments; target cost management and NPD in food manufacturing; and the aspects of fraud in the food and drink industry. Ongoing projects include investigations into food deserts, food waste, and fraud in organic supply chains and the wine trade.

Media Availability

I have published several articles in The Conversation and other media outlets. I have been interviewed by the BBC, including for 'Farming Today' and 'You and Yours'. I have also been interviewed on television for the BBC's 'Panorama' programme, and for Channel 4 'Dispatches'.

I am happy to take calls and emails from media on my research, and am aware of the need to respond to journalists in a timely manner. These should be directed to [email protected]/ 07957201290.

Interested journalists can also contact the University's Media and Communications team for support and advice on all media engagement, including out of hours.