The Open University

Professional biography

Ruth joined the OU in 2024 and researches emerging issues in Sustainability Reporting, Integrated Reporting, Integrated Thinking and corporate governance. She has research skills in Python, Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques, STATA and NVivo. She has extensive facilitation and course development experience in accounting and finance topics, and has taught a range of audiences, from undergraduate through to C-Suite. Prior to joining the OU, Ruth was at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, where she was Director of the Business Masters degree programme.

Prior to academia, Ruth worked as a chartered accountant in financial management roles for major FMCG firms in the UK, and subsequently worked as a senior consultant both in the UK and Australia. She is a Fellow of the ICAEW and the HEA.

Publications

Journal articles

The International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) past, present, and future: critical reflections and a research agenda (2024-05-30)
de Villiers, Charl; Dimes, Ruth; La Torre, Matteo and Molinari, Matteo
Pacific Accounting Review, 36(2) (pp. 255-273)

How will AI text generation and processing impact sustainability reporting? Critical analysis, a conceptual framework and avenues for future research (2024-01-02)
de Villiers, Charl; Dimes, Ruth and Molinari, Matteo
Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 15(1) (pp. 96-118)

Hallmarks of Integrated Thinking (2024-01)
Dimes, Ruth and de Villiers, Charl
The British Accounting Review, 56, Article 101281(1)

Determinants, mechanisms and consequences of UN SDGs reporting by universities: conceptual framework and avenues for future research (2024)
de Villiers, Charl; Dimes, Ruth and Molinari, Matteo
Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management ((Early Access))

Non-financial reporting and corporate governance: a conceptual framework (2024)
Dimes, Ruth and Molinari, Matteo
Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 15(5) (pp. 1067-1093)

How management control systems can enable, constrain, and embed integrated reporting (2023-12)
Bezuidenhout, Stefan; de Villiers, Charl and Dimes, Ruth
Accounting & Finance, 63(4) (pp. 4251-4273)

Will the formation of the International Sustainability Standards Board result in the death of integrated reporting? (2023-03-21)
de Villiers, Charl and Dimes, Ruth
Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 19(2) (pp. 279-295)

How Integrated Thinking Can Be Detected in Management Disclosures in Annual Reports: Insights from a Large-Scale Text-Analysis Approach (2023)
Dimes, Ruth; De Villiers, Charl and Chen, Li
Journal of Management Accounting Research, 35(3) (pp. 75-99)

Insights from narrative disclosures regarding integrated thinking in integrated reports in South Africa and Japan (2021-08-19)
Arul, Rayhan; de Villiers, Charl and Dimes, Ruth
Meditari Accountancy Research, 29(4) (pp. 720-739)

Determinants, mechanisms and consequences of corporate governance reporting: a research framework (2021-03)
de Villiers, Charl and Dimes, Ruth
Journal of Management and Governance, 25 (pp. 7-26)

How management control systems enable and constrain integrated thinking (2021)
Dimes, Ruth and de Villiers, Charl
Meditari Accountancy Research, 29(4) (pp. 851-872)

Book chapters

The concept of capitals. Unit 10 (2024)
Halari, Anwar; Bernardi, Cristiana; Dimes, Ruth and Shields, Karin
In: Smith, Susan; Murphy, Richard and Rose, Jennifer eds. Principles of Accounting
Publisher : Accounting Streams | Published : Ely, UK

Critical analysis of the contribution of Integrated Reporting (IR) to sustainability (2022-07-21)
de Villiers, Charl and Dimes, Ruth
In: Adams, Carol ed. Handbook of Accounting and Sustainability (pp. 210-223)
ISBN : 9781800373518 | Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing Limited | Published : Cheltenham, UK

Focusing on sustainable value creation amidst and beyond the Covid-19 crisis through the use of Integrated Thinking (2021-08-06)
Dimes, Ruth and de Villiers, Charl
In: Husted, Kenneth and Sinkovics, Rudolf R. eds. Management Perspectives on the Covid-19 Crisis: Lessons from New Zealand (pp. 134-145)
ISBN : 9781800882096 | Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing | Published : Cheltenham, UK