Accounting and Finance
The Department is responsible for accounting and finance teaching at all academic levels, providing teaching on certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
Not surprisingly, given the professional community from which its members are drawn, it is the most homogeneous of all the departments in terms of the functional areas in which the members specialise - both in teaching and research. The Department conducts pioneering qualitative and quantitative research in a range of areas including equality, diversity, inclusion and social justice in different contexts, sustainability and ethics in accounting and finance, accounting, business and financial history, corporate governance, corporate financing and regulatory issues.
Research focus
Staff members are interested in various areas of accounting and finance undertaking research with an interdisciplinary perspective and employing a range of different methodological approaches. These areas include equality, diversity and inclusion within professions, sustainability within the chocolate industry, the circular economy, modern slavery and child labour, fraud, governance and accountability, the public interest in accounting, UN sustainable development goals, gender and financial history, professionalisation of accounting in different environments, asset pricing, corporate finance, institutional investors, and financial markets.
The Department has strengths in both qualitative and quantitative research methods including interview based research, historical research and quantitative research using a range of econometric/statistical techniques.
Centre for Public Understanding of Finance, Institutions and Networks (PUFIN)
Launched in 2013, this unique centre of research excellence focuses on financial education and its impact, consumer behaviours relating to savings, debt and spending and investment choices and decisions. The Centre of Public Understanding of Finance, Institutions and Networks (PUFIN) seeks to lead and engage in events that will enable the public to interact with both academics and practitioners in order to increase their awareness of some of the major contemporary challenges and how these may impact their financial decisions. It seeks to develop a multi-disciplinary research agenda that will enable members of the centre develop research ideas pertaining to decision-making by individuals within a highly connected world. The Centre also seeks to engage with organisations (e.g. charities) and policymakers, where possible, in order to understand and influence mechanisms and/or systems that support people’s financial decisions.
History and Political Economy of Business and Finance (HYPE)
Established in 2020, the History and Political Economy (HYPE) of Business and Finance is a research cluster bringing together scholars who aim at developing a critical approach to business and financial theory. HYPE puts forward an interdisciplinary research agenda using insights from the perspective of political economy (i.e. an interdisciplinary approach to the relations among individuals, governments, and public policy) and history. The cluster aims at providing a critical understanding of the main contemporary issues and challenges facing business and society, such as rising inequalities, and the financial and environmental fragilities. HYPE also works to establishing communication links, dialogue, and knowledge exchange between academics, businesses, and policy makers.
Academic Publications
Our most recent publications are shown below. Full details of our research publications can be found on Open Research Online and via our staff pages.
Contact the Department for Accounting and Finance
For all department-related enquiries, please email us.
Teaching
Teaching responsibilities include contributions to:
Executive Dean appointed Vice-President (academic), EFMD
Professor Rebecca Taylor, Executive Dean of The Open University Business School, has been appointed Vice-President (academic) of the European Foundation for Management Development.
Vice-Chancellor Q&A
Video highlights from 4th May 2016 Breakfast Briefing, the OU's Vice-Chancellor Peter Horrocks responds to questions from Dr Andrew Lindridge, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the OU Business School - discussing the future of the OU, the importance of our students’ success, and how to operate in an environment of change in turbulent times.
Pensioners could lose due to government's secondary annuity proposals
The government aims to extend the new pension freedoms to those who have previously bought an annuity by allowing pensioners to sell their annuities from April 2017. However an independent study published by The Open University Business School, suggests there are fundamental barriers to effective competition for secondary annuities that are likely to prevent pensioners getting a fair deal, and that current government proposals appear insufficient to address this.
FutureLearn and The Open University announce MOOCs for credit
Learners will now be able to use its massive open online courses (MOOCs) to earn academic course credits towards degrees and an MBA, professional qualifications and formal CPD accreditation.
Personal financial advice from the experts
A forum held by True Potential PUFin to launch its latest free online course asked financial luminaries on the forum panel “What one piece of personal finance advice would you give?”
New External Advisors join OUBS’ Masters Programme Committee
The Open University Business (OUBS) is pleased to announce two new External Advisor appointments. Dr Priya E. Abraham has been appointed as the External Industry Advisor and Professor Colin Beard joins as the External Academic Advisor.
‘We need to talk about Money’: Breaking down personal finance taboos through online courses
Sharon Collard, Professor of Personal Finance Capability at the OUBS looks at the work being carried out by the True Potential PUFin, to help improve the UK’s personal finance capability through the development of online courses for the general public.
OUBS launches Centre of excellence for Voluntary Sector Leadership
The Open University Business School has announced the launch of its first free online course as part of the newly established Centre for Voluntary Sector Leadership.
OUBS ranked sixth in QS Distance Online MBA Rankings 2016
This year’s edition is QS’s most comprehensive yet, with thirty online MBA’s being ranked. The Open University’s online MBA has risen two places from 2015 to stand sixth in the 2016 rankings.
OUBS ranked sixth in Global Online MBA Rankings 2016
The OUBS is ranked joint sixth in the Global Online MBA Rankings, alongside IE Business School.
News
The impact of Covid-19 on staff in UK higher education
A research project, funded internally by The Open University, explored how the pandemic impacted academic and professional staff in higher education throughout the UK.
- The impact of Covid-19 on staff in UK higher education
- Cost-of-living crisis – greatest challenge for 40 years says academic
- The Impact of Covid-19 on Staff in UK Higher Education
- New OU / BBC co-production The Bottom Line is back
- Take control of your finances, your career and your health with a Midlife MOT
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