The Audit Reform Lab are a collective of academics, consultants and activists located in the Centre for Research on Accounting and Finance in Context (CRAFiC) at the University of Sheffield.
The Lab is a research and campaigning organisation that fuses academic research and an investigative sensibility with a media and policy focused strategy for progressing the cause of audit reform.
The laboratory is run and coordinated by Professor Adam Leaver at the Centre for Research on Accounting & Finance in Context (CRAFiC) at the University of Sheffield. The lab comprises leading academics in accounting and finance: Dr Daniel Tischer, a Senior Lecturer in Accounting & Financialization, James Brackely an ex-accountant and now lecturer in accounting, Jio Ji – a lecturer in finance and expert in machine learning and financial analysis, Mirna Jabbour – an expert in risk management and environmental reporting and Thejo Jose – a research associate, with expertise in audit.
The Audit Reform Lab is wholly funded by one $500k grant, provided by the charity Luminate.
Adam Leaver
Adam is a Professor in Accounting & Society and Director of the Audit Reform Lab. He is also Director of the Centre for Research on Accounting and Finance in Context at the University of Sheffield and holds a fractional role as Professor in Accounting at Copenhagen Business School. Adam’s primary research interest is in the financialization of the firm and firm reporting. In recent years this interest has extended into the problems of audit failure, where he has taken a lead campaigning role. He has worked with broadcasters and journalists at the BBC, Financial Times, The Times, The Guardian and other national outlets on the accounting practices of various organisations and on corporate failures.
Daniel Tischer
Daniel is a Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Financialisaton. He conducts critical, interdisciplinary research into finance, banking and accounting. He has published numerous public interests reports and is involved in policy-focused research on access to cash and banking in the UK. He has experience in collaborating with industry and regulators including the FCA, UK Finance and the Post Office. He has presented his work to a range of academic and non-academic audiences. Daniel has experience in generating impact. His outputs are featured in national and international news media, televised news items and in the HM Treasury’s consultation on access to cash.
James Brackley
James is a Lecturer in Accounting, specialising in Financial Reporting, Audit and Public Sector Accounting reform. James’ PhD was on the financing of Public Health activities in Local Authorities. He is an ICAEW Chartered Accountant, qualifying in the Public Sector practice of PwC, and Senior Fellow of the HEA. His current research interests cover theorisations of how things are made valuable in public life via accounting and accountability relationships across a range of empirical settings. These include the accounting industry, audit regulation, and local government and higher education finances. James also convenes the Critical Accounting Podcast, which you can follow on Twitter or subscribe to on YouTube.
Thejo Jose
Thejo joined the Audit Reform Lab as a Research Associate in February 2023. He earned his Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Aberdeen, where his dissertation focused on the influence of non-audit services on the audit quality of FTSE 350 companies. With a pedagogic career spanning over 15 years, Thejo has taught across a diversity of university and professional accounting programs. He has also trained employees from Big 4 accounting firms for various international accounting certifications. His areas of research expertise encompass the impact of IFRS standards, audit quality, and sustainability reporting.
Jiao Ji
Jiao is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Finance in the division of Accounting and Financial Management at Sheffield University Management School. She specializes in empirical corporate finance and governance, focusing on areas like corporate risk, misconduct, and disclosure. She is adept in advanced big data analytics, particularly in applying textual analysis to corporate disclosures and social media content. Her interests extend to banking, innovations, ESG/CSR, and behavioural finance. Jiao’s research, focusing on accounting and finance, has been featured in distinguished, peer-reviewed journals. Beyond her publication achievements, she plays a vital role on various scientific committees, contributing to paper reviews and assessments of funding applications. Furthermore, she holds the position of associate editor at Qualitative Research in Financial Markets (CABS 1), underscoring her expertise and leadership in the field.
Mirna Jabbour
Mirna is a Lecturer in Accounting. She is also the Operations Director of the Centre for Research on Accounting and Finance in Context (CRAFiC), and PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education) Development Director at Sheffield University Management School. She is a scholar with expertise in Enterprise Risk Management and Environmental Disclosure and Performance. Her recent work has focused specifically on broadening the scope of enterprise risk management (ERM) research to include socio-cognitive aspects. Mirna’s articles have been published in internationally recognised journals in her discipline and field. She has also presented her work at many national and international conferences. She serves as a reviewer for several internationally recognised and subject-specific academic journals. She previously served as Editorial Assistant of the International Journal of Management Accounting Research.