Dr Petros Vourvachis

I joined Loughborough Business School as a Lecturer in Accounting in 2015. I previously held full-time academic appointments at the Universities of Exeter and Kingston. Before becoming an academic, I worked as an accountant in both the public and the private sectors and as an adjunct researcher for Eurostat.

My research interests are interdisciplinary and principally lie in the fields of corporate accounting and accountability, corporate social (and environmental) reporting, and corporate social responsibility. My teaching specialism is financial accounting and reporting, and corporate governance and responsibility.

I am currently module leader for:

• BSP423 Financial Reporting and Company Performance (postgraduate)
• BSP434 Corporate Governance and Responsibility (postgraduate)
• BSB007 Financial Reporting (undergraduate, year two)

My research specialism is corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting (social and environmental accounting, sustainability disclosure, corporate social and environmental responsibility). I am particularly interested in the reporting and measurement aspects: on ‘why’ and ‘how’ organisations communicate CSR information, ‘what’ factors influence this, predominantly, voluntary practice and ‘how’ can this information be evaluated and ultimately be embedded into (rather being a supplement of) the existing statutory financial reporting templates.

I welcome PhD applicants interested in researching CSR reporting and particularly: organisational motivations for CSR reporting; ways to analyse and evaluate CSR reporting information; relationship of CSR reporting with media pressure; relationship of CSR reporting with corporate governance; CSR reporting by Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Visiting scholar

• Sep 2016 – Dec 2016, University of Trento (Italy), International Accounting
• Oct / Nov 2014, Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, Nanjing (China), Accounting and management

External examiner (taught programmes)

• Sep 2017 – present, Kingston Business School, London, Financial Reporting and Audit (UG)
• Sep 2014 – present, Imperial College, London, Accounting (PG)
• Sep 2016 – present, University of Salford, Manchester, Business Ethics and Sustainability (UG)

Awards

• Fantastic Feedback Award, Loughborough Academic Awards 2017
• Highly commended research paper award, Emerald Literati Awards 2016 (for the paper published in the Journal of Applied Accounting Research titled 'Content analysis in social and environmental reporting research: trends and challenges')
• Best supervisor in Accounting and Finance, Exeter Student Guild Teaching Awards, 2014 (also nominated in the category of most supportive member of staff)
• Best Feedback Provider (runner-up), Exeter Student Guild Teaching Awards 2012 (also nominated in the categories of best lecturer and most supportive member of staff)

Memberships

• Member of the British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA), the European Accounting Association (EAA), the Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research (CSEAR), University of St. Andrews, and the Economic Chamber of Greece.

• Arena, C, Liong, R, Vourvachis, P (forthcoming) Carrot or stick: CSR disclosures by Southeast Asian companies, Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, ISSN: 2040-8021. DOI: 10.1108/SAMPJ-06-2016-0037.
• Vourvachis, P, Woodward, T, Woodward, DG, Patten, DM (2016) CSR disclosure in response to major airline accidents: a legitimacy-based exploration, Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 7(1), pp.26-43, ISSN: 2040-8021. DOI: 10.1108/SAMPJ-12-2014-0080.
• Vourvachis, P and Woodward, T (2015) Content analysis in social and environmental reporting research: trends and challenges, Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 16(2), pp.166-195, ISSN: 0967-5426. DOI: 10.1108/JAAR-04-2013-0027.
• Michelon, G and Vourvachis, P (2015) Accounting for social value, The International Journal of Accounting, 50(1), pp.102-105, ISSN: 1094-4060. DOI: 10.1016/j.intacc.2014.12.001.
• Turner, G, Vourvachis, P, Woodward, T (2006) Heading towards sustainability reporting: A pilot study into the progress of embracing the Global Reporting Initiative in the United Kingdom, Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 8(2), pp.41-70, ISSN: 0967-5426. DOI: 10.1108/96754260680001049.