Professor Stuart Cooper
BA(Exon.), PhD(Aston)
Expertise
Stuart’s expertise relates to corporate accountability and how organizations account for and communicate their social and environmental impacts. His work is informed by his knowledge of accounting and accountability frameworks.
Current positions
Professor of Accounting
School of Accounting and Finance - Business School
Contact
Press and media
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Biography
Stuart Cooper is Professor of Accounting and Director of Graduate Studies for the School of Accounting and Finance. Since joining in 2013, Stuart has been Head of Department (2017 – 2019) at a time when the Department grew significantly and started the process to become a separate School within the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law. He is a member of the University’s Cabot Institute for the Environment.
Stuart is an Associate Editor of the British Accounting Review and an Editorial Board member of Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal; Accounting and Business Research; Accounting Forum; and Social and Environmental Accountability Journal. He is a member of the Higher Education Academy; British Accounting and Finance Association; and Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research.
Prior to joining Bristol, Stuart was an academic at Aston Business School, Aston University where he also completed his PhD studies. During his time at Aston, Stuart was the Chair of the Sustainable Aston Working Group and was Co-Director of the Social Responsibility and Sustainability Group. Before becoming an academic, Stuart qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ACA) whilst working in the Birmingham office of Coopers & Lybrand.
Research interests
Stuart’s research interests include issues related to the effects of organisations on environmental sustainability and social justice. He is particularly interested in accountability mechanisms and how organisations measure, manage and communicate their environmental and social impacts to their stakeholders.
His research has been published in international journals such as: Accounting and Business Research; Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal; Accounting, Organizations & Society; and Critical Perspectives on Accounting.
Publications
Recent publications
05/02/2025Exploring Dynamic Duality between Formal and Non-formal Accountability Processes in a Public Services Context
Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal
Sustainability (ESG) reporting
The Accounting Review
Corporate Accountability
Concise Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility
Materiality assessments in corporate sustainability and financial reporting
Conceptions of materiality in sustainability reporting frameworks
Handbook of Accounting and Sustainability
Teaching
Stuart’s teaching focuses upon the areas of Accountability and Accounting for Sustainability and Financial Reporting. Aligning with his research interests, he has taught courses relating to Accountability and Accounting for Sustainability at the postgraduate level. In Financial Reporting he has taught from Introductory to Advanced courses for both Undergraduate and Postgraduate students. His teaching approach is research-led, but also draws upon examples and activities relating to corporate practice.
Currently, Stuart is Unit Director for:
- EFIM10022 Accounting and Finance in Context (First year Undergraduate)
- EFIMM0015 Accountability and Accounting for Sustainability (Postgraduate)
In addition, he supervises MSc dissertations relating to Corporate Social and Sustainability Disclosures and supervises PhD students researching themes related to Social and Environmental Accountability.
