Keele Management School

Akrum Helfaya is a lecturer in accounting at the Keele Management School, Keele University. Previously he taught at University of Aberdeen Business School, University of Aberdeen, and Alexandria University, Egypt. Based on the successful completion of his PhD in May 2012, the University of Aberdeen had   taken the unusual step of offering Akrum an Honorary Research Fellow position for two years (2012- 2014). This entitles him to use the University’s facilities on the same terms as members of academic staff. His principal research interests are in the areas of Social and Environmental accounting, Islamic accounting, and Visual presentations of accounting narratives. Akrum has presented his research in leading international conferences and workshops in various countries. His teaching interests are social and environmental accounting, accounting for sustainability, financial and management accounting and corporate governance.

Akrum Helfaya’s principal research interests are in the areas of Social, Environmental and Sustainability Accounting, Islamic Accounting, the Quality of Online and Paper financial and non-financial reporting in both developed and developing countries, Accounting Education in Developing Countries and the Visual Presentations of Accounting Narratives.

His current research focuses on: 1) corporate social responsibility [CSR] reporting from the context of developing countries; 2) CSR in Islam, and 3) the quality of sustainability/CSR assurance statements. Regarding CSR in developing countries, Akrum interests are: a) to investigate CSR in Egypt by assessing the impact of Egyptian governmental corporate responsibility initiatives across the Egyptian public, semi-public, and private companies and b) to find out why Egyptian managers started to disclose social, environmental and ethical information and also what are the attitudes of different Egyptian stakeholder groups towards this new phenomenon.

For many Muslims, Qur’an and Islamic teachings provide precedence to holistic approaches to knowledge, society, environment, and life. Such notions depart from capitalistic and open market principles and give the basis to open up economies finance, sustainability, and accounting research to a broader social, environmental, and economic agenda. So, a thematic content analysis of the holy book “Qur’an” will be used to explore what Islam says about the central issues of social justice, equality, eradication of poverty, caring of local communities and environment, empowerment of women, society’s welfare and people’s wellbeing, accountability and transparency.

Akrum is also extending his research to assess the quality of sustainability/CSR assurance statements. More specifically, the quality of these assurance statements will be assessed in a global context. Where prior studies have placed their focus mainly on individual countries, or geographical regions as a whole, this research places emphasis on the commonalities and differences of assurance statements across countries.

Work in Progress (2012- 2013)

• Ekara, A. & Whittington, M. “Assessing and exploring the quality of corporate environmental reporting: Developing a multi-dimensional preparer and user based view”. It will be submitted very soon to Accounting Forum.
• Ekara, A. Whittington, M. & Roberts, C. “Designing Environmental Disclosure Quality Measures: Does it make a difference?” Targeted journal: British Accounting Review.
• Ekara, A. & Whittington, M. “Assessing the quality of corporate financial and non-financial reporting: A Review of the Literature”, Targeted journal: Journal of Accounting Literature.
• Ekara, A. & Whittington, M. “Assessment of the environmental reporting of FTSE 100 Companies: A Comprehensive Comparison”, Targeted journal: British Journal of Management. 

Conferences Presentations (2009- 2013)

• “Designing environmental disclosure quality measures: does it make a difference? The 36^th Annual Congress of European Accounting Association, Paris- France, 6- 8 May, 2013 (with Mark Whittington & Clare Roberts).
• “Assessment of corporate reporting quality: a review of the literature”, The 36^th Annual Congress of European Accounting Association, Paris- France, 6- 8 May 2013 (with Mark Whittington).
• “Assessment of the environmental reporting of FTSE 100 Companies: A Comprehensive Comparison”, The 49^th Annual Conference of British Accounting and Finance Association, Newcastle- UK, 9- 11 April 2013 (with Mark Whittington).
• “Exploring and assessing the quality of corporate environmental reporting: Developing a multi-dimensional preparer and user based view”, The 23^rd International Congress on Social and Environmental Accounting Research (CSEAR), University of St- Andrews, 7^th – 9^th September, 2011 (with Mark Whittington).
• “Designing Environmental Disclosure Quality Measures: Does it make a difference?,  British Accounting and Finance Association, Scottish Area Group- Annual Conference,  University of Edinburgh Business School, 31^st  August 2011 (with Clare Roberts & Mark Whittington).
• “Exploring and assessing the quality of corporate environmental reporting: Developing multi-dimensional preparer and user based view”, The 34^th Annual Congress of European Accounting Association, Rome- Siena, Italy, 20^th - 22^nd April 2011 (with Mark Whittington).
• “Assessing and exploring the Quality of Corporate Environmental Reporting: UK Evidence”, The 22^nd International Congress on Social and Environmental Accounting Research (CSEAR), University of St. Andrews, 1^st – 3^rd September 2010.
• “Assessing the Measurement of Quality rather than the Quantity of Sustainability Reporting”, Poster for the 3^rd GRI Global Conference on Transparency and Transparency, Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 2010 (with Mark Whittington).
• “Assessing and exploring the Quality of Corporate Environmental Reporting: UK Evidence”, ICAS Research Development Programme, March 2010, Edinburgh.
• “Assessing the Quality of Corporate Environmental Reporting: UK Evidence”, The 21^st International Congress on Social and Environmental Accounting Research (CSEAR), University of St. Andrews, 2^nd – 4^th September 2009.
• “Factors affecting the quality of corporate environmental reporting in terms of Extent, Scope, Content and Presentation style: UK Evidence”, ICAS/BAA Accounting & Finance SCOTDOC Colloquium, University of Stirling, June 2009.
• “The Drivers of Corporate Environmental Reporting: Evidence from the UK Food Industry”, BAA Annual Conference, 21-23 April 2009, University of Dundee (with Mark Whittington).

 Conferences Attendance

• Generating New Knowledge through Quantitative Approaches to Social Science: AQMen PhD Conference, University of Edinburgh Business School, 16^th May 2011.
• The Power of Numbers: Statistical uses and abuses: AQMeN Event, Edinburgh, 16^th May 2011.
• Accountability and Human Rights: CSEAR workshops and ESRC Research Seminar Series, University of St Andrews, 1^st September 2009.

Workshops Attendance

• A day workshop on: Visual Methodologies and Methods organised by International Network for Visual Studies in Organisations (InVisio) and Northern Advanced Research Training Initiative (NARTI),  Keele University, Keele Management School, Friday 15^th March 2013.
• Presenting Research to Different Types of Audience: Applied Quantitative Methods Network (AQMeN) PhD Workshop, University of Edinburgh Business School, 17- 19 May 2011.

Grants

• ACCA/ CSEAR Bursary 2011 (£450) to attend and present a final PhD Project and  a paper in the 23^rd International Congress on Social and Environmental Accounting Research  (CSEAR), University of St. Andrews, 7^th – 9^th September, 2011.
• ACCA/ CSEAR Bursary 2010 (£450) to attend Research Methods and Master Classes Sessions and present a paper in the 22^nd International Congress on Social and Environmental  Accounting Research (CSEAR), University of St- Andrews, 1^st – 3^rd September, 2010.
• GRI Bursary 2010 (€400) to attend and present a poster in the 3^rd GRI Global Conference on Sustainability and Transparency, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Amsterdam, May 2010.
• ACCA/ CSEAR Bursary 2009 (£450) to attend Accountability and Human Rights workshops and present my PhD proposal in the 21^st International Congress on Social and Environmental Accounting Research (CSEAR), University of St- Andrews, 1^st - 4^th September, 2009.

As a member of Accounting Group in Keele Management School Akrum is currently teaching Accounting Principles, Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance at the undergraduate level and Accounting and Finance at the postgraduate level.

His main teaching interests are in the areas of Social & Environmental Accounting, Accounting for Sustainability and Green Accounting, Financial & Management Accounting and Corporate Governance.

Qualifications and Memberships

   Qualifications

• PhD., 2012, University of Aberdeen, UK
• PCHE, 2011, University of Aberdeen, UK
• MRes in Accounting (with Distinction), 2008, University of Aberdeen, UK
• Postgraduate Diploma (Very Good), 2006, Alexandria University, Egypt
• B.COM. (HONS.), 2001,  Alexandria University, Egypt

    Academic Memberships

• Fellow, Higher Education Academy
• Member, Centre of Social and Environmental Accounting Research (CSEAR), University of St-Andrews [On-going]
• Member, the Social Responsibility Research Network (SRRNet) [On-going]
• Member, the British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA) [On-going]
• Member, the European Accounting Association (EAA) [On-going]

    Professional Membership

• Member, Arabia Corporate Social Responsibility Network [On-going]
• Member, Corporate Social Responsibility Middle East Network [On-going]