Keele Management School

I have been a Fellow in Public Sector Accounting here since August 2010, having previously been a lecturer in accounting. I came to Keele in September 2002 from Staffordshire University, where I was an academic for many years. Before that I worked in National Health Service finance, where I qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant. I have a degree in Politics and Sociology from the University of Kent and a PGCE from Liverpool University.

My research interests concern resource utilisation and management, performance evaluation and accountability in the public sector. I have been engaged for some time in collaborative research and evaluation projects in health, social care, community safety and urban renewal.

I joined the committee of the British Accounting Association Public Services special interest group in 2008.

Funded Research

• 1995 - 1997 Evaluation of Gladstone/St. James Urban Pilot Project 
• 1995 - 1998 Study of Effect of Standard Spending Assessments on the Major Cities 
• 1997 - 2000 Study of Approaches to Resource Allocation and Performance Evaluation by Health Authorities 
• 1999 - 2002 Evaluation of Sustain and Reablement (social care) projects 
• 2000 - 2003 Evaluation of Stoke-on-Trent Targeted Policing Initiative 
• 2002 - 2004 Study of Emergency Ambulance Use in Staffordshire 
• 2005 - 2007 Evaluation of a Detention Officer Outsourcing Project

Supervision

I recently supervised to completion a PhD thesis into New Public Management and HRM in Universities

Editorship

I became a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Emergency Services in 2011.

Journal Articles

• Exploring the Utility of Current Performance Measures for Changing Roles and Practices of Ambulance Paramedics with J. Radcliffe, Public Money and Management, 2010.
• Using Economic Analysis in Evaluating Police Service Projects: The Case of an Outsourcing Project' with R.C. Mawby and L. Walley, The Journal of Finance and Management in Public Services, 2009
• Emergency Calls and Cancellations; Policy Issues, Implementation and the case of an English NHS Ambulance Trust’ with J. Radcliffe, International Journal of Public Sector Management, 2009
• Editorial: Dilemmas of Reconciling Local Delivery and Central Direction in Public Services with J. Radcliffe, Special Edition, International Journal of Public Sector Management, 2009
• ‘Workforce Modernisation in Police Detention Suites: The Dilemmas of Outsourcing in Public Services’ with R.C. Mawby and L.Walley, Policing: a Journal of Policy and Practice, 2009.
• ‘Workforce modernisation, outsourcing and the ‘permanent revolution’ in policing’, with R.C. Mawby and L.Walley, Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 2009.
• ‘Deja vu all over again? Programme Budgeting, Resource Allocation by Health Authorities and the Contemporary NHS’, The Journal of Finance and Management in Public Services, 2008.
• ‘Performance Measurement and the English Ambulance Service’, with J. Radcliffe, Public Money and Management, June 2007
• ‘Economic Analysis and the Evaluation of Police Service Projects; Clarification and Critique’ Police Research & Management (6-1), 2003.

Conference Papers published in refereed Conference Proceedings 

• 'Concepts of Organisational Effectiveness; towards addressing the role of the HRM function in higher education institutions' with H.F. Mansour in Changes and New Directions in Human Services, E. Berg (ed.) Selected papers from the Dilemmas for Human Services (2010) Conference (Lulea University of Technology), 2011.
• 'Inappropriate or appropriate calls?  Debating the usefulness of Lean Thinking to the Ambulance Service in oversoming perceptual barriers' with J. Radcliffe in Breaking Down the Barriers; M.Dent and J. Radcliffe (ed.s) selected papers from the Dilemmas for Human Services (2009) Conference (Staffordshire University) 2010
• ‘Rising Emergency Call outs: the case of an English NHS Ambulance Trust’ with J. Radcliffe in Dilemmas for Human Services; J.Chandler (ed.), Selected papers from the Dilemmas for Human Services [2005] Conference (UEL), 2006.
• ‘Economic Analysis and Public Sector Projects: Concepts and Dilemmas’ in A Post NPM World? Ethics and Risk in a Changing Environment; J. Radcliffe, M.Dent, S.Suckling & L. Morgan (ed.s), Selected papers from the Dilemmas for Human Services [2003] Conference (Staffordshire University), 2004.
• 'Dilemmas of Resource Allocation and Rationalism' in Dilemmas Facing the Public Sector: Issues for Professionals, Managers and Users; J.Chandler and J. Barry (ed.s), Selected papers from the Dilemmas for Human Services [2002] Conference (UEL), 2004.

Recent Reports

• An Outsourcing Detention Officers Project with R.C. Mawby, UCE Birmingham, and L. Walley, Staffordshire University. Home Office Evaluation Report, 2007.
• ‘Report on Ambulance Workflows in Staffordshire’ with J. Radcliffe, Staffordshire University. Report to Shropshire and Staffordshire Strategic Health Authority, 2004.
• 'Intensive Supervising and Monitoring Projects' with A.Worrall, R.C. Mawby and T. Hope, Dept Of Criminology, Keele University. Refereed Home Office Online Report, 2003.

I have taught at all levels of higher education from BTEC, through undergraduate and postgraduate levels to professional (including final stage ACCA and CIMA). My main teaching areas are management accounting, management control and public sector accounting.

At Staffordshire I was Head of the Accounting Field, which entailed membership to the Committee of Heads of Accounting. I have participated substantially in quality assurance and held numerous course directorships at both Universities. Similarly, I have played a major role in the design, validation and implementation of many key courses and in accreditation. I have also participated significantly in reviewing course proposals, internally and externally.

I was Chief Examiner for the ICSA Local Government Financial Management paper, 1993-4 and an External Examiner at the University of East London, 2003 -2007.

In 2001, as part of the Tempus Public Administration and Financial Management Programme, I delivered an intensive course on 'Performance Measurement in the Public Sector' to senior Albanian civil servants in Tirana.

Currently, I am the Treasurer of the CIMA North West Midlands branch, having been a committee member for many years and previously, branch president, secretary and careers & education officer. I am also the Treasurer of the Staffordshire Credit Union.

Institutional and professional membership

I am a member of:

• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants; 
• British Accounting Association (and Public Services, Inter-Disciplinary Perspectives and Accounting in Less Developed and Emerging Economies special interest groups); 
• Performance Measurement Association; 
• Management Control Association.