AProf Rachel Baskerville

Associate Professor,
School of Accounting and Commercial Law

Profile

Rachel Baskerville has worked at Victoria on four occasions since graduation with the Diploma of Accounting in 1992: firstly as an Assistant Lecturer whilst completing a MCA thesis; as a Lecturer from 1996 – 1999; a Senior Lecturer from December 2003 – 2006, and then as Associate Professor at VUW from 2006. She also worked at the Institute of Chartered Accountants for three years (1993 – 1996) whilst completing her CA qualifications, five years at the University of Auckland 1999- 2003, and an Associate Professor at University of Exeter, UK (2007 – Feb 2009). She remains an Honorary Fellow of the University of Exeter.

Rachel Baskerville is member of the following organisations: AAA, Acad. of Mgmt, AAANZ, NOHANZ, AAH, and NZICA.

She is involved in teaching financial accounting and reporting at the second year undergraduate level, current issues in financial reporting in a post-graduate offering, supervising PhD and Masters projects; and is on sabbatical research and study leave from May to December 2010

SSRN http://ssrn.com/author=99028, Rank 6,875 out of 125,772

Current research activities:

• “Limits of Translatability: the case of international accounting and auditing standards” with Prof. Lisa Evans (Stirling University). The International Accounting Standards Board in London supported this survey of translators and translation committees, recently extended to textbook writers and contributors with an interdisciplinary emphasis in order to study: ‘Translation issues impacting on European Accounting textbooks: a multi-disciplinary approach’.

• “How do culturally-based distinctions in hegemonic constructs (respect, power and authority) contribute to students’ perceptions of quality in relation to learning and teaching in business faculties?” with Dr Shirley Gillett and Dr Kate Wynn-Williams (both Otago University), and Professor Elaine Evans, (Associate Professor of Accounting, Macquarie University, Sydney). This research, based on surveys and focus groups in three jurisdictions, is focussing on the questions: How do culturally-based distinctions in hegemonic constructs (respect, power and authority) contribute to students’ perceptions of quality in relation to learning and teaching in business faculties; and how can a university meet their expectations of excellence in their learning experience?

• “Financial statement users' perceptions regarding auditors' responsibilities when conducting a financial statement audit and the message conveyed in an unqualified audit report” with Professor Brenda Porter and Professor Ciaran O'hOgartaigh (Dublin); comprising of a large survey, and an experiment of user perceptions of the Audit report in NZ and the UK. The preliminary report from this study was presented in June 2009 to the AICPA and IAASB.

• “Financing Sports Organisations in New Zealand: the impact of governors’ choices”, with Dr. Carolyn Cordery (VUW) We received funding for this from New Zealand National Sporting Body (SPARC) in December 2008. The objective of this project is to assess the impact of governors’ choices on the sustainability of New Zealand’s amateur sports and recreation organisations through empirical research of financing practices.

Recent publications include

“The impact of globalization on professional accounting firms: evidence from New Zealand”, with David Hay, accepted for publication in Accounting History.

“The ‘NZ’ in ‘NZ IFRS’: Public Benefit Entity Amendments”, 2008, with Mike Bradbury Australian Accounting Review Forum, No. 46 Vol. 18 Issue 3 pages 185 – 190.

 “The association between partnership financial integration and risky audit client portfolios” with David Hay and Travis Hui Qiu, Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, 2007, Vol. 26 Issue 2, pp. 57-68

“An analysis of the value of cash flow statements of New Zealand pension schemes” with Fawzi Laswad, 2007, British Accounting Review, Volume 39 issue 4 pp. 347-355

 “A history of the establishment of charity regulators: A United Kingdom/New Zealand comparison” with Carolyn Cordery. Accounting History 2007, 12 (1): 7 - 27

“Professional closure by proxy: the impact of changing educational requirements on class mobility for a cohort of Big 8 partners” Accounting History 2006, 11(3): 289 - 317.

“The effect of accounting firm mergers on the market for audit services: New Zealand evidence” with David Hay Abacus 2006, 42 (1): 87-104

“A Very Private Matter: anti-nepotism rules in accounting partnerships” Oral History in New Zealand 2006 18: 13-17.

“From Local to Global: Auckland Accounting Partnerships”, pages 220–231 in City of Enterprise: Perspectives on Auckland Business History, 2006, Eds: Ian Hunter and Diana Morrow, Auckland University Press.

Recent conference papers include

“The Financial Reporting Accountability of the Global Economic Multilaterals” with Bill Huckstep, presented to the 6th International Critical Management Studies Conference, in Warwick, July 2009.

“Exploring accountability and image in health contracting” with Carolyn J. Cordery - presented to the 6th International Critical Management Studies Conference, in Warwick, July 2009

“They are a nonprofit because they make no profit”: constructing organisational orientation” with Carolyn Cordery, presented as a Poster to the Academy of Management Conference in Chicago, August 2009.

 “Rugged landscapes: K and N values for Big 4 and mid-tier professional firms in the UK (with Kevin McMeeking, Univ of Exeter), presented as a Poster to the American Accounting Association conference (New York, August 2009) and presented to the British Accounting Association Conference, April 2009

The study of ‘The Nine Lives of Managerial Discretion’ was presented to the University of Loughborough, on February 27th, 2008; a version titled “Why talking past each other about managerial discretion matters” was presented as a Poster to the American Accounting Association conference (New York, August 2009) and as a full paper to the Interdisciplinary Perspectives in Accounting in Innsbruck, July 2009.

“Chiefs and Big Men: the utility of a tribal metaphor for corporate organizations” presented to the 6th International Critical Management Studies Conference, in Warwick, July 2009 after a presentation to the University College, Dublin, September 19th, 2008.

“Britons of the South: the nexus of class, gender, and race in the early years of the accounting profession in New Zealand” was presented to the WCAH Congress in Istanbul in July 2008

 “Internet pathways for stakeholder engagement and accountability: universities in the United Kingdom and their donors” with Susan Ngan and Carolyn Cordery, presented to the July 2008 AFAANZ conference.

“From the market to the Third Sector: what style for primary health organisations’ accountability?” with Carolyn Cordery, presented to the Eighth International Conference of the International Society for Third Sector Research and the Second EMES-ISTR European Conference, University of Barcelona, July, 2008.

‘Sector Bending’: instrumental rationality in action with revenue recognition by not-for-profit organisations in the health sector” with Carolyn Cordery, presented to the Financial Reporting and Business Communication Conference, Cardiff, July 2008

“Robert Muldoon, Accountant, Prime Minister” with Trish Keeper, presented to the Banff Accounting History Conference, Canada, August 2007.

“The concealed problems for accounting labour in global professional network initiatives”, with David Hay, presented to the Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Conference in Auckland, New Zealand, July 2007.

“Globalization of professional accounting: the Big 8 entering New Zealand” with David Hay, presented to the Accounting History International Conference in Banff Canada, August 2007

“Accountability discharge in primary healthcare organisations: rationale-based assessments” with Carolyn Cordery, presented to the Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Conference in Auckland, New Zealand, July 2007.

“Paying the price of the failure to retain legitimacy in a national charity: the CORSO story”; with David Sutton, and Carolyn Cordery; presented to the Financial Reporting and Business Communication Conference, Cardiff, July 2007

“The significance of role definition and specificity on performance-based compensation: the case of accounting partnerships”, with John Beechey, presented to the Oxford Business and Economic Conference June 2007; aligned to: “Performance-based compensation: how an oral history can inform our understanding of accounting partnership income allocation models” presented to the American Accounting Association conference in Chicago, August, 2007

“Small GAAP: a large jump for the IASB” with Carolyn Cordery, presented to the Asian-Pacific Conference on International Accounting Issues, Wellington, 2005, AFAANZ in Wellington, July 2006, and the Cardiff Financial Reporting and Business Communication Research Conference July 2006

“Stakeholder Divergence and Institutional Extinction in the Not-for-profit Sector: the CORSO story” with David Sutton and Carolyn Cordery, presented to the Asia-Pacific Economic and Business History Conference, Queensland, February 2006