The workshop has an associated special issue of British Accounting Review and workshop participants will be especially encouraged to submit their papers. ASE is a friendly, scholarly event bringing together researchers from around the world to present, discuss and debate their research projects in various stages of development. The workshop is intended as a forum to encourage research collaboration across institutions and disciplines and for the dissemination of research outputs. The workshop is interdisciplinary and welcomes contributions from all disciplines interested in Accounting, Society or Environmental issues. We had hoped to run an in-person event in Aberdeen, but sadly the pandemic continues to disrupt normal life, so we feel that it is best to hold ASE online one more time, before hopefully resuming normal service in 2023.

The theme of this year’s workshop is ‘The road to recovery: sustainability imperatives and the reshaping of public finance and accounting in the post-pandemic world’ and as mentioned above is supported by a special issue in the British Accounting Review. The plenary speaker for the workshop is distinguished Professor Lee Parker from RMIT.

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered one of the most severe economic recessions in nearly a century: collapsing economic activity, shattering lives and families, and greatly intensifying pre-existing inequalities, particularly in developing countries. As the global pandemic plays out, now more than ever the services of public and social organisations are needed by the most vulnerable in society. Despite unparalleled increases in public spending, the pandemic has also brought into sharp focus the fragility of the apparatus of many parts of essential service provision, including healthcare, age care, co-production networks, education, and social protection. It has also revealed serious deficiencies in public sector financing, infrastructures, clean and wastewater management systems, energy systems and transport systems. In the face of the problems outlined above, policy makers, accountants and business experts have a key role to play in the recovery from the crisis. This Accounting, Society and the Environment (ASE) research workshop seeks to create a space in which the academic accounting and finance community can explore the challenges faced by public and third sector planners and decision makers, as they aim to restore stability and functionality to post pandemic services, without losing sight of the SDGs.

The deadline for submissions is 18 March 2022.

Any queries about the ASE workshop and special issue should be directed to Audrey Paterson (audrey.paterson@abdn.ac.uk).

Further details can be found here