Philip Cooper

The underlying theme of my research is the interface between accounting and the environmental impacts of economic activity. This encompasses investigation of how non-financial reporting at the corporate level can be optimised to support decision-making, including through the use of values derived from environmental economic techniques, and the response of financial markets to such information as well as to corporate sustainability performance more generally.

My research deals also with allied issues such as extending perspectives on the accounting entity and environmental impacts, considering aggregates such as economic sectors and countries, as embodied in a recent pan-European, cross-disciplinary EC Framework VI project on the marine environment, and the role of the accountant in achieving sustainable development. The latter is necessarily part of a broader research agenda that I am pursuing, dealing with the evolving role of the business accountant and the consequent educational and developmental needs that arise.