Christopher Humphrey (BCom, MA(Econ), PhD, ACA) is a Professor of Accounting in the Accounting and Finance division of the Alliance Manchester Business School.  

Christopher's main research interests are currently in the areas of international financial regulation, auditing practice and accounting education.  He is currently working on a number of research projects examining international standardisation in auditing and the functional competence of audit and the implications for accounting education, the rise of integrated reporting, and the development of consolidated ('whole of') government accounting systems. Recently he has completed joint research ventures which culminated in the publication of special sections of Critical Perspectives on Accounting (on the sustainability of the academic accounting discipline) and Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal (on accounting for austerity).  Christopher is always willing to consider the supervision of doctoral students with keen interests in the above and related research areas.

Christopher began his academic career at Manchester University in 1983 and worked subsequently at Leeds University Business School prior to becoming a professor of accounting at Sheffield University Management School in 1995. He returned to Manchester in 2001, serving as head of both the former Manchester School of Accounting and Finance (MSAF) (2001-04) and (following the merger of the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST) the enlarged Accounting and Finance Group within Manchester Business School (2004-06).

Since then, Christopher has held a full teaching and research portfolio, while also playing an active senior management role and serving on a range of important external committees and professional bodies, such as the Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and its affiliates, the Technical Strategy Board, and the Auditing and Assurance Faculty Committee, ICAEW’s Learning and Professional Development Board,  Conference of Professors of Accounting and Finance (CPAF), Management Committee and Board of the European Accounting Association (EAA), besides others.

Christopher has also acted as a close adviser of the ICAEW’s Audit Futures initiative, run in conjunction with the Innovation Lab and the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) and engaging with bodies such the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). Educational interactions with Audit Futures at the University of Manchester have notably seen the introduction of a programme teaching ‘philosophy for accountancy’, a development profiled at the 2014 World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) in Rome.

Christopher has received various awards and recognitions for best papers. In 2015, he also received the Distinguished Academic Award made annually by the British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA) for his substantial and direct contribution to UK academic accounting and finance life. (http://bafa.ac.uk/about/bafa-awards/daa-award.html).   

In 2016, Christpher became a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, and was noted as a leading figure globally in auditing and accounting research, with a particular interest in interdisciplinary and international aspects of auditing and accounting (https://www.acss.org.uk/news/forty-two-leading-social-scientists-conferred-fellows-academy-social-sciences/).

• 2017: Honorary Doctorate from Lund University, Sweden
• 2016: Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences
• 2016: Honorary Member of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants
• 2015: Distinguished Academic Award by the British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA)
• 2006: Distinguished memorial/inaugural lectureship/fellowships by the University of Wellington
• 1999: Jointly authored Best Paper awarded by the Financial Accountability and Management Journal
• 1994: Distinguished memorial/inaugural lectureship/fellowships by the University of Edinburgh
• 1993, 1996 & 2008: Jointly authored Best Paper awarded by the Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal
• 1991 – 1996: Award of 2-3 year academic fellowships sponsored by the ICAEW

• 2016 – date: The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) - Auditing and Assurance Faculty Committee (since 2016)
• 2009 – date: Director of Chartered Accountants’ Trustees (CATS) Ltd
• 2008-2012: Elected member of the Management Committee and Board of the European Accounting Association (EAA) 2007-2016: Member of ICAEW’S Technical Strategy Board
• 2007: Chair - Chartered Accountants Livery Charity’s (CALC) Bursary Award’s Panel
• 2006-2014: Secretary and Treasurer, Vice-Chair and Chair of the Conference of Professors of Accounting and Finance (CPAF)
• 2004-2011: Member of the governing Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
• 2004-2006: Member of ICAEW’s Learning and Professional Development Board

Teaching and supervision

Christopher has taught on a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate accounting courses, with his current main lecturing specialisms being in the areas of auditing and international accounting regulation. He has also made regular contributions to public sector executive management programmes and to doctoral research training courses. Christopher's doctoral supervision responsibilities include successfully completed theses on the role of women in the British and Japanese accounting professions, auditing in Kuwait and Spain, the international adoption of IFRS, and the role of the World Bank and the accounting profession in the new international financial architecture.

Christopher also has affiliations with various high ranking journals and is te Associate Editor and sits on the editorial boards of many distinguished international accounting journals. He has also held a number of international visiting academic positions in countries such as Spain, Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand. 

Journal affiliation

Christopher also has affiliations with various high ranking journals and sits on the editorial boards of many distinguished international accounting journals. He has also held a number of international visiting academic positions in countries such as Spain, Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand. 

Associate Editor: Journal of Accounting Literature; Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management (QRAM) and European Accounting Review (past)

Member of editorial boards: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal; Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory; British Accounting Review; Contemporary Accounting Research; Critical Perspectives on Accounting; Financial Accountability and Management; International Journal of Auditing; Accounting, Accountability and Performance; Qualitative Research in Financial Markets; Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal (QROM), Journal of Contemporary Accounting & Organisational Change, and Revista de Contabilidad.