Additional Information

Pam is interested in attracting PhD students who areinterested in the public accountability of public private partnership type arrangementsin any country. Such research is likely to be case study based and to include a financial and qualitative analysis of the projects, and might extend to consider issues around the governance of such projects. Pam is alsointerested in attracting PhD studentswith interests in the implementation of IFRS or corporate governance regimes in companies, especially in developing countries. Such projects would not include measurement of compliance with IFRS, but rather woulduse qualitative research methods to conduct case studies of the practice of implementation within organisations, or to examineimplementation from a regulatory perspective.

Pam Stapleton (previously Edwards) qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1980 andgained commercial experienceas both financial and managementaccountant. Shewas also a value for money auditor in the public sectorbeforecommencing an academic career in 1986.She joined the University of Manchester in 1990 and since then she hasspecialised in teaching financial reportingto a wide range of students including undergraduate, postgraduate,and recently MBA student's onMBS's worldwide MBA programme. Pam has held a wide range of administrative roles within the university, including Head of the Accounting and Finance division, and associate head for teaching in AMBS and at the predecessor organisation UMIST, Director of International Studies, and Programme Director for the IM degreeand.

Pam'searly research interests focused on how accounting information is used by organisations and how this impacts their performance. Early work examined the use of budgeting information by local authorities and their schools under the Local Management of Schools Initiative and the ways in whichsmall and medium sized companiesused financial informationto manage their banking relationships.

More recently her research has been focused on an analysis of public private partnerships, with particular interests in the cost of these projects to the taxpayer and in an examination of the transparency of reporting and disclosureandthe consequent impacts on the ability of the public and its representativesto hold government to account.

Case studies and documentary analysistaking a critical perspective of thisimportant government policy have previously includedPublic Finance Initiative (PFI) projects in transport, the NHS, education and IT, in the UK and in Europe.

Pam has several current ongoingstudies. The firststudy, funded by the AMBS is examining the devolution of powers in Greater Manchester, especially in relation to the transport sector and the impacts of change on citizens. The second study, also funded by AMBS,is examining the increasing use of metrics in society, with a focus on the role of the accounting profession in designing and promoting metrics.