Research output per year
Research output per year
I am a Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Taxation, and a Fellow member of the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants (ACCA) and member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT). I teach accounting and taxation subjects in addition to supervising research projects (UG and PG level dissertations, as well as PhD studies). I am an active researcher in areas surrounding accounting, taxation, public social welfare policy and their implications on individuals, organisations, society and social inequality and injustice.
Prior to my academic career, I worked in the accountancy and taxation industry (since 1997). I managed tax enquiry cases (personal and business) and coordinated and managed a busy tax department at an accountancy firm, where I was also the Training Officer and the ACCA Mentor for trainees. I also owned and managed my own accountancy firm offering accountancy services, taxation advice and tax planning to businesses, individuals and accounting firms.
I embarked on a career in academia in 2008, partly because I enjoyed teaching and sharing knowledge and skills that I had gained from industry, and also because I wanted to make a change to the way tax and social welfare policy is administered with the aim of improving the experiences of practitioners, citizens (in particular vulnerable groups), and civil servants, aiming to improve experiences and the effectiveness of policy and practice. It is due to this passion that I immersed myself into research, and completed an MRes and PhD in accounting.
My research is multidisciplinary and transcends across several disciplines to include: accounting, public administration, taxation, social welfare and sociology. In the main, my research focuses on the role of accounting in public policy and administration. In particular, I examine tax and social welfare administration and their implications and impact on individuals, organisations, society, and social inequality. My research also explores the role of accounting technologies and techniques, their implications, to include how they enact power and control. I adopt qualitative research methods and use a critical interpretivist approach, through ethnography, critical discourse analysis, and the application of grounded theory, to name a few.
In addition to my teaching and research, I hold several other roles:
My previous awards include:
Doctor of Science, Neoliberalism and accounting in everyday relational practices: The effects of the UK tax credits system on the financial hardship of claimants, Bangor University
Award Date: 15 Jul 2019
Master of Research, Tax credits: The construction of power and communication by social movement groups using dramaturgy
Award Date: 16 Jul 2012
Member of Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT)
Award Date: 1 May 2008
Fellow member of Association of Chartered and Certified Accountant (ACCA)
Award Date: 1 May 2003
Editorial Board member of Critical Perspectives on Accounting (CPA) Journal
12 Jan 2026 → …
Subject Editor (Accounting) for the British Tax Review (BTR) Journal
12 Jan 2026 → …
Deputy Chair (Research) for the Tax Research Network (TRN)
2024 → …
Co-Editor of the Tax Research Network (TRN) Blog, Tax Research Network (TRN)
2023 → …
Chair of the British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA) Interdisciplinary Perspectives Special Interest Group (IPSIG)
2020 → …
Trustee and Director , Citizens Advice Ynys Mon
Expert reviewer and panelist , Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Academic Advisor and Volunteer, Low Income Tax Reform Group (LITRG)
… → 1 Jan 2026
Executive Board member and Director, Tax Research Network (TRN)
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Preprint/Working paper › Working paper
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
de Cogan, D. (Speaker), Closs-Davies, S. (Speaker) & Lawton, A. (Speaker)
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk › Research
Closs-Davies, S. (Assistant editor)
Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Editorial work › Research
Closs-Davies, S. (Assistant editor)
Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Editorial work › Research
Closs-Davies, S. (Chair)
Activity: Participating in or organising event(s) › Organising a conference, workshop, exhibition, performance, inquiry, course etc › Research
Closs-Davies, S. (Academic founder) & Sawyer, A. (Academic founder)
Activity: Consultancy, spin-outs, CPD & licensing › Consultancy & Services › Research
Closs-Davies, S., Ap Gwilym, R. & Jones, E.
22/09/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert comment
Closs-Davies, S. & Gwilym, H.
1/05/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Blogs and social media
Closs-Davies, S., Gwilym, H. & Beck, D.
17/03/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert comment
1/02/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert comment
Closs-Davies, S., de Cogan, D. & Lawton, A.
10/06/26
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Blogs and social media