Essex professor receives distinguished academic award

Professor Shahzad Uddin, of Essex Business School, has been awarded the British Accounting and Finance Association’s (BAFA) Distinguished Academic Award for 2022.

The award is made annually to an individual who has made a substantial contribution to academic accounting and a direct contribution to academic accounting and finance life in the UK.

Professor Uddin, professor of accounting, has advanced interdisciplinary perspectives on accounting research. He has published in accounting, sociology, development and philosophy journals. He has devoted his entire career to promoting accounting research in emerging economies.

He has played a key role in establishing a special interest group within BAFA on Accounting and Finance in Emerging Economies (AFEE). He also launched the Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies (JAEE), of which he is the founding editor, and started the Accounting and Accountability in Emerging Economies (AAEE) conference.

This award recognises all these achievements as well as his commitment to his subject.

Professor Uddin, also the director of the Centre for Accountability and Global Development (CAGD) at Essex, said: “I am honoured to have been selected to receive the Distinguished Academic Award from the British Accounting and Finance Association.

“This is a recognition of academic research on accounting in emerging economies as a significant field within accounting academia. I am so grateful to my colleagues and research students who are also part of this development.”

Dean of Essex Business School, Professor Claudia Girardone, said: “We would like to congratulate Professor Uddin on receiving this distinguished award.

“He has worked tirelessly for more than 20 years to raise the profile of accounting research in emerging economies, and it is wonderful to see that his efforts have been recognised.”

Professor Nancy Kula, Executive Dean for the Faculty of Social Sciences, added: “Professor Uddin's work and this distinguished award is a testimony to the excellent research being conducted at our Essex Business School.

“His research on accounting in emerging economies directly speaks to our values of doing research that makes a difference to the world and embeds a global perspective of our subjects in the Social Sciences.”

Professor Uddin will be presented with the award at this year's BAFA Annual Conference in April. As the recipient of the award, he will be invited to present the keynote speech at next year's conference. The speech will then be published as a paper in the British Accounting Review, which is the official journal of the British Accounting and Finance Association.