Personal profile

Personal profile

Christopher Nobes is Professor of Accounting at Royal Holloway. He was a part-time proessor at the University of Sydney (2013-21) and is now an Honorary Professor there. He was an Adjunct Professor at the Norwegian School of Business, Oslo (2003-18). He has been a Visiting Professor at Ca' Foscari (University of Venice) in 2021-24. He was a member of the Accounting Standards Committee of the UK and Ireland (1987-90) and a member of the Board of the International Accounting Standards Committee (1993-2001). He has been a consultant to PricewaterhouseCoopers since 1987.

Prof. Nobes has been joint editor of Accounting and Business Research, and is now on the editorial boards of nine journals, including Abacus, Accounting and Business Research and British Accounting Review.

Prof. Nobes was chosen for the ‘Outstanding International Accounting Educator’ Award of the American Accounting Association in 2002. He was inducted as a member of the Reial Acadèmia de Doctors (Barcelona) in 2014. In 2015, he won the 'Distinguished Academic Award' of the British Accounting and Finance Association. In 2017, he was elected as a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.

Research interests

Professor Nobes researches into the nature and causes of international differences in financial reporting. He has published in most of the world’s major accounting journals. In Accounting and Business Research (Vol. 36 (1), 2006), he was identified as the most productive author from 1991 to 2002 (in world’s top 19 accounting journals) out of all staff in 253 European universities. He was named (in Managerial Finance, Vol. 40(4), 2014) as the second most productive UK author from 1991 to 2010 in the world’s top 44 accounting and finance journals.

Professor Nobes was joint winner of the Abacus Manuscript award for best paper in 2011. He was the opening plenary speaker at the following conferences: 'Accounting and Regulation' triennial conference (Siena, July 2013) and ‘Infornmation for better markets’ annual conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (December 2014).

Research interests (continued)

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS (for recent publications, press the 'Research Output' button above)

Accounting, Organizations and Society

 ‘On Accounting Classification and the International Harmonisation Debate’, Vol. 29 (2), 2004, pp.189-200.

 ‘How arbitrary are international accounting classifications? Lessons from centuries of classifying in many disciplines, and experiments with IFRS data’ (with C. Stadler), Vol.38 (8), 2013, pp. 573-595.

Accounting and Business Research

‘CCA - Valuation by Intent’, Spring 1977.

‘Imputation Systems of Corporation Tax within the EEC’, Spring 1980.

 ‘A Review of the Translation Debate’, Autumn 1980, pp.421-31.

 ‘The Origins of the Harmonising Provisions of the 1980 and 1981 Companies Acts’, Winter 1983, pp.43-53.

 ‘The Assumed Users in Three Accounting Theories’, (with I.A.M. Fraser), Spring 1985, pp.144-7.

  ‘Cycles in UK Standard Setting’, Summer 1991, pp.265-74.

 ‘True and Fair: UK Auditors’ View’ (with R.H. Parker), Autumn 1991, pp.349-62. 

‘The True and Fair View Requirement:  Impact on and of the Fourth Directive’, Winter 1993, pp.35-48.

 ‘European Rule Making in Accounting:  The Seventh Directive as a Case Study’, Autumn 1994, pp.319-33 (with G. Diggle).

‘The Relationship between Taxation and Accounting:  International Variations’, Summer 1998, pp.173-88 (with M. Lamb and A. Roberts).

 ‘Is True and Fair of Over-riding Importance?:  A Comment on Alexander’s Benchmark’, Vol.30, No.4, 2000, pp.307-12.

 ‘The True and Fair Requirement in Recent National Implementations’ (with Sally Aisbitt), Vol. 31, No.2, 2001, pp.83-90.

 ‘The Survival of International Differences under IFRS:  Towards a Research Agenda’, Vol. 36, No. 3, 2006, pp.233-45.

‘The Importance of Being Fair: An Analysis of IFRS Regulation and Practice’, Vol.39, No.4, 2009, pp.415-27.

 ‘International Differences in IFRS Policy Choice’ (with E. Kvaal), Vol.40, No.2, 2010, pp.173-87.

 ‘On Relief Value versus Fair Value for the Measurement of Liabilities’, Vol.41, No.5, 2011, pp.515-524.

 ‘The continued survival of international differences under IFRS’, Vol.43, No.2, 2013, pp. 83-111. 

 'Accounting for capital: the evolution of an idea’, Vol.45, No.4, 2015.

 ‘The qualitative characteristics of financial information, and managers’ accounting decisions:   evidence from IFRS policy changes’ (with C. Stadler), Vol.45, No.5, 2015.

‘A half-century of Accounting and Business Research: the impact on the study of international financial reporting’, 50 (7), 2020, pp. 693-701.

'On the meaning, importance and translation of "realised"'. on-line from January 2023.

Accounting Review

‘The Gallerani Account Book of 1305-1308’, April 1982, pp.303-10.

 ‘International Variations in Perceptions of Accounting Journals’, October 1985, pp.702-5.

Journal of Business Finance and Accounting

‘A Judgemental International Classification of Financial Reporting Practices’, Spring 1983, pp.1-19.

 ‘True and Fair: A Survey of UK Financial Directors’, (with R.H. Parker), April 1991, pp.359-75.

 ‘The Use of Foreign Accounting Data in UK Financial Institutions’, (with S. Miles), April/May 1998, pp.309-28.

Abacus

 ‘The Pre-Pacioli Indian Double-entry System of Bookkeeping:  A Comment’, September 1987, pp.182-4.

 ‘A Political History of Goodwill in Britain:  An Illustration of Cyclical Standard Setting’, September 1992, pp.142-67.

 ‘Towards a General Model of the Reasons for International Difference in Financial Reporting’, September 1998, pp.162-87.

 ‘An Analysis of the International Development of the Equity Method’, February 2002, pp.16-45.

 ‘IFRS Practices and the Persistence of Accounting System Classification’, Vol.47, No.3, 2011, pp.267-283.

 ‘The Influence of Country, Industry and Topic Factors on IFRS Policy Choice’, Vol 50, No. 4, 2014 (with C. Stadler).

Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 

 ‘The development of national and transnational regulation on the scope of consolidation’, Vol.27, No.6, 2014, pp.995-1025.

‘Impaired translations: IFRS from English and annual reports into English’, (with C. Stadler), 31 (7), 2018, pp.1981-2005.

‘On theoretical engorgement and the myth of fair value accounting in China’, 33 (1), 2020, pp. 59-76.

Journal of Accounting Research

  ‘An Empirical Analysis of International Accounting Principles - A Comment’, Spring 1981, pp.268-70.

Journal of International Business Studies

 ‘The Effects of International Differences in the Tax Treatment of Goodwill:  A Comment’, No.3, 1996.

European Accounting Review

‘International Accounting Harmonization:  A Commentary’, Vol. 4, No. 2, 1995, pp.249-54.

‘Some Mysteries Relating to the Prudence Principle in the Fourth Directive and in German and British Law’, (with L. Evans), Vol. 5, No. 2, 1996, pp.361-73.

‘How Uniform is Financial Reporting in Germany?’, (with G.G. Mueller), Vol.6, No.1, 1997, pp.123-9.

‘Harmonization of the Structure of Audit Firms:  Incorporation in the UK and Germany’ (with L. Evans), Vol. 7, No. 1, 1998, pp.125-48.

 ‘The Future Shape of Harmonization:  Some Responses’, Vol. 7, No. 2, 1998, pp.323-30.

 ‘Harmonization Relating to Auditor Independence: the Eighth Directive, the UK and Germany’ (with L. Evans), Vol. 7, No. 3, 1998, pp.493-517.

 ‘Modelling the Links between Tax and Financial Reporting:  a Longitudinal Examination of Norway over 30 years up to IFRS Adoption’ (with H.R. Schwencke), Vol. 15, No. 1, 2006, pp.63-87.

 ‘IFRS Policy Changes and the Continuation of National Patterns of IFRS Practice’ (with E. Kvaal), Vol. 21, No. 2, 2012, pp. 343-371.

'Deviations from the mandatory adoption of IFRS in Europe? Why non-adoption does not mean non-compliance' (with C. Stadler) on-line from May 2023.

 Journal of Accounting and Public Policy

 ‘Observations on Measuring the Differences between Domestic Accounting Standards and IAS’, Vol. 28, No. 2, 2009, pp.148-153.

‘Accounting for government grants: standard-setting and accounting choice’ (with C. Stadler), 37 (2), 2018, pp.113-29.

 Accounting Horizons

  ‘Rules-based Standards and the Lack of Principles in Accounting’, March 2005, pp.25-34.

International Journal of Accounting

‘Harmonization of Accounting within the European Communities: The Fourth Directive on Company Law’, Spring 1980.

 ‘On the myth of “Anglo-Saxon” financial accounting:  a comment’, Vol. 38 (1), 2003, pp.95-104.

British Accounting Review 

‘Classification of National Systems of Accounting’, (with J. Matatko), Autumn 1980.

 ‘Academic Perceptions of Accounting Journals in the English-speaking World’, Spring 1986.

‘A Note on Compliance by US Corporations with IASC Standards’, March 1990, pp.41-9.

‘Lessons from Misclassification in International Accounting’, 50 (3), 2018, pp. 239-53.

‘Investigating international differences in financial reporting: data problems and some solutions’(with C. Stadler), 50 (6), 2018, pp.602-614.

 Australian Accounting Review

‘Towards a Unifying Model of Systems of Law, Corporate Financing, Accounting and Corporate Governance’, (with A.D. Roberts), March 2000, pp.26-34.

 ‘Accounting Classification in the IFRS Era’, Vol. 18, No. 3, 2008, pp.191-198.

 ‘57 Varieties of Serious Defect in IFRS?’, Vol. 18, No. 4, 2008, pp.283-286.

 ‘Has Australia (or Any Other Jurisdiction) ‘Adopted’ IFRS?’ (with S. Zeff),Vol. 20, No.2, 2010, pp.178-184.

 ‘Firm Size and National Profiles of IFRS Policy Choice’ (with J. Perramon), Vol. 23, No. 3, 2013, pp.208-215.

‘Have Canada, Japan and Switzerland Adopted IFRS?’ (with S. Zeff), 26 (3), 2016, pp.284-290.

'Towards a solution to the variety in accounting practices of extractive firms under IFRS' (with C. Stadler), 31 (4), 2021.

 Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation

 ‘International Variations in the Accounting and Tax Treatments of Goodwill, and the Implications for Research’ (with J.E. Norton), No.2, 1996.

Journal of International Financial Management and Accounting

 ‘Effects of Alternative Goodwill Treatments on Merger Premia:  A Comment’ (with J.E. Norton), Vol. 8, No. 2, 1997, pp.137-41.

Accounting in Europe

‘Revenue Recognition and EU Endorsement of IFRS’, Vol. 3, 2006, pp.81-89.

 ‘The Influence of Tax on IFRS Consolidated Statements’ (with M. Gee and A. Haller), Vol. 7, No. 1, 2010, pp.97-122.

 ‘On Researching into the Use of IFRS by Private Companies’, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2010, pp.213-226.

 ‘On the definitions of income and revenue in IFRS’, Vol 9, No. 2, 2012, pp.85-94.

 ‘The effects of accounting standards: a commment’(with A. Haller and others), Vol 9, No.2, 2012, pp.113-125.

 ‘International variations in tax disclosures’ (with E. Kvaal), Vol. 10, No. 2, 2013, 241-273.

 ‘IFRS ten years on: Has the IASB imposed extensive use of fair value? Has the EU learnt to love IFRS? And does the use of fair value make IFRS illegal in the EU?’, 12 (2), 2015, pp.153-170.

'On translating goodwill', 18 (3), 2021.

Accounting, Business and Financial History

‘Pacioli’s Tractatus:  A Note on a Mystery and a Review of some Commentaries’, December 1995.

Accounting Perspectives

 ‘Auditor Affirmations of Compliance with IFRS Around the World:  An Exploratory Study’ (with S.A. Zeff), Vol. 7, No. 4, 2008, pp.279-292. 

Accounting Historians Journal

 ‘Were Islamic Records Precursors to Accounting Books Based on the Italian Method?  A Comment’, December 2001, pp.207-14.

 Revue Française de Comptabilité

 ‘Des standards fondés sur des règles ou sur des principes’, September 2005.

 Contabilidad y Direccion

 ‘La Implantatión de las normas internacionales de contabilidad en España’, Vol.4, 2007.

 ‘Los problemas de las NIIF’ (with Julie Cooper), Vol. 4, 2007.

Economia Aziendale

 ‘Data vs Information:  An Accounting Based Analysis’, December 1993.

External positions

Professor of Accounting, University of Sydney

Jan 2013Dec 2021

Adjunct Professor, BI Norwegian Business School

20032018

Member of Academic Panel, Financial Reporting Council

20012019

UK representative on the Board of the International Accounting Standards Committee

19932001

Member of Financial Reporting Committee, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales

1991 → …

Keywords

  • Accountancy
  • International Accounting Differences