John Ferguson

John Ferguson is a Professor in Accounting at the School of Management, University of St Andrews. He serves as Co-Director of the Centre for Social and Environmental Accountability Research (CSEAR) and the Centre for the Study of Philanthropy & Public Good. His work significantly contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in areas related to responsible consumption and production, and peace, justice and strong institutions.

His academic qualifications include BA (Hons), BA, MAcc, Ph.D, CertTHE, and professional designations FHEA, FRSA, CMBE.

Professor Ferguson's research focuses on accountability and corporate governance, with particular emphasis on the social and organizational impact of different governance models and corporate accountability for human rights. His work explores how businesses can be held accountable for human rights violations and how governance structures influence corporate behavior. He has made significant contributions to understanding the implementation of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in Scotland through his work with the Scottish Government on the National Baseline Assessment.

His research demonstrates strong trends in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and the intersection of human rights with corporate governance, with recent publications exploring forward-looking responsibility frameworks, translation of human rights principles into corporate contexts, and national action plan implementation.

• Winner of the British Accounting Association Accounting Education Special Interest Group Annual Prize (2008) for the paper 'Accounting Textbooks: Exploring A Cultural and Political Artifact'

Professor Ferguson has supervised multiple postgraduate students and currently serves on the editorial boards of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal and Human Relations. He previously served as Editor of the Social and Environmental Accountability Journal (SEAJ) from 2011-2015. He has led significant research projects including 'The In-Betweeners: Examining the role and impact of 'experts' in business and human rights' funded by The Royal Society of Edinburgh (2023).

He is active in several research networks and advisory groups, including the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR), and has organized numerous academic conferences and workshops on business and human rights implementation.