Sarah Smith

Dr. Sarah Smith is a Lecturer (Teaching & Scholarship) in the Business School at the University of Aberdeen, appointed in June 2020. She previously served as Reader at the University of Stirling from 2015 and as Senior Lecturer in Accounting, following a lectureship at Heriot-Watt University from 2001 to 2008.

Education:

• BAcc in Accountancy, University of Stirling (1996, First Class Honours)
• MSc by Research, University of Stirling (1998)
• PhD, University of Stirling (2003)

Her research centers on accounting and finance, with a strong focus on intellectual capital disclosure, corporate financing decisions, leasing, and academic labor in UK higher education. She employs empirical and methodological approaches, including content analysis and survey research, to explore disclosure practices and financial decision-making. Her work addresses both corporate reporting behavior and the sociology of accounting academia.

Her recent publications (2018) analyze academic labor shortages in UK accounting departments and the role of social capital in PhD assessment, reflecting her dual interest in financial reporting and academic practice. Earlier works from the 2000s examine leasing, lease-debt substitutability, and the impact of disclosure on equity risk, establishing a long-standing contribution to financial accounting research.

Scientific Awards:

• Best thesis on leasing across Europe (2003, Leaseurope)
• Carnegie Trust PhD Scholarship

Dr. Smith has advised on research and contributed to academic discourse through extensive publishing, though no formal PhD or Master’s students are listed. She has not been associated with specific grants in the text, but her PhD was externally funded. Her teaching qualification (PGCAP) underscores her commitment to scholarship in education.

She has not been affiliated with any named research labs or collaborative teams in the provided text, but her frequent co-authorship with Valerie Urquhart and Vic Beattie indicates strong research collaborations.