Dr Wendy Beekes
Senior Lecturer in Accounting and FinanceProfile
Wendy Beekes is a Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Finance at Lancaster University Management School. She joined Lancaster University in 2000 after completing a BSc Econ (Hons) in Business Studies (First Class Honours), an MSc Econ in Accounting and Finance, and a PhD in Accounting at the University of Wales Aberystwyth, where she also taught on undergraduate programmes.
Wendy's research focuses on corporate governance, financial reporting quality and corporate disclosures. Her work has examined the relationship between governance structures and the quality and timeliness of corporate reporting, including a Leverhulme Trust-funded project undertaken with Professor Philip Brown (University of Western Australia). Her research has been published in leading international journals including Accounting and Finance, Corporate Governance: An International Review and Journal of Business Finance and Accounting.
She has extensive experience in scholarly service, acting as reviewee for a range of international accounting and finance journals and serving on the Scientific Committee of several European Accounting Association Annual Congresses. She has also worked as academic consultant to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) on a research project relating to IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures.
Wendy is a Senior Fellow of Advance HE and was awarded a University teaching prize in recognition of her contribution to student learning. She teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in financial and management accounting, financial statement analysis and related areas. She has supervised numerous undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral research projects.
Alongside her teaching and research activities, Wendy has made significant contributions to academic leadership and quality enhancement within Department of Accounting and Finance. She currently serves as Teaching Director in Accounting and Finance, Programme Director and Academic Tutor for BSc (Hons) Accounting, Finance and Mathematics programme.
Qualifications
BSc Econ, MSc Econ, PhD Aberystwyth, CiLTHE, SFHEA
Current Teaching
Academic Year 2025-26
AcF 610 - Advanced Management Accounting (Lent term)
AcF654 - Management Accounting and Control (Lent term)
Academic Year 2026-27
ACFN5295 Intermediate Accounting and Finance (Lent Term)
ACFN7261 Management Accounting for Decision Making (Lent Term)
Professional Role
Teaching Director in Accounting and Finance
Programme Director & Academic Tutor for BSc (Hons) Accounting, Finance and Mathematics major students
Member of LU Senior Fellows Network
Member of LUMS Education and Student Experience Committee (ESEC)
Research Interests
Corporate Governance, Capital Markets, Firm Disclosures, Earnings Conservatism, Earnings timeliness.
Current Research
Timeliness and Corporate Governance
This research strand has developed from work with Professor Philip Brown and is examining the link between corporate governance and the informativeness of firm disclosures. We have completed a number of individual country studies, a cross country study and a paper analysing the measures developed in the course of our research. These have been published in Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, and Accounting and Finance. There are also working papers available from my author page on SSRN.
Research Grants
March 2009: 'Corporate Governance, Disclosure Policies and the Timeliness of Price Discovery' (with P. Brown), The Leverhulme Trust Grant £91,245. Completed
March 2008: 'Corporate Governance, Corporate Disclosure Policies and The Timeliness of Price Discovery: An International Study' (with P. Brown) Lancaster University Management School Small Grant £2,776. Completed.
December 2005: ‘LUMS Visiting Professorship’ Grant for Professor P. Brown £3,500. Completed.
December 2004: ‘Performance Management Systems in Action’ (with D. Otley and V. Ururuka) £6,000 grant from Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). Completed.
October 2004: ‘Information Flows & Corporate Governance’ (with P. Brown) £2,750 grant from Lancaster University Small Grants Committee. Completed.
Selected Publications
Corporate governance, companies’ disclosure practices, and market transparency: a cross country study
Beekes, W.A., Brown, P.R., Zhan, W., Zhang, Q. 03/2016 In: Journal of Business Finance and Accounting. 43, 3-4, p. 263-297. 35 p.
Journal article
Corporate governance and the informativeness of disclosures in Australia: a re-examination
Beekes, W., Brown, P., Zhang, Q. 12/2015 In: Accounting and Finance. 55, 4, p. 931-963. 33 p.
Journal article
Corporate governance, accounting and finance: a review
Brown, P., Beekes, W.A., Verhoeven, P. 2011 In: Accounting and Finance. 51, 1, p. 96-172. 77 p.
Journal article
Do better-governed Australian firms make more informative disclosures?
Beekes, W.A., Brown, P. 2006 In: Journal of Business Finance and Accounting. 33, 3-4, p. 422-450. 29 p.
Journal article
All Publications
Livestream: Your pathway to Lancaster University - IYO Programme and Campus Experience
Invited talk
INTO LU Link Tutor
Other
Subject Specialist for Blackburn College Revalidation Panel
Expert Opinion
IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures
Consultancy
IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures: Research project commissioned by IFRS foundation
Influence on Policy, Practice, Patients & the Public
Reviewing of ATLAS submissions for Senior Fellowship of Higher Education Academy (Lead Reviewer)
Other
Reviewing of ATLAS submissions for Senior Fellowship of Higher Education Academy (Lead Reviewer)
Examination
Reviewing of ATLAS submissions for Senior Fellowship of Higher Education Academy (Lead Reviewer)
Examination
Australian Journal of Management (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Accounting and Business Research (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Changing Practices in Response to Increasing Student Numbers in Accounting and Finance
Oral presentation
Reviewing of ATLAS submissions for Senior Fellowship of Higher Education Academy (Lead Reviewer)
Examination
Reviewing of ATLAS submissions for Senior Fellowship of Higher Education Academy (Second Reviewer)
Examination
PhD examiner for The Australian National University
Examination
Teaching Effectiveness
Invited talk
PhD examiner for Murdoch University (External organisation)
Examination
University of Sydney (External organisation)
Membership of committee
Journal of Business Finance and Accounting (Journal)
Publication peer-review
20th Financial Reporting and Business Communication Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
20th Financial Reporting and Business Communication Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics (Journal)
Publication peer-review
2016 European Accounting Association Annual Congress (Event)
Membership of committee
Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics (Journal)
Publication peer-review
British Accounting Review (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Journal of Business Finance and Accounting Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
European Accounting Association Annual Congress 2015
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
European Accounting Association Annual Congress 2015 (Event)
Membership of committee
2014 European Accounting Association Annual Congress (Event)
Membership of committee
10th International Conference on Corporate Governance, University of Birmingham
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
University of York seminar programme
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Department of Accounting and Finance Internal Seminar, LUMS
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
British Accounting Association Joint Conference of the Northern Region Accounting Group / Interdisciplinary Perspectives Special Interest Group
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Accounting Association of Australia and New Zealand Annual Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Newcastle Univ, Newcastle University
Visiting an external academic institution
European Accounting Association Annual Congress
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
British Accounting Association Annual Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Accounting and Finance (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Journal of Accounting Education (Journal)
Publication peer-review
European Accounting Association Annual Congress (Event)
Membership of committee
European Accounting Review (Journal)
Publication peer-review
British Accounting Review (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Accounting and Business Research (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Corporate Governance: An International Review (Journal)
Publication peer-review
Journal of Business Finance and Accounting (Journal)
Publication peer-review
- Sustainability Reporting, Corporate Governance and Auditing