Plenary Speakers

We are delighted to announce four prominent plenary speakers for the APIRA & AARN 2025 conference:

Stefan Schaltegger

Stefan Schaltegger is an international renowned Professor of Sustainability Management at Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany. He founded the Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM) and introduced the world's first MBA programme in Sustainability Management in 2003. From 2006 to 2010, he was Vice President Research of Leuphana University. According to the Stanford World Scientist Ranking, Professor Schaltegger is among the 2% most cited researchers worldwide. He has Google scholar citations of over 44,000 as of May 2024 and H Index of nearly 100. He is a member of the editorial boards (deputy editor, associate editor or member of the editorial board) of many high-ranked scientific journals. Over his academic career so far, Professor Schaltegger has more than 500 publications and received numerous scientific awards. Professor Schaltegger's research interests include corporate sustainability management, in particular measurement, accounting and management control of corporate sustainability (including the sustainability balanced scorecard), sustainability transformation of companies, fundamental concepts and methods of sustainability management (operationalization of corporate sustainability, biodiversity management, etc.), sustainable business models and management of stakeholder relationships.

Ileana Steccolini

Ileana Steccolini is a Professor of Accounting and the Director of Research at Essex Business School, UK. She is also a Professor of Accounting and Public Management at the University of Bologna, Italy. Ileana held previous positions at Newcastle University and Bocconi University and was a visiting scholar at the University of Sydney, the University of Edinburgh, RMIT Melbourne, Università della Svizzera Italiana, Getulio Vargas Foundation. Her expertise develops at the interface among accounting and public administration and management. She has published numerous papers on public sector accounting, budgeting, performance management and accountability, reform and change processes, governmental financial resilience, inclusion, participation and gender in public services. She is currently the Editor in Chief of Financial Accountability and Management and serves/d in the editorial boards of high impact accounting and management journals. She is the President of the International Research Society of Public Management, the chair and founder of the Public Service Accounting and Accountability Group, the Chair of the EIASM conference on Public Sector Accounting and Accountability, and the Chair of the Standing Scientific Committee of the European Accounting Association. She is a member of the Italian Public Sector Accounting Standard Board and of the Advisory board of CIPFA International.

Charl de Villiers

Charl de Villiers is Professor of Accounting at The University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is internationally known for his Sustainability Accounting and Integrated Reporting research and expertise. Charl is also an adjunct professor at the University of Cape Town, University of Pretoria, and University of the Western Cape. Charl has over 400 publications and presentations, including more than 100 articles in refereed journals, and two Routledge published edited books. He has published in Accounting, Organisations and Society; Journal of Management; Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal; British Accounting Review; and European Accounting Review, among other journals. As an indication of impact, his research has been cited more than 13,000 times and his h-index is over 55. A Stanford University study ranks Charl 52^nd among the 5,919 accounting academics globally, based on citations during 2022, also placing him in the top 2% of scientists worldwide. In 2022, he was inducted into the AAAJ/APIRA Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions to the interdisciplinary accounting research community. Charl also serves on the editorial board of 10 high impact academic journals. He is the Editor in Chief of Meditari Accountancy Research and deputy editor of Accounting & Finance. Charl plays an active role in promoting sustainability accounting and integrated reporting research in New Zealand and Australia, having established and serving as chair of the steering committee of the Sustainability Accounting Research Network and its annual Conference.  

Ataur Belal

Ataur Belal is a Professor of Accounting and Sustainability at the Department of Accounting within the Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, UK. Before coming to Birmingham, he held professorships at Aston and Sheffield Universities where he also held various senior leadership positions including member of Senior Management Team, Head of Department and Research Development Director. He was a joint editor of Advances in Environmental Accounting and Management and an Associate Editor of Accounting Forum. He is a member of the editorial boards of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Accounting Forum, Business Ethics, Environment and Responsibility Journal and Critical Perspectives on Accounting. Professor Belal’s research focuses on sustainability accounting and accountability, NGO accountability and sustainable development goals (SDGs). He has a longstanding research interest in the field of social and environmental accounting in emerging economies, especially developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region. His work has appeared in the many highly ranked journals and has over 5500 Google scholar citations and a H Index 30. Professor Belal has presented his research in many international conferences and obtained funding from the British Academy, CIMA and the British Council. He also held visiting positions at various universities around the world.

Philomena Leung

Philomena Leung is a Professor Emerita at Macquarie University and Director of Group Executive Education at the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA). Before this appointment, Philomena has held multiple senior Professorial roles as Head and Associate Dean in Australia since 1990.  Philomena has developed and instigated different innovative educational and transdisciplinary programs, including, internal audit and risks, a multi-disciplinary cyber security hub, a think tank for the chairs of accounting and finance ANZ, and an innovative program for future skills through an Education 3.0 program, and pioneered accounting ethics education in Hong Kong and in Australia. Philomena has published extensively in academic journals in the areas of auditing, ethics, governance, and accounting education and been the lead researcher commissioned to develop a model for ethics education in accounting for 160 countries under the auspices of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). In particular, Professor Leung has recently completed the first ever version of the Global Certified Public Accountant (GCPA) program for the IPA Group in collaboration with Incept Labs.  This world leading transdisciplinary accounting certification program uses a microcredential framework to create various new opportunities for accounting professionals working in the public interest and with a broad range of competencies.