Frank Verbeeten Named Professor of Accounting at Utrecht University

As of 1 September 2023, Frank Verbeeten has been appointed Professor of Accounting at the Utrecht University School of Economics (U.S.E.). Verbeeten will work at U.S.E. on topics such as sustainable (management) accounting, performance management and management control, combined with the role of technology within the finance function.

Frank Verbeeten

Frank Verbeeten studied at Tilburg University (Master of Business Economics, 1993) and at the Darla Moore School of Business – University of South Carolina (Master of Business Administration, 1993). After his studies, he worked at Deloitte as a financial management consultant. In 2001, he defended his PhD thesis at Tilburg University, after which he worked at various universities (including Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University; and Nyenrode Business University). From 2018, he worked at the University of Amsterdam, where he was responsible for the post-master Accountancy programme (RA programme) and the Executive Master Finance & Control (RC programme). His research focuses on the role of performance management and the role of the finance function in various organisations.

The focus in U.S.E.’s research on sustainable finance appeals to me greatly, says Verbeeten. With the new European Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) regulations and the social pressure on organisations to serve all stakeholders, the governance of organisations is also changing. This has consequences not only for the financing of companies, but also for the way managers are managed and decisions are made within organisations. One might ask, for example, whether you should account based on ESG metrics, or whether you should rely on the intrinsic motivation of managers and employees to achieve ESG goals. 

The perspective of the organisation itself

I hope to contribute to research projects in the field of sustainable finance, looking at it from the perspective of the organisation itself rather than from the perspective of the bank or investor. I think the Chair of Accounting is very suitable for this: from the ‘finance function’ of companies, where accounting is shaped, it is determined which information is recorded and how that information is used within organisations. 

At the moment, many organisations are mainly concerned with getting the necessary ESG information to the surface. More important is the question of how you will use that information to realise your organisation’s long-term strategy, and which performance measures and decision-making criteria will you use for that? Will you stick with the current investment criteria and then see if the chosen investment project meets ESG requirements? Or do you first look at which project has the highest ESG contribution, and then see if it also ‘comes out’ financially? This has substantial implications for the type of investment you will make.

Verbeeten will work at U.S.E. on topics such as sustainable (management) accounting, performance management and management control, combined with the role of technology within the finance function. He will also teach, will supervise PhD students and promote U.S.E.’s visibility and impact.

Sustainable Accounting

Charles van Marrewijk, Head of Department at U.S.E. on Frank Verbeeten: Frank already worked at the Utrecht University School of Economics from 2013 to 2017. He will re-join us as professor of Accounting. He has published in leading accounting- and management journals, including Management Accounting Research, The Accounting Review, The International Journal of Research in Marketing, and Organization Studies. We look forward to Frank’s renewed efforts to strengthen the research and teaching knowledge of the department on accounting systems, in particular in setting up a sustainable accounting expertise center to enhance our sustainable finance profile.