Dr Elina Varoutsa

BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, FHEA

Overview

I am a member of the Accounting and Finance section at Cardiff Business School, where I’ve been since 2014. Prior to this, I held a lectureship at Surrey Business School. I earned my PhD in Management Accounting from the Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, where I also completed my Master’s degree. My academic journey began with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Athens University of Economics and Business. I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

My research focused on management and critical accounting, with a strong emphasis on public value and impact. As a qualitative researcher, with an interdisciplinary approach, I explore management accounting and control within various contexts, beyond the traditional boundaries of management accounting, drawing on and contributing to critical accounting, sociology, and marketing.

Currently, I’m involved in several projects, including:

• Evaluating inclusive employment initiatives
• Investigating impact measurement practices in charities,
• Exploring risk management in the UK financial sector, and
• Examining mechanisms to address employee-based racial discrimination.

In 2025, I was awarded the UKRI’s newly established and highly competitive “Creating Opportunities through Local Innovation Fellowship” (COLIF) as the Principal Investigator. The fellowship explores the effectiveness of local initiatives in creating more inclusive employment and to develop recommendations to tackle inequalities and address barriers.

I have an extensive teaching experience in various Accounting across undergraduate, postgraduate (MSc) and MBA levels. I also serve as the Admissions Tutor for the postgraduate Accounting and Finance programmes, and the Year 1 Exam Board Chair. Since 2020, I’ve also been a Trustee and the Honorary Treasurer of the Management Control Association.