Dr. Neil Dunne

Assistant Professor, Trinity Business School

nedunne@tcd.ie 3531896 2312 https://www.tcd.ie/business/people/faculty-professors/nedunne/

Biography

Neil is an award-winning interdisciplinary scholar that mobilizes sociological and philosophical concepts to better understand the accounting profession. He is an Assistant Professor in Accounting at Trinity Business School, and authored/directs Trinity's MSc. in Accounting and Analytics. Neil is a Chartered Accountant by training, and prior to entering academia, had many years' experience in both practice and industry. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from University College Cork, a Master's degree in Finance from Trinity with first-class honors achieved, and a PhD from University College Dublin. Prior to joining Trinity, Neil held positions in two other educational institutions in Dublin for almost seven years. He has been involved in course and syllabus design for a range of institutions in Ireland and France. Teaching responsibilities at Trinity include undergraduate and postgraduate modules in financial reporting, for which Neil has won multiple Teaching Excellence Awards. Neil also engages in Doctoral and MSc supervision within the School. Neil's research takes an interdisciplinary approach to audit and financial reporting, and mobilizes concepts such as impression management, strategic framing, institutional logics and Stoic philosophy. In connection with this, he has presented at a range of international conferences, and published in major international scientific journals such as Accounting, Organizations and Society and Critical Perspectives on Accounting. Neil has also acted as a judge at Chartered Accountants Ireland's Published Accounts Awards, and serves on various hubs and committees, including Trinity's Green Accounting and Finance hub, the Scientific Committee for the British Accounting and Finance Association's (BAFA) annual conference, the Committee of BAFA's Interdisciplinary Perspectives Special Interest Group, and ACCA's University Steering Group. He also acts as a mentor to doctoral students via his role as facilitator/mentor for the Irish Accounting and Finance Association's Doctoral Colloquium, and as a mentor for the BAFA Mentoring Scheme.

Publications and Further Research Outputs

Peer-Reviewed Publications
Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications

Dunne, N.J,. Brennan, N.M. & Kirwan, C.E., Impression management and Big Four auditors: Scrutiny at a public inquiry, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 88, (101170), 2021, p1 - 20Journal Article, 2021
Dunne, N.J,. Brennan, N.M. & Kirwan, C.E., How the Big Four maintain and defend logic equilibrium at concurrent performances, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 94, (102479), 2023Journal Article, 2023

Auditors in, editor(s)Lucey, B., Maher, E. and O'Brien, E. , Recalling the Celtic Tiger, Dublin, Peter Lang, 2019, pp21 - 22, [Dunne, N.J.]Book Chapter
IAS 39 in, editor(s)Lucey, B., Maher, E., and O'Brien, E. , Recalling the Celtic Tiger, Dublin, Peter Lang, 2019, pp167 - 168, [Dunne, N.J.]Book Chapter
Dunne, N.J., Calm in the storm: Managing online assessment during a pandemic. Available at https://academic-practice.com/2021/10/04/333/, 2021, -Miscellaneous
Dunne, N.J,. Brennan, N.M. & Kirwan, C.E., Blameless and powerless: How the Big Four react to public scrutiny. Available at https://cobsinsights.org/2021/09/23/blameless-and-powerless-how-the-big-four-react-to-public-scrutiny/, 2021, -Miscellaneous
Dunne, N.J., Exit your comfort zone: five tips for new Programme Managers. Available at https://accountingcafe.org/2024/03/21/programme-managers/, 2024, -Miscellaneous
Dunne, N.J., Call for accountants to teach real-world skills to the next generation, Accountancy Ireland, 57, (5), 2024, p48Journal Article

My research uses an interdisciplinary and interpretive approach to better understand accounting. In particular, I apply sociological and philosophical concepts to study the experiences and behavior of individuals and firms in the accounting and auditing professions. For example, I mobilize concepts popularized by the sociologist Erving Goffman, such as impression management and strategic framing, to study the behavior of accounting firms in their annual reviews and in their responses to the scrutiny emanating from public and regulatory inquiries. I am also interested in the nature, origin and influence of institutional logics on large and small accounting firms, and in how these institutional logics (e.g., the professional and commercial logics, amongst others) affect and are affected by the individuals that comprise these firms. I have also used concepts such as Stoic philosophy and image repair to understand various organizational contexts. My research has achieved not only academic impact via publication in leading international journals, but also practitioner impact via publication in outlets such as Accountancy Ireland, Accounting Café, and the Council of Business and Society.

Professional education and training, Sociology and related studies, International accounting, Accounting theory and standards, Philosophy,

Recognition

Teaching Excellence Award, Trinity Business School June 2017
Teaching Excellence Award, Trinity Business School June 2021
Teaching Excellence Award, Trinity Business School June 2019
Teaching Excellence Award, Trinity Business School June 2015
Teaching Excellence Award, Trinity Business School June 2023
Teaching Excellence Award, Trinity Business School June 2024
Teaching Excellence Award, Trinity Business School June 2020
Research Excellence Award, Trinity Business School June 2021
Winner of Doctoral Research Funding Competition, Irish Accounting & Finance Association May 2016
Nominated for consideration for the Award for Excellence in Research Student Supervision March 2025
Teaching Excellence Award, Trinity Business School June 2018
Teaching Excellence Award, Trinity Business School June 2022
Winner of Doctoral Research Funding Competition, Irish Accounting & Finance Association May 2015
Sue Hrasky Doctoral Scholarship, Financial Reporting and Business Communication Research Unit April 2015

Irish Accounting and Finance Association Present
European Accounting Association Present
ACCA University Steering Group Present
Alternative Accounting Research Network Present
Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland Present
British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA) IPSIG Committee Present
British Accounting and Finance Association Present

Textbook author (questions), Cengage Publishing 2022
Reviewer, British Accounting Review Ongoing
Textbook reviewer, Oxford University Press Ongoing
Textbook reviewer, Pearson Publishers Ongoing
Reviewer, Contemporary Accounting Research Ongoing
Reviewer, Accounting, Finance and Governance Review Ongoing
Reviewer, Accounting, Finance and Governance Review Ongoing
Reviewer, European Accounting Review Ongoing
Textbook reviewer, McGraw Hill Ongoing
Reviewer, Critical Perspectives on Accounting Ongoing