Richard Barker

An expert in corporate reporting, Richard’s research and teaching interests span financial accounting and sustainability reporting, with a particular interest in standard-setting. He also has a broad interest in sustainable business, and he leads Oxford Saïd’s initiatives in this area.

Richard serves as Chair of the Expert Panel of Accounting for Sustainability (A4S, a Prince of Wales charity). Previous positions include membership of the Corporate Reporting Council (which sets UK accounting standards) and of the Financial Reporting Advisory Board (FRAB, which advises HM Treasury on government financial reporting). He served as Research Fellow at the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), Chair of the Audit Committee of Cambridge University Press, and Director of the Cambridge MBA and of the Oxford MBA. Richard has an undergraduate degree from Oxford and graduate degrees from Cambridge, and he qualified as a chartered management accountant while working for AstraZeneca. He has been a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University Graduate School of Business and at INSEAD.

Richard has won teaching awards at both Oxford and Cambridge, including 'Most Acclaimed Lecturer in the Social Sciences', awarded by Oxford University Student Union.

Alongside his role at Saïd Business School, Richard is Tutor in Management at Christ Church.

Richard is currently on leave from Saïd Business School and is a member of the International Sustainability Standards Board.

Research

Richard’s research focuses on corporate reporting, and on the design and standardisation of information by which corporations account for their performance. This includes, on the one hand, international accounting standards and investors’ use of financial statement information and, on the other hand, business performance metrics that are concerned with long-term business sustainability and accountability.

Education

• PhD University of Cambridge (1993 — 1996)
• MPhil University of Cambridge (1992 — 1993)
• BA University of Oxford (1986 — 1989)