Dr Massimo Contrafatto joined the Sussex Business School as a Reader in Accounting in January 2022. Massimo is the Convenor of the PhD for Accounting and Finance at the University of Sussex. Massimo is also co-convenor of the Sustainability Accounting, Finance, Economics and Management (SAFE-M) Research Mobilising Group at the University of Sussex Business School.

Massimo previously worked as an Associate Professor in Accounting and Accountability at the Department of Management of the University of Bergamo (Italy). He held Visiting Professorships at the Schools of Business of the University of Glasgow, Strathclyde (UK) and University of Dundee (UK), where he is still an Honorary Senior Fellow. 

Massimo holds a PhD in Business Administration, with a specialisation in Accounting for Sustainability, at the University of Milan-Bicocca (Italy). During his PhD, he spent over two years as a visiting PhD researcher at the University of Glasgow (UK), where he conducted research with the Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research (CSEAR). 

Massimo is a member of the Executive Council of CSEAR (https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/csear/about/structure/) and Director of CSEAR Italy (https://sites.google.com/unibg.it/menu/).

His main research interests are in accounting for sustainability; accountability and stewardship; institutional theory; accounting and organisational change; and accounting for risk-management. He has carried out extensive research on these topics employing a range of methodologies, including qualitative fieldwork, in several organizations: multinationals, social enterprises, co-operatives and foundations. Massimo has published several articles in international journals such as Accounting, Organization and Society (AOS), Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal (AAAJ), Management Accounting Research (MAR), Critical Perspective on Accounting (CPA), British Accounting Review (BAR) and Social and Environmental Accountability Journal (SEAJ), as well as several books and chapters in international edited books.

In addition, Massimo is Associate Editor for Sustainability, Management and Policy Journal (SAMPJ) and sits on the Editorial Boards of several international journals, such as: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal (AAAJ); Accounting Forum (AF); Accounting and the Public Interest (API); and Social and Environmental Accountability Journal (SEAJ).

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

• PhD Convenor for Accounting at the Business School of Sussex University (UK);
• Member of the PhD Committee in Business and Law at the University of Bergamo (Italy).

DEGREE AND POST DOC POSITIONS

• Post Doc Researcher, University of St. Andrews (UK): February-May 2008;
• Post Doc Research, University of Bergamo (Italy) and University of Dundee(UK): January 2007-January 2008;
• PhD in Business Administration, University of Milan-Bicocca (Italy), in collaboration with the Centre for Social and Environmental
Accounting Research of Glasgow (CSEAR): 2001-2005;
• Master Degree Equivalent in Business Administration, University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy): 2001.

CERTIFICATIONS

• National Academic Qualification for Full Professorship, Italy 2018;
• Post Graduate Qualification (PG) Course for Advanced Education, Italy 2006.

LANGUAGES

• Italian (first language): Can read, write, speak, understand and peer review;
• English: Can read, write, speak, understand and peer review;
• Spanish: Can speak and understand.