Elizabeth Hicks is a Chartered Accountant and an Associate Professor in the Business and Tourism Department of Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax. She is a co-applicant of the Social Economy and Sustainability Research Network.

Ms. Hicks’ research interests are in the area of environmental, social and ethical accounting and reporting.  She is interested in how accounting may be improved to become a useful and reliable tool for tracking and reporting on not only financial but also the social, ethical and environmental activities of organizations to assist users in making more fully informed decisions.

Currently she is conducting research with fellow academic Leslie Brown, Andre Leclerc and community partner (Co-op Atlantic) to develop our understanding of co-operative businesses through the creation of an accounting tool and system that better reflects the true nature of the business and allowing it to set its goals in relation to a clear co-operative identity. She is also conducting research with John Maddocks and community partners, Co-operative Management Education Co-operative (CMEC) and the Centre of Excellence for Accounting and Reporting for Co-operatives (CEARC) working towards the development of a Statement of Recommended Practice for Co-operatives to guide co-operatives in applying generally accepted accounting principles that meet their unique characteristics and incorporate the “co-operative difference” into their reports. 

Interview:

Please click here to listen to a short interview with Elizabeth Hicks.