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Financial Crises Under Spotlight At Ulster

4 May 2010

International finance experts will gather at the University of Ulster this week to assess the state of the global financial crisis.

The Ulster Business School is hosting the Irish Accounting and Finance Association (IAFA) annual research conference on May 6 and 7 at the Belfast campus. The organising committee includes Professor Joan Ballantine, Dr David McAree, Tony Wall and Professor Ann-Marie Ward.

Experts from the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Ireland, England and Wales will gather at the University to examine the impact the downturn has had on industry.

Dr McAree, Lecturer in Finance at the Department of International Business, said: “We are delighted to host the conference, particularly in this year as it coincides with a number of strategic developments which are aimed at strengthening accounting and finance at the University of Ulster and widening access to the study of these subjects within Northern Ireland.

“The University is offering two new degrees, beginning in September – the BSc in Accounting and Law at Jordanstown and the BSc in Accounting and Managerial Finance is being introduced at Magee. It is hoped that these courses will strengthen the University’s position as a leading provider of accounting education.”

The conference will cover issues from financial management, management accounting, accounting education and accounting in the public sector, and how they have been impacted by the economic downturn.

University of Ulster experts will present 10 of the 45 presentations at the two-day symposium, with three high profile academics presenting at the plenary sessions.

Professors Michael Bromwich and Al Bhimani of the London School of Economics are presenting at the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants session, while Professor Patricia O’Brien, from the University of Waterloo, Canada, is presenting a paper on valuation and income measurement and how it has been affected by the economic crisis.

For further information on the conference, please visit – http://www.iafa.ie/annual_conference