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Research is clustered around a number of distinct themes - efficiency measurement issues and policy evaluation in the public sector, financial cooperatives, and accounting/finance governance issues 

Ballantine focuses on corporate governance within private and public sector firms, concentrating on CEO incentives and the role of auditors. Ward has been investigating the financial/regulatory structures and socio-economic conditions of credit unions in the EU and US. The implications from this work indicate that the Financial Services Authority's new governance regime for credit unions will inevitably result in mergers. Extending the theme of accounting/finance governance issues, Wall has been investigating the impact of regulatory changes by the Accounting Standards Board on the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and how accounting for intellectual capital affects performance measurement and management. This work has been supported by CIMA, with Wall being awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2012 to investigate best practice PFI initiatives in the USA.

The research group participates in a wide network of international academic research collaborators via the Credit Union Research Forum and the International Research Society for Public Management. In addition, given the emphasis on PFI and PPP, organizational linkages involve the Audit Office, Strategic Investment Board, Water Service and Local Government Association.