Biography
Sarah began her academic journey at Napier University in 2004 as an undergraduate student enrolled in the BA (Hons) accounting programme. After graduation, she was awarded a fully-funded studentship with the Transport Research Institute of Edinburgh Napier University to undertake a PhD, entitled: the potential for ‘green’ fiscal policy measures to influence individuals’ vehicle purchasing decisions in Scotland. Sarah’s thesis was examined by Dr Tim Ryley and Prof Steve Stradling in September 2014, the doctoral award was approved in February 2015, with graduation taking place in July 2015.
During her doctoral studies, Sarah engaged in part-time teaching in the Business School of Edinburgh Napier University and in September 2012, she became a full-time lecturer in accounting. Sarah’s teaching embraces financial reporting, international accounting and taxation. She is also a supervisor for both undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations on a range of subjects. Sarah has also been involved in Edinburgh Napier University’s teaching programmes at both the City University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong.
In 2016, Sarah became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy via a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning, Teaching and Assessment Practice in Higher Education studied at Edinburgh Napier University. In 2021, Sarah became a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Sarah took up the role of deputy head of subject group for Accounting from 2018 and stepped up to lead the group in the interim towards the end of 2019. Sarah was programme leader for the BA (Hons) accounting and finance programme with City University of Hong Kong for three years. After deputising for the BA (Hons) accounting & joint degrees programme leader in the UK for a number of years, Sarah became programme leader from 2022/23. Sarah has been the Year I Tutor from 2013, having also looked after Year II during 2018/19. Sarah is involved in various aspects of student support / student experience, including being the PDT coordinator for accounting and finance and the induction coordinator for accounting, finance and law. In 2019, she also launched a peer mentoring system for undergraduate students on the accounting suite of programme.
Sarah became an Academic Integrity Officer (AIO) for the Business School in 2022. She is also an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) champion for accounting and finance.
In 2019, Sarah was appointed an External Examiner at the University of Salford for their Audit Framework (level 6) and ICP Dissertation (level 7) module for finance related work, delivered both at home and the Imperial Institute of Higher Education in Sri Lanka, Robert Kennedy College in Switzerland, British University of Bahrain, Pentecost University College in Ghana and Colombo International Nautical and Engineering College in Sri Lanka. In 2021, Sarah was appointed an External Examiner for all Qatar level 1 courses on Business Management at AFG College with the University of Aberdeen. Sarah also undertakes work for ICAS, marking the Business Taxation and Financial Reporting module exams at TPS (test of professional skills) level.