Personal profile
Contact Info
Overview
MA, PGCE (Vienna University), MBA, PhD (Bangor University)
Research
My work focuses on impression management in corporate communication. Impression management entails the construction of a public impression by organisations with the intention to appeal to their audiences, including shareholders, stakeholders, the general public, and the media. The majority of research focuses on attempts to influence perceptions by means of financial statements (earnings management). However, the language in corporate narrative documents (e.g., chairmen’s statements, press releases, corporate social responsibility reports) constitutes a more subtle and powerful way of persuading audiences to accept a specific version of reality. My work is interdisciplinary and encompasses the development of conceptual and theoretical frameworks of impression management and the development and application of text analysis methodologies (primarily based on rhetoric, discourse analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis) for the analysis of corporate narratives. For this purpose, I draw on my background in accounting (MBA in Banking and Finance, PhD in Accounting) and literature and linguistics (MA in German and English). There is a growing interest in corporate narrative reporting, evidenced by the publication of the Routledge Companion to Accounting Communication and the Special Issue of Accounting Forum on Analysing the Quality, Meaning and Accountability of Organizational Reporting and Communication, to which I have both contributed.
I am an associate editor of Accounting and Business Research (ABR, 3*) and the British Accounting Review (BAR, 3*). I am also an editorial board member of the Accounting Auditing and Accountability Journal (AAAJ, 3*). My work is published in highly regarded journals. I won the Mary Parker Follett Award for the best paper published in the Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal for 2011. Reflecting the interdisciplinary orientation of the journal, the award is named in memory of Mary Parker Follett, a pioneer in the field of management and accountability literature, who was international and interdisciplinary in her focus. Another of my papers published in the Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journalwas selected by the journal’s editorial team as a Highly Commended paper in 2015. In 2017, I was the joint winner of the Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal award for outstanding reviewer in the 2016 year of the journal.
Teaching and Supervision
Undergraduate Teaching
- ASB 1121 Principles of Management Accounting
- ASB 3211 Advanced Accounting Theory and Practice
Postgraduate Teaching
- ASB / ABJ 4418 Accounting Theory
- ASB / ABJ 4907 Accounting Dissertation
- ASB 4932 Foundation in Social Research
Supervision
Annika Beelitz: Organisational Legitimacy of the Nuclear Industry following the Fukushima Disaster (2010-2016)
Danial Hemmings: Corporate Equity Issues: The Symbolic Management of Investor Sentiment Prior to Seasoned Equity Offerings (2012-2016)
Emma Hughes: Frames of reference in contemporary labour disputes: The case of London Underground (2014-2018)
Sara Closs-Davies: A conceptual framework of tax credits (2012 - 2019)
Salma Ashour: Corporate Tax Avoidance: Media Coverage and Corporate Tax Reporting in the UK (2017-2021)
Postgraduate Project Opportunities
Corporate narrative reporting and impression management: Corporate reporting of COVID-19
Postgraduate Project Opportunities
Corporate narrative reporting and impression management: Tax strategy reporting
Postgraduate Project Opportunities
Corporate narrative reporting and impression management: CSR reporting
Keywords
- HF5601 Accounting
- Impression Management
- Corporate Communication
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Reversing the Accountability Chain: How Relational Power Can Shape Accountability in Public Encounters
Closs-Davies, S. C., Bartels, K. P. R. & Merkl-Davies, D., 15 Mar 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal Of Public Administration Research And Theory. muag009.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Downloads (Pure) -
How tax administration influences social justice: The relational power of accounting technologies
Closs-Davies, S., Bartels, K. & Merkl-Davies, D., Dec 2024, In: Critical Perspectives on Accounting. 100, 102758.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile58 Downloads (Pure) -
Accounting Communication
Brennan, N., Hemmings, D. & Merkl-Davies, D., 26 May 2023, Oxford Bibliographies.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article
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Tax Credits as an accounting technology of government: “Showing my boys they have to work, because that is what happens”
Closs-Davies, S., Merkl-Davies, D. & Bartels, K. P., 10 Mar 2021, In: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal. 34, 3, p. 531-557Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile407 Downloads (Pure) -
The Frog in the Pan: Relational Transformation of Public Values in the UK Tax Authority
Closs-Davies, S., Bartels, K. & Merkl-Davies, D., 10 Sept 2021, In: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal. 34, 7, p. 1635-1663Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile134 Downloads (Pure)
Impacts
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How does the HMRC affect the financial hardship of claimants? Research Seminar and workshop
Closs-Davies, S. (Participant), Merkl-Davies, D. (Participant) & Bartels, K. (Participant)
Impact: Policy and Public Services, Economic, Societal
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Working with Low Income Tax Reform Group (LITRG) to improve the tax system and the experiences of people on low-income
Closs-Davies, S. (Participant), Merkl-Davies, D. (Participant) & Bartels, K. (Participant)
Impact: Policy and Public Services, Economic, Societal
Activities
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Does voluntary tax reporting result in increased tax transparency?
Merkl-Davies, D. (Speaker)
6 Dec 2019Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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Corporate Tax Reporting: Substantive or symbolic management? The Case of Vodafone
Merkl-Davies, D. (Speaker)
10 Sept 2019Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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University College Dublin
Merkl-Davies, D. (Visiting researcher)
9 Sept 2019 → 13 Sept 2019Activity: Visiting an external institution › Visiting an external academic institution
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Beyond the Question: An Interactionist Study of Q & A Sequences in Oral Financial Results Presentations
Merkl-Davies, D. (Examiner)
22 Mar 2019Activity: Examination
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Information for Better Markets Conference: Corporate reporting: is it heading in the right direction?
Merkl-Davies, D. (Speaker)
18 Dec 2017 → 19 Dec 2017Activity: Other › Types of External academic engagement - Invited talk
Thesis
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The obfuscation hypothesis re-examined : analyzing impression management in corporate narrative report documents
Merkl-Davies, D. (Author), Mcleay, S. (Supervisor), Jan 2007Student thesis: Doctor of Philosophy
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