Silvia Pazzi
Lecturer in Accounting and Finance

Profile

Biography

Silvia joined the School for Business and Society in September 2022, previously working at the University of Leicester since 2013. She completed her PhD in Business Administration at the University of Pisa (Italy) in 2012. She became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2014.

Research

Overview

Silvia’s research interests are in the areas of public sector accounting and accountability, NGO accountability, financial reporting, and accounting quality. In 2019, Silvia and Dr Ekaterina Svetlova received a seed corn grant for research on “Accounting for Trust in governmental reporting” by BAFA in cooperation with ACCA and the HM Treasury. The project supports the HM Treasury's efforts to enhance public trust in governmental reporting. It aimed to investigate whether this can be achieved through better risk disclosure and accessibility, re-usability, and presentation of accounting data. We presented the preliminary results of our project at the H.M. Treasury Users-Preparers Advisory and the Government Finance Function Festival in September 2020. The final research report was published in February 2021 on the ACCA website. Following up on the research interest in governmental risk reporting, Silvia is currently a co-investigator in a research project entitled “Risk reporting for a safe and resilient society: A comparative study of the UK and the Netherlands”. The project is funded by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the University of Twente in the Netherlands.

She is interested in supervising PhD students.

Grants

• May 2022 –external co-investigator to a research project entitled “Risk reporting for a safe and resilient society: A comparative study of the UK and the Netherlands”. The project is funded by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the University of Twente (UT) in the Netherlands. PI: Budding G. T. (VU); C.I.: A.S.C. Faber (VU), and Svetlova E. (UT).
• November 2019 – October 2020 – Seedcorn Research Funding Scheme by BAFA (British Accounting and Finance Association) in cooperation with ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and the HM Treasury. Project: “Accounting for trust in governmental reporting”. PI: Svetlova E.; CI: Pazzi S.
• October 2017 – July 2018 - College Research Development Fund, University of Leicester. Project: “Shaping local government financial reporting: starting from the citizens”, PI: Pazzi S., CI: Svetlova E.

Supervision

Past Supervision (PhD completions)

• Ririen Setiati Riyanti – Thesis: Consequences of Bank Governance, Competition and Financial Crisis for Small Business Lending: Evidence from Indonesia (PhD awarded in October 2020)
• Andrew Christodoulou – Thesis: Accountants' views of the issues in the accounting environment that threaten the long-term survival of UK small and medium enterprises (PhD awarded in March 2022)

Publications

Selected publications

Pazzi S. and Svetlova E. (2023) "NGOs, public accountability, and critical accounting education: Making data speak". Critical Perspective on Accounting - Special Issue Critical Perspectives on NGO Governance and Accountability. Vol 92, p.102362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpa.2021.102362

Svetlova E. and Pazzi S. (2021) "Accounting for trust in governmental reporting" – ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants). Report available at: https://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/technical-activities/technical-resources-search/2021/february/accounting-for-trust-in-governmental-reporting.html

Pazzi S., Tortosa-Ausina E., Duygun M., and Zambelli S., (2016) The cost efficiency of water utilities: when does public ownership matter? Local Government Studies, 42:6, 980-1003.

del Sordo C., Farneti F., Guthrie J., Pazzi S., and Siboni B., (2016) Social reports in Italian universities: disclosures and preparers’ perspective, Meditari Accountancy Research, Vol. 24 Issue: 1, pp.91-110.

Siboni, B., del Sordo, C., and Pazzi, S., (2013) Sustainability reporting in state universities: an investigation of Italian pioneering practices. International Journal of Social Ecology and Sustainable Development (IJSESD), 4(2), 1-15.

Conference Presentations

Svetlova E. and Pazzi S., “Digitalization strategies in governmental reporting: Starting with users” at the online workshop Accountability for a Connected Society: The Unaccounted Effects of Digital Transformation on 19-20 May 2022.

Svetlova E. and Pazzi S., “Digitalization strategies in governmental reporting: Starting with users”; at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, School of Business and Economics, Zijlstra jaarcongres: ‘Beyond New Public Management?’on 31st March 2022.

Svetlova E. and Pazzi S. “Risk reporting and trust in the central government: an assessment of the current practice presentation at the 11th International EIASM Public Sector Conference online, 27 th and 28 th September 2021.

Pazzi S. and Svetlova E. (2020) “Risk reporting and trust in the central government: assessment of the current practice and directions for future research" presentation at the SASE Research Network Conference the sub-section Public Sector Accounting and Control, The University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 18 – 20 July, 2020 (online).

Pazzi S. and Svetlova E. (2019) "Vision, voice and legitimacy: a case of an Italian NGO" presentation at the Charities, Non-profits and NGOs: (re)building trust and legitimacy, Queen's Centre for Not-for- profit and Public-sector Research (CNPR), Queen's University, Belfast, UK, 3-4 September 2019.

Pazzi S. and Svetlova E. (2019) "Vision and Voice: the case of an Italian NGO for building and maintaining legitimacy" presentation at RASA Inaugural Workshop, University of Leicester, 7 June 2019.

Pazzi S., Svetlova E. "NGOs, public accountability and educational engagement The Case of Open Polis and Open Bilanci" presentation at Research Day on Critical Perspectives on NGO Governance and Accountability, Centre for Research into Accounting and Finance in Context (CRAFiC), UK, 1 May 2019.

Pazzi S., Svetlova E. "Re-shaping and explaining local governments' calculative practice. The Case of Open Bilanci" presentation at New Public Sector Seminar, Calculative Practice and the Shaping of Public Services, Edinburgh, UK, 8-9 November 2018.

Dias A. and Pazzi S. "Working Capital and Market Risk: The Role of Accruals" presentation at 7th International Banking and Finance Society Conference in Hangzhou, China, 27-29 June 2015.

Pazzi S., Tortosa-Ausina E., Duygun M., and Zambelli S. "Efficiency of Water Utilities: Does Local Public Ownership Matter? Evidence from Italy" presentation at 37th European Accounting Association Congress in Tallinn, Estonia, 21-23 May 2014.

Pazzi S., Tortosa-Ausina E., Duygun M., and Zambelli S. “Efficiency of Water Utilities: Does Local Public Ownership Matter? Evidence from Italy” presentation at XXI Encuentro de Economía Pública, Universitat de Girona, Spain, 30-31 January 2014

Teaching

Other teaching

Teaching and administrative responsibilities

Silvia is a Fellow of the British Higher Education Academy. She has several years of experience in the design, delivery, and management of various undergraduate and postgraduate courses. At the School for Business and Society, she has student support roles (UG supervisors and placement students tutor), and she is contributing to the delivery of:

• Advanced Financial Accounting
• Skills for Management & Professional Development
• Management Accounting
• Financial Management

She is also a member of the StAMP Committee.