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Last updated 4th June 2026

Chris Cowton became Emeritus Professor in 2019, having served the University as Professor of Accounting (1996-2016), Dean of the Business School (2008-2016) and Professor of Financial Ethics (2016-2019). He previously lectured at the University of Oxford (1986-1996), Cardiff (1982-1986) and Aberystwyth (1980-1982). He has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Leeds' Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied Centre and the University of Bergamo in Italy, and he is a Visiting Professor at the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, Spain. 

Chris was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2025. He was also a recipient of the British Accounting and Finance Association's Life-time Achievement Award 2023 for his "substantial and direct contribution to UK academic accounting and finance" over the course of his career. Earlier, in 2013, he was awarded the University of Huddersfield’s first ever DLitt (Doctor of Letters, a higher doctorate) in recognition of his original and significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge in business and financial ethics.

Following his retirement from the University, Chris became Associate Director of the London-based Institute of Business Ethics (2019-2023), where he contributed to its strategic leadership and was involved in shaping and delivering its research, advisory services and training activities. Chris continues to be active in research and writing, as well as undertaking speaking, advisory and training assignments for businesses, government departments and professional bodies.

Chris has published extensively. His scholarly output includes conceptual argumentation, quantitative and qualitative empirical research, mathematical analysis, historical work - and even poetry. He has published more than 100 journal articles and book chapters, as well as editing or authoring several books/monographs and writing many shorter pieces.

From 1998 to 2001 he was Chair of EBEN-UK, the UK Association of the European Business Ethics Network, and he chaired the 13th Annual Conference of the European Business Ethics Network in Cambridge in 2000. He was selected to give the P.D. Leake Lecture at Chartered Accountants' Hall, London in May 2007, and for a decade he was Editor of the quarterly international journal Business Ethics: A European Review. He served as a member of the Ethics Standards Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales for a decade (2009-2018), is currently a member of the Professional Standards Committee of the Chartered Insurance Institute, has been a trustee of the Institute of Business Ethics, and was a member of the advisory committee of one of the first socially responsible investment funds in the UK.

During his career, Chris has added several qualifications (on a part-time basis) to his first degree, which was a BA with First Class Honours in Accounting & Financial Management from the University of Sheffield. He holds an MScEcon from the University of Wales, an MA (by Special Resolution) from the University of Oxford, a PhD from the University of Sheffield, a DLitt from the University of Huddersfield, a Graduate Diploma in Philosophy from the University of York, and a Certificate in Coaching and Mentoring (ILM). He is a qualified Chartered Governance Professional (ACG), a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS).

• Socially responsible/ethical investment
• Ethical banking/banking ethics
• Accounting ethics and professionalism
• Ethics of trade credit