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Professor Helen Thorne
Position: Professor of Management Accounting Professor Helen Thorne
Division/Portfolio: Division of Business
School/Unit: The International Graduate School of Business
Campus: City West Campus
Office: WL5-62
Telephone: +61 8 830 20027
Fax: +61 8 830 20100
Email: Helen_dot_Thorne_at_unisa_dot_edu_dot_au
URL for Business Card: http://people.unisa.edu.au/Helen.Thorne
(Helen Thorne is currently on leave - last day on leave is Monday, 30 November 2009)

Teaching interests

  • My teaching centres primarily on management accounting, a field which provides managers with the information that they need to make strategic and operational decisions, to enhance both customer and shareholder value.
  • I am a member of the Accounting discipline team of the IGSB.

I teach the following courses

BUSS 5247Accounting for Decision Making

Professional associations

2000-2002 Playford Centre, Member of the Board of Directors

1995-2001 SA Film Corporation, Member of Board of Directors

1995-2001 SA Film Corporation, Chairperson of Finance and Audit Committee

1993-1997 Australian Society of CPAs, Management Accounting Conference Committee

Qualifications

BEc(Hons), Flinders
Dip Acc, Flinders
PhD, Adelaide

Professional experience

Professor/Head International Graduate School of Business, University of South Australia, from April 2002

Director, Graduate School of Management, University of Adelaide, November 1997-June 2001

Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Management, University of Adelaide, 1996-2002

Lecturer, Commerce Department, University of Adelaide, 1992 to 1995 (half time)

Lecturer, School of Accountancy, South Australian Institute of Technology, 1986-1991 (half-time)

Tutor, School of Accountancy, South Australian Institute of Technology, 1985 (half-time)

Tutor, Commerce Department, University of Adelaide, 1981-1984

Management Accountant, Sola Optical Australia, 1980-1981

Administrative Officer, Flinders University, 1975-1979

Research interests

  • My research interests focus on recent developments in management accounting, in particular, contemporary approaches to measuring and managing performance, activity-based management and cost of quality.
  • My Asian Research interests include Strategic management accounting practices in Singapore: The role of contingency factors.
  • The influence of the cognitive style of entrepreneurs on management practices in Hong Kong.

Research publications

Publications

K.Langfield-Smith, H.Thorne and R.Hilton, (2005), Management Accounting: Information for managing and creating value, Sydney: McGraw-Hill-Irwin, 4th edition

Chen, T Z, Gurd, B W, and Thorne, H (2004), 'Learning organizations and the balanced scorecard: Evidence from Australia'. Proceedings of the refereed stream of the Performance Measurement Association conference, Edinburgh.

B. Gurd and H Thorne,(2003), “The Transformation of an Accounting System during Organisational Change: A Longitudinal Study’ Financial Accountability and Management, Feb, 19(1), pp. 21-43.

K.Langfield-Smith, H.Thorne and R.Hilton, (2002), Management Accounting: An Australian Perspective, Sydney: McGraw-Hill, 3rd edition

H.Thorne and B.Gurd, (1999), “Activity-Based Costing: Improved Product Costing or Activity Management?, Advances in Management Accounting, Vol. 8, pp. 173-194.

H.Thorne and B.Gurd, (1995), “Human Aspects of Activity-Based Management”, Journal of Cost Management, Fall, pp. 50-57

H.Thorne (1995), “Value-Added Management: For Your Practice and Your Clients”, Proceedings of International Public Practice Convention, (ASCPA: Qld).

H.Thorne, B.Gurd and A.Southwick (1995) “Performance Measurement in Manufacturing: Lessons from the Balanced Scorecard and Dynamic Modelling Approaches”, Accounting Forum, Mar, pp. 27-46.

H.Thorne (1993) “The Role of Activity-Based Management in Total Quality Management”, Proceedings of Quality and Automation Technology Congress, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

H.Thorne (1993), “Value Added Management: A Powerful Tool for Cost Reduction”, Australian Accounting Review, Nov, pp. 47-52.

H.Thorne (1992) “Activity-Based Costing: New or Old, It Could be a Pot of Gold”, Accounting Forum, Mar, pp. 9-22.

Reports

H.Thorne and M.Lacey (1993), “Funding Methodologies Report”, Report for Intellectual Disability Services Council, S.A

H.Thorne, 1992, “Activity-Based Costing at AWA Defence Industries: A Case Study”, Report for National Industries Extension Service (SA), September,

Expertise for Media Contact

I am able to provide media comment in the following areas of expertise:

Discipline: Accounting, Management Accounting, Postgraduate management education

  • Contemporary performance measurement systems
  • Costing systems
  • Contemporary cost management
  • Activity based costing
  • Postgraduate management education

Research Degree Supervisor

I am interested in supervising masters and doctoral students doing research in management accounting, especially in the areas of contemporary cost management (such as activity based management, the theory of constraints, life cycle management and target costing) and performance measurement (such as strategically linked performance measurement systems, in particular the balanced scorecard). One area for future research is the implications of national culture for these contemporary approaches, which have been developed and tested only in western economies.

I also have an interest in the research into postgraduate management education, particularly MBA and DBA programs.

I have been responsible as a Panel Leader for the Doctor of Business Administration program, providing academic management and support to a cohort of supervisors and DBA candidates.



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