Dr Max Bessell

Biography/ Background

Max has a PhD from the University of Adelaide, is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA) and is the current Associate Dean: International in the Faculty of the Professions, where the Business School is located. He has over 18 years of professional and legal experience in legal and accounting practices. In addition, his university experience encompasses over 10 years of academic and senior management positions. His roles in University include Project Director of many initiatives dealing with the development of new undergraduate and postgraduate programs, quality review and accreditation processes. In addition he was also the Academic Registrar of the Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Adelaide. He has taught accounting and auditing at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and his research deals in audit, general taxation concepts and business-legal perspectives. Max has had a long association with the ICAA including Deputy Chairman of the Regional Council for SA/NT and Regional Council member for over 5 years together with being a facilitator in Professional Year/CA program for 8 years. He is member of the ICAA's National Quality Review Committee (and past Chairman) and he is also Chairman of the Australian Business Deans Council International network.

Qualifications

BBus (Acc), PhD, FCA

Teaching Interests

Lecturer-in-Charge for Accounting for Decision Makers I

Research Interests

Financial Reporting, Auditing, Governance, General Concepts of Taxation

Publications

Bessell, M., Burford, K. and Henderson S., 1999, "What Latham Really Said About Taxation", Corporate and Business Law Journal, vol 11 no 2.

Bessell, M and Henderson, S. 2001, "User Pay Revenue or Disguised Taxation : An Exploratory Study", Hawaii Conference of Business, Honolulu.

Bessell, M, Anandarajan, A. and Umar A. 2002, "Does the the "Qualification" in an Auditor's Report Matter in the Presence of Going Concern Uncertainties?: Evidence from Australia", Northeast Regional Conference of the American Accounting Association, Providence, Rhode Island.

Bessell, M, Anandarajan, A. and Umar A., 2003, "Information Content, Auditors' Reports and Going-Concern : An Australian Study", Accounting and Finance, vol 43, no 3, pp261-282.

Bessell, M and Anandarajan, A. 2004, "How Useful Are Audit Reports?", Journal of Banking and Financial Services, vol 118 no 3, pp12-14.

Bessell, M and Anandarajan, A. 2004, "Some Australian Evidence on Audit Reports", 9th AIBF Banking and Finance Conference, Melbourne, 30th September to 1st October 2004.

Bessell,M. Burritt, R., Carter, A. and Round, D. 2007, "The Internationality of Abacus: A longitudinal study 1965-2004", 2007 AFAANZ Conference, Southport, 1-3 July 2007.

Round, D.K., Bessell, M. and Agarwal, M. 2010, "Increasing shares in Australian professional services markets: Is s 50 a barrier to growth by acquisition?", Australian Business Law Review, vol 38, no 4, pp238-245.

Webber, M., Sarris, A. and Bessell, M. 2011, "Organisational Culture and the Use of Work-Life Balance Initiatives: Influence on Work Attitudes and Work-life Conflict", Australian and New Zealand Journal of Organisational Psychology, vol 3, pp54-65.

Bessell, M., Round, D.K., Agarwal, M. and Lobmayr, B. 2011, "How Big Can the Big 4 (or 3) Get? A Study of Audit Firm Concentration in Australia", Competition & Consumer Law Journal, vol 18, no 3, pp245-266.

Professional Associations

Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia

Professional Interests

In relation to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia

Member (and past Chair) of the National Quality Review Committee since 2003

Regional Councillor for SA/NT 2001 to 2006 and Deputy Chairman for 2005 and 2006

Past CA/PY Program facilitator

Entry last updated: Tuesday, 8 May 2012