Overview
Background
Dr Michael Turner PhD, CA Senior Lecturer in Accounting Program Convenor, Bachelor of Advanced Business (Honours)
Dr Michael Turner PhD, CA is a Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Program Convenor for the Bachelor of Advanced Business (Honours) at The University of Queensland Business School. A Chartered Accountant, he researches how accounting information, disclosure, and management controls shape strategic, ethical, and climate-related decisions across organisations. His work spans strategic management accounting, corporate and climate-related disclosure, ethical decision-making and governance, and accounting education with analytics and programming. Michael has published more than 30 peer-reviewed articles, including publications in FT50 journals and leading ABDC A*/A outlets. His research has attracted support from Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, the German Research Foundation, and the Office of the Australian Accounting Standards Board, including current work on corporate behaviour and climate-related financial disclosure. His applied insights have also appeared in practitioner outlets including Strategic Finance, HospitalityNet, and the Council on Business & Society.
A unifying question connects these streams of work: how can accounting systems create and communicate information that supports better, more responsible business decisions? Michael’s teaching and program leadership reflect that same focus. He coordinates management accounting courses with strong student feedback and has developed internationally recognised teaching cases using Python and R. As Program Convenor, he led the first comprehensive review of the Bachelor of Advanced Business (Honours) since its 2018 launch and is now leading implementation of the next phase of reform through 2028, including cohort-specific advanced courses, first-year redesign, stronger work-integrated learning, and new industry-embedded experiences. He also represents the program widely through outreach to future students, including UQ Open Day and activities for high-achieving school students.
Industry engagement is central to Michael’s work. He collaborates closely with employers, alumni, and professional bodies to connect curriculum with practice through initiatives such as Careers Connect, employer panels and roundtable networking events co-hosted with CPA Australia, firm-based engagement opportunities, and early-year roadshows that expose students to internships, graduate roles, and professional pathways across accounting, finance, consulting, and analytics. In 2025 he received the UQ Business School Executive Committee Award for Excellence in External Engagement. Recent activities have included a Careers Connect event that brought together more than 150 Advanced Business students, 18 firms, and around 25 academics, a CPA-hosted employer panel in Brisbane, and a first-year roadshow and mixer featuring student, alumni, and employer perspectives.
Research interests
Strategic management accounting and decision analytics Corporate and climate-related disclosure Ethical decision-making, governance, and whistleblowing Accounting education, data analytics, and programming with Python and R
Availability
- Dr Michael Turner is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Business (Administration), Griffith University
- Postgraduate Diploma in Research Methods, Southern Cross University
- Doctor of Philosophy, Griffith University
Research interests
-
Capital Budgeting
Human behaviour, such as escalation of commitment and biasing of capital budgeting cash flow forecasts. Including both the preparer of the capital budgeting proposal, and the reviewer of those proposals.
-
Professional Skepticism
Experimental research around the role of both state and trait professional skepticism on the decision-making of professional accountants.
-
CSR Disclosure
Examining the value both firms and shareholders attach to financial, social and environmental disclosures. Also, the impact of regulation on such value.
-
Management accounting applications for the hospitality industry
Particularly interested in hotels mediated by a management contact. For example, a hotel owner and a hotel operator.
Works
Search Professor Michael Turner’s works on UQ eSpace
2017
Journal Article
Hotel property performance: the role of strategic management accounting
Turner, Michael J., Way, Sean A., Hodari, Demian and Witteman, Wiarda (2017). Hotel property performance: the role of strategic management accounting. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 63 (May), 33-43. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2017.02.001
2017
Journal Article
Do government administered financial rewards undermine firms’ internal whistle-blowing systems? A Pitch
Lee, Gladys and Turner, Michael (2017). Do government administered financial rewards undermine firms’ internal whistle-blowing systems? A Pitch. Accounting Research Journal, 30 (1), 6-11. doi: 10.1108/ARJ-07-2016-0087
2017
Journal Article
Discrete choice experiments: A research agenda for experimental accounting
Turner, Michael J. and Coote, Leonard V. (2017). Discrete choice experiments: A research agenda for experimental accounting. Meditari Accountancy Research, 25 (1), 158-182. doi: 10.1108/MEDAR-07-2016-0068
2017
Journal Article
How hotel owner-operator goal congruence and GM autonomy influence hotel performance
Hodari, Demian, Turner, Michael J. and Sturman, Michael C. (2017). How hotel owner-operator goal congruence and GM autonomy influence hotel performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 61, 119-128. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2016.11.008
2016
Book Chapter
Entry modes: management contract
Turner, Michael J., Hodari, Demian and Blal, Ines (2016). Entry modes: management contract. The Routledge handbook of hotel chain management. (pp. 157-170) edited by Stanislav Invanov, Maya Invanova and Vincent Magnini. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315752532-22
2016
Book Chapter
Selecting a partner hotel by the chain
Blal, Inès, Hodari, Demian and Turner, Michael J. (2016). Selecting a partner hotel by the chain. The Routledge handbook of hotel chain management. (pp. 205-215) edited by Maya Ivanova, Stanislav Ivanov and Vincent P. Magnini. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315752532-26
2015
Journal Article
Sporting clubs and scandals – Lessons in governance
Phat, Thai Huu, Birt, Jacqueline, Turner, Michael J. and Fenech, Jean-Pierre (2015). Sporting clubs and scandals – Lessons in governance. Sport Management Review, 19 (1), 69-80. doi: 10.1016/j.smr.2015.08.003
2014
Journal Article
An investigation of Australian and New Zealand hotel ownership
Turner, Michael J. and Guilding, Chris (2014). An investigation of Australian and New Zealand hotel ownership. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 21, 76-89. doi: 10.1016/j.jhtm.2014.08.003
2014
Journal Article
An investigation of big five personality and propensity to commit white-collar crime
Turner, Michael J. (2014). An investigation of big five personality and propensity to commit white-collar crime. Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research, 17, 57-94. doi: 10.1108/S1475-1488_2014_0000017002
2013
Journal Article
Capital budgeting implications arising from locus of hotel owner/operator power
Turner, Michael James and Guilding, Chris (2013). Capital budgeting implications arising from locus of hotel owner/operator power. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 35, 261-273. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2013.06.011
2013
Journal Article
Hotel management contracts: a particularly rich research context
Turner, Michael J. (2013). Hotel management contracts: a particularly rich research context. Journal of Hotel & Business Management, 2 (1), 1000e107.1-1000e107.1. doi: 10.4172/2169-0286.1000e107
2012
Journal Article
Factors affecting biasing of capital budgeting cash flow forecasts: evidence from the hotel industry
Turner, Michael J. and Guilding, Chris (2012). Factors affecting biasing of capital budgeting cash flow forecasts: evidence from the hotel industry. Accounting and Business Research, 42 (5), 519-545. doi: 10.1080/00014788.2012.670405
2011
Journal Article
An investigation of the motivation of hotel owners and operators to engage in earnings management
Turner, Michael J. and Guilding, Chris (2011). An investigation of the motivation of hotel owners and operators to engage in earnings management. Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management, 8 (4), 358-381. doi: 10.1108/11766091111189882
2010
Journal Article
Accounting for the furniture, fittings and equipment reserve in hotels
Turner, Michael J. and Guilding, Chris (2010). Accounting for the furniture, fittings and equipment reserve in hotels. Accounting and Finance, 50 (4), 967-992. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-629X.2010.00347.x
2010
Journal Article
Hotel management contracts and deficiencies in owner-operator capital expenditure goal congruency
Turner, Michael J. and Guilding, Chris (2010). Hotel management contracts and deficiencies in owner-operator capital expenditure goal congruency. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 34 (4), 478-511. doi: 10.1177/1096348010370855
2004
Journal Article
Genetic influence on daily wheel running activity level
Lightfoot, JT, Turner, MJ, Daves, M, Vordermark, A and Kleeberger, (2004). Genetic influence on daily wheel running activity level. Physiological Genomics, 19 (3), 270-276. doi: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00125.2004
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Michael Turner is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Integrating Business Intelligence in Exploring Decision Biases in Competitor Analysis within Strategic Management Accounting
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Sergeja Slapnicar
Completed supervision
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
The Incentives of Non-GAAP Earnings Disclosure in the Presence of Transitory Items and Institutional Changes
Associate Advisor
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Integrated reporting: Economic incentives for disclosure and assurance
Associate Advisor
Media
Enquiries
For media enquiries about Dr Michael Turner's areas of expertise, story ideas and help finding experts, contact our Media team: