Professor Silvia Gaia
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Email
sgaia@essex.ac.uk -
Location
EBS.3.82, Colchester Campus
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Academic support hours
You can find details of Academic Support hours on the EBS UG and PG information page on Moodle or by calling EBS Student Services on 01206873911
Profile
Biography
Silvia Gaia is a Professor of Accounting at Essex Business School (EBS). She is currently the EBS Director of Sustainability and the Deputy Head of the Accounting Group. She previously held other positions within the Business School and worked as a Lecturer in Accounting at the University of Cagliari (Italy). She held visiting scholar positions at the University of Birmingham (UK), HEC Montréal (Canada) and Columbia Business School (USA). Silvia’s research focuses on the interplay between financial and non-financial reporting, social and environmental issues and corporate governance. She has published her research in highly reputed academic journals such as Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Accounting and Business Research, British Accounting Review, Accounting Forum, Regional Studies and Journal of Business Ethics, among others. She is a recipient of several grants from different bodies, such as the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Institute of Family Business (IFB), the British Academy (BA), which have been enabling knowledge exchange and development of impact cases in relation to corporate governance, sustainability and corporate reporting. Silvia is an Associate Editor for Accounting Forum and Journal of International Accounting Auditing and Taxation and an editorial board member of the Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies. She was the Chair of the Special Interested Group of the British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA) on Financial Accounting and Reporting (FARSIG) from 2021 to 2024 and currently sits on FARSIG Advisory Board.
Qualifications
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PhD (University of Roma TRE)
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MA (University of Cagliari)
Appointments
University of Essex
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Undergraduate Program Director for Accounting, Essex Business School, University of Essex (4/2018 - 4/2021)
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Deputy Head Accounting Group, Essex Business School, University of Essex (4/2021 - present)
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EBS Director of Sustainability, Essex Business School, University of Essex (1/10/2023 - present)
Research and professional activities
Research interests
Corporate Governance
Executive remuneration
Shareholders activism
Voluntary disclosure
Financial reporting
Social performance and Business Ethics
Social and environmental reporting
Conferences and presentations
Biodiversity reporting in the public sector. An analysis of English local councils (with M. Jones), at EAA Annual Congress 2017 (Valencia, May 2017)
Valencia, Spain, 2017
Institutional investors' voting policy. Evidence from European listed companies (with F. Cuomo), Brown Bag Seminar, Columbia Business School (New York, March 2017)
New York, United States, 2017
Institutional investors' stewardship and voting policy. Evidence from European listed companies (with F. Cuomo), Best paper nominee at ICGS conference (Boston, October 2016)
2016
Does social activism merely curb corporate social irresponsibilities? (with C. Francouer, Y. Huang) at ICGS conference (Boston, October 2016)
Boston, United States, 2016
UK local councils reporting of biodiversity values: a stakeholder perspective (with M. Jones), at APIRA conference, (Melbourne, July 2016)
APIRA conference, Melbourne, Australia, 2016
Biodiversity reporting in the public sector. An analysis of English local councils (with M. Jones), at British accounting and Finance Association Conference (Bath, March 2016)
Bath, United Kingdom, 2016
Minority shareholder activism on board election and the risk of wealth expropriation: evidence from Italy, at the Inaugural ICGS conference (Copenhagen, September 2015)
Copenhagen, Denmark, 2015
Biodiversity reporting in the public sector. An analysis of UK local councils (with M. Jones) at IX Critical Management Studies Conference 2015 (Leicester, July 2015)
Leicester, United Kingdom, 2015
Biodiversity reporting in the public sector. An analysis of UK local councils, at IXX Financial reporting and Business communication Conference (Bristol, July 2015).
Bristol, United Kingdom, 2015
Green or Greed? An Alternative Look at CEO Compensation and Corporate Environmental Commitment (with C. Francoeur, A. Melis and S. Aresu) at EAA Annual Congress 2014 (Tallinn, May 2014)
Tallinn, Estonia, 2014
Impression management and retrospective sense-making in banks graphical reporting during the global financial crisis (with M. Jones, A. Melis and S. Aresu), at EAA Annual Congress 2014 (Tallinn, May 2014)
Tallinn, Estonia, 2014
Corporate social performance and CEO compensation. An international study (with C. Francoeur, A. Melis, S. Aresu), at 3rd JMG conference (Montreal, October 2013)
Montreal, Canada, 2013
Minority shareholder activism and the risk of wealth expropriation: evidence from board election, at 3rd JMG conference (Montreal, October 2013)
Montreal, Canada, 2013
Corporate social performance and CEO compensation. An international study (with C. Francoeur, A. Melis, S. Aresu), at 3rd JMG conference (Montreal, October 2013)
Montreal, Canada, 2013
The use of graphs in annual reports. Evidence from European listed banks, at AIDEA 2013 Conference (Lecce, September 2013).
Lecce, Italy, 2013
The use of stock market performance graphs during the global financial crisis. Evidence from the European listed banks annual reports, at XVII Financial reporting and Business communication Conference (Bristol, July 2013).
Bristol, United Kingdom, 2013
The influence of Country-Level and Firm-Level Variables on Independent Directors Remuneration. Evidence from Italy and the UK, at EAA Annual Congress 2013 (Paris, May 2013).
Paris, France, 2013
Directors remuneration: comparison of Italian and UK non-financial listed firms disclosure, at SIDREA 2012 (Modena, Novermber 2012).
Modena, Italy, 2012
Directors remuneration: comparison of Italian and UK non-financial listed firms disclosure, at EAA Annual Congress 2012 (Ljubiana, May 2012).
Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2012
The disclosure of director remuneration: a comparative analysis between Italian and UK non financial listed firms, at XV Financial reporting and Business communication Conference (Bristol, July 2011).
Bristol, United Kingdom, 2011
Independent Directors Remuneration: A Comparison of the UK and Italy, at 9th International Conference on Corporate Governance Coping with Financial Crisis (Birmingham, June 2011).
Birmingham, United Kingdom, 2011
La remunerazione degli amministratori. I risultati empirici di una ricerca esplorativa, at Convegno Gruppo di Studio e Attenzione AIDEA on La Corporate Governance nellesperienza nazionale e internazionale. Aspetti comparativi e profili evolutivi (Roma, October 2010)
Rome, Italy, 2010
The design of share-based remuneration. Evidence from Italy, at EURAM 2010 conference Back to the future (Roma, May 2010).
Rome, Italy, 2010
The design of share-based remuneration. Evidence from Italy, University of Birmingham departmental seminars (Birmingham, December 2009).
Birmingham, United Kingdom, 2009
The design of share-based remuneration. Evidence from Italy at 6th Workshop on Corporate Governance (Bruxelles, November 2009).
Brussels, Belgium, 2009
Executive remuneration in blockholder-dominated firms. How do Italian firms use stock options? At EURISBS09 (Cagliari, June 2009).
Cagliari, Italy, 2009
Executive remuneration in blockholder-dominated firms. How do Italian firms use stock options?, at University of Cagliari departmental seminars (Cagliari, November 2008).
Cagliari, Italy, 2008
Le stock option come strumento di remunerazione per gli amministratori nelle imprese non finanziarie quotate, at AIDEA 2008, Corporate Governance: Governo, Controllo e Struttura finanziaria (Napoli, October 2008).
Napoli, Italy, 2008
Executive remuneration in blockholder-dominated firms. How do Italian firms use stock options? At 6th International Conference on Corporate Governance: The Evolution of Corporate Governance (Birmingham, June 2008).
Birmingham, United Kingdom, 2008
Executive remuneration in blockholder-dominated firms. How do Italian firms use stock options? at the International Conference on Shareholder rights, shareholder voting and Corporate performance (Cagliari, March 2008).
Cagliari, Italy, 2008
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Current Issues in Financial Reporting (BE130)
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Accounting Project (BE936)
Current supervision
Previous supervision
Degree subject: Accounting and Finance
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 29/8/2024
Degree subject: Accounting
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 13/1/2021
Degree subject: Accounting and Finance
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 12/8/2019
Degree subject: Accounting
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 13/5/2019
Publications
Journal articles (18)
Gaia, S., Leoni, G. and Neri, L., (2025). Integrated reporting adoption, disclosure and media legitimacy: evidence from the IIRC Pilot Programme. Meditari:Accountancy Research
Duong, K., Elmahgoub, M., Gaia, S. and Malikov, K., (2024). CEO Social Capital and the Readability of 10-K Reports. Accounting and Business Research, 1-41
Gaia, S. and Baboukardos, D., (2023). Ethnic minorities, income inequalities and the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from English local councils. Regional Studies. 57 (10), 2006-2020
Baboukardos, D., Gaia, S., Lassou, P. and Soobaroyen, T., (2023). The multiverse of non-financial reporting regulation. Accounting Forum. 47 (2), 147-165
Malikov, K. and Gaia, S., (2022). Do CEO social connections promote corporate malpractices? Evidence from classification shifting. Accounting Forum. 46 (4), 369-393
Cuomo, F., Gaia, S., Girardone, C. and Piserà, S., (2022). The effects of the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive on corporate social responsibility. The European Journal of Finance. 30 (7), 726-752
Baboukardos, D., Gaia, S. and She, C., (2021). Social performance and social media activity in times of pandemic: evidence from COVID-19-related Twitter activity. Corporate Governance. 21 (6), 1271-1289
Jones, MJ., Melis, A., Gaia, S. and Aresu, S., (2020). Impression management and retrospective sense-making in corporate annual reports: banks' graphical reporting during the global financial crisis. International Journal of Business Communication. 57 (4), 474-496
Gaia, S. and Jones, MJ., (2020). Biodiversity reporting for governmental organisations: Evidence from English local councils. Accounting Auditing and Accountability Journal. 33 (1), 1-31
Jones, MJ., Melis, A., Gaia, S. and Aresu, S., (2018). Does graphical reporting improve risk disclosure? Evidence from European banks. Journal of Applied Accounting Research. 19 (1), 161-180
Francoeur, C., Melis, A., Gaia, S. and Aresu, S., (2017). Green or Greed? An Alternative Look at CEO Compensation and Corporate Environmental Commitment. Journal of Business Ethics. 140 (3), 439-453
Gaia, S. and Jones, MJ., (2017). UK local councils reporting of biodiversity values: a stakeholder perspective. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal. 30 (7), 1614-1638
Mallin, C., Melis, A. and Gaia, S., (2015). The remuneration of independent directors in the UK and Italy: An empirical analysis based on agency theory. International Business Review. 24 (2), 175-186
Melis, A., Gaia, S. and Carta, S., (2015). Directors' remuneration: A comparison of Italian and UK non-financial listed firms' disclosure. The British Accounting Review. 47 (1), 66-84
Gaia, S., (2013). La remunerazione dell'amministratore delegato durante la crisi finanziaria: un'analisi empirica. MANAGEMENT CONTROL. 2013/2 (2), 111-128
Melis, A., Carta, S. and Gaia, S., (2012). Executive remuneration in blockholder-dominated firms. How do Italian firms use stock options?. Journal of Management & Governance. 16 (3), 511-541
Gaia, S., (2012). La remunerazione dell’amministratore delegato nelle imprese quotate italiane e britanniche: un’analisi empirica. Rivista Italiana di Ragioneria e di Economia Aziendale. 112 (5-6)
Melis, A., Carta, S. and Gaia, S., (2010). L’impatto della normativa fiscale sul design delle stock option per gli amministratori: un’analisi empirica. Rivista Italiana di Ragioneria ed Economia Aziendale. 110 (7-8), 427-439
Books (2)
Kend, M., Leoni, G., Florio, C. and Gaia, S., (2023). Statutory Audits in Europe. Routledge. 1032201738. 9781032201733
Melis, A., Carta, S. and Gaia, S., (2011). I compensi basati su azioni. Principi, teorie ed evidenze empiriche. Giuffrè Editore. 8814155739. 9788814155734
Book chapters (10)
Gaia, S. and She, C., (2024). Corporate governance and environmental disclosures. In: Handbook on Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility. Editors: Magnan, M. and Michelon, G., . Edward Elgar Publishing. 147- 162. 1802208763. 9781802208764
Jalil, MA., Gaia, S. and She, C., (2024). SDG water disclosure around the globe. In: Research Handbook on Sustainability Reporting. Editors: Rimmel, G., Aras, G., Baboukardos, D., Krasodomska, J., Nielsen, C. and Schiemann, F., . Edward Elgar Publishing. 414- 426. 9781035316250
Melis, A., Gaia, S. and Aresu, S., (2015). The use of graphs in annual reports. Evidence from European listed banks. Il Mulino
Melis, A., Gaia, S., Leoni, G. and Aresu, S., (2014). Economic Value Added. In: Il controllo di gestione. Metodi, strumenti ed esperienze. I fondamentali e le novità. Editors: Riccaboni, A., Giovannoni, E. and Busco, C., . Ipsoa. 569- 629. 8821747352. 9788821747359
Melis, G. and Gaia, S., (2013). Il sistema degli indicatori economici. In: Strumenti per il controllo economico e finanziario nelle imprese. Giuffrè Editore. 99- 142. 8814180504. 9788814180507
Melis, A., Mura, A., Roberto, G. and Gaia, S., (2012). Ias/ifrs, us gaap e principi contabili nazionali: un’analisi comparata empirica sui bilanci consolidati delle imprese italiane quotate anche alla borsa valori di New York. In: L'impatto dell'adozione degli IAS/IFRS sui bilanci delle imprese italiane quotate. FrancoAngeli. 882040883X. 9788820408831
Melis, A. and Gaia, S., (2011). Corporate governance in Italy: normative developments vs. actual practices. In: Handbook on International Corporate Governance. Edward Elgar Publishing. 59- 92. 9781849801232
Gaia, S., Melis, G. and Macchia, S., (2010). Prudenza e competenza: quale equilibrio nella redazione del bilancio?. In: Economia aziendale & management scritti in onore di Vittorio Coda. 8823841836. 9788823841833
Gaia, S., Melis, A. and Carta, S., (2010). La remunerazione degli amministratori. I risultati empirici di una ricerca esplorativa. In: La corporate governance nell'esperienza nazionale e internazionale. Aspetti comparativi e profili evolutivi. Editors: Fortuna, F., . Il Mulino. 155- 186. 8815139184. 9788815139184
Gaia, S., Melis, A. and Carta, S., (2009). Le stock option come strumento di remunerazione per gli amministratori nelle imprese non finanziarie quotate. In: Corporate governance: governo, controllo e struttura finanziaria. Editors: Maggioni, V., Potito, L. and Viganò, L., . 109- 129. 8815132945. 9788815132949
Reports and Papers (16)
Gaia, S., Baboukardos, D., Cuomo, F., Michelon, G. and Soobaroyen, T., (2024). The Wates Corporate Governance Principles for Large Private Companies Review of reporting against the Wates Principles
Kemp, M., Cuomo, F., Gaia, S., Baboukardos, D., Michelon, G. and Soobaroyen, T., (2024). Adoption of the Wates Principles among UK Family Businesses
Gaia, S., Aresu, S., Georgiou, O., Melis, A. and Rombi, L., (2024). THE FUTURE OF FINANCIAL REPORTING 2024: PRIVATE COMPANIES’ AND SMEs’ REPORTING – FUTURE TRENDS AND CHALLENGES
Gaia, S., Aresu, S., Chaidali, P., Georgiou, O., Jones, M., Melis, A. and Rombi, L., (2023). THE FUTURE OF FINANCIAL REPORTING 2023: THE CURRENT DEBATE ON INTANGIBLE ASSETS. WHERE ARE WE HEADING?
Gaia, S., Baboukardos, D., Michelon, G., Cuomo, F. and Soobaroyen, T., (2022). The Wates Corporate Governance Principles for Large Private Companies The Extent, Coverage and Quality of Corporate Governance Reporting
Gaia, S., Aresu, S., Chaidali, P., Georgiou, O., Jones, M., Melis, A. and Rombi, L., (2022). THE FUTURE OF FINANCIAL REPORTING 2022: THE DEVELOPMENT OF GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS AND THEIR IMPACT ON CORPORATE REPORTING
Kend, M., Leoni, G., Florio, C. and Gaia, S., (2021). EU Audit Reforms: Analysing different impacts in the UK and Italy
Jones, M., Melis, A., Aresu, S., Gaia, S., Rombi, L., Chaidali, P. and Georgiou, O., (2021). The Future of Financial Reporting 2021: Narrative, Non-Financial Reporting and the Impact Of Brexit and the Coronavirus
Jones, M., Melis, A., Aresu, S., Gaia, S., Rombi, L. and Chaidali, P., (2020). The future of financial reporting 2020: communication, standard setting, intangibles and audit
Kotlar, J., Cuomo, F., Gaia, S. and Zattoni, A., (2019). Corporate Governance in Large UK Family Firms
Jones, M., Melis, A., Aresu, S., Gaia, S., Rombi, L. and Chaidali, P., (2019). The future of financial reporting 2019: current developments in financial reporting (Private and public sectors)
Jones, M., Melis, A., Aresu, S., Gaia, S., Chaidali, P. and Rombi, L., (2018). The future of financial reporting 2018: Digitalisation and integrated reporting
Jones, M., Melis, A., Aresu, S., Gaia, S., Rombi, L. and Chaidali, P., (2017). The future of financial reporting 2017: change, narratives, education and globalisation
Jones, M., Melis, A., Gaia, S., Aresu, S. and Rombi, L., (2016). The future of financial reporting 2016: Measurement, transparency and decision making
Jones, M., Melis, A., Gaia, S. and Aresu, S., (2015). The future of financial reporting 2015: Continual Evolution and Development
Jones, M., Melis, A., Gaia, S. and Aresu, S., (2014). The future of financial reporting 2014: re-questioning some old assumptions
Grants and funding
2023
Wates Principles of Corporate Governance FRC Research Project
The Financial Reporting Council Limited
Love food hate waste - an analysis of food losses and waste reporting by food-waste-sensitive companies
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
2022
The Voluntary Local Review (VLR) will provide a quantitative and qualitative assessment of progress made by the Basildon council towards the SDGs.
Basildon Borough Council
2021
Evaluation of the Wates Principles of corporate governance (FRC Research Project)
The Financial Reporting Council Limited
2016
Shareholder voting as a tool to reduce the principal-principal agency problem
British Academy
Contact
Academic support hours:
You can find details of Academic Support hours on the EBS UG and PG information page on Moodle or by calling EBS Student Services on 01206873911