Prof. dr. Ruud Vergoossen RA (emeritus)

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Prof. Dr. Ruud Vergoossen was Professor of Corporate Reporting at Nyenrode Business Universiteit from January 1, 2007 to February 29, 2024. In addition, he has served at Nyenrode as director of the Center for Corporate Reporting, Finance & Tax and as chairman of the Examination Committee Accountancy, Controlling & Tax. He also served for 16 years as jury chairman of the annual Brenda Westra Opinion Prize (previously: Essay Prize) that Nyenrode students and recent Nyenrode graduates can compete for.

Vergoossen was appointed professor of Business Economics and Business Administration at Maastricht University on March 1, 1999 and delivered his emeritus address there on Sept. 8, 2022. He was also director of the accountancy program at that university for a number of years.

In addition to his professorships, Vergoossen worked in accountancy. In those years, he was, among other things, equity partner-and director of professional Practice of BDO Accountants & Advisors, chairman of the professional practice department of Ernst & Young (EY) Accountants and board member of the Royal Dutch Institute of Chartered Accountants (Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut van Registeraccountants; NIVRA), one of the legal predecessors of the Royal Dutch Professional Organization of Accountants (Koninklijke Nederlandse Beroepsorganisatie van Accountants; NBA).

Vergoossen was a member of the Committee on Learning Outcomes for Accountancy Education (Commissie Eindtermen Accountantsopleiding; CEA) for ten years and was a member of the Dutch delegation to the Board of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), the predecessor of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), for three years. He was also active as chairman or member in a large number of committees and working groups of NIVRA and NBA.

Vergoossen studied economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam and accountancy at VU University Amsterdam. He obtained his doctorate from the latter university under Prof. Dr. J. Klaassen RA.

Interests

Vergoossen loves traveling, classical music, opera and ballet. In his spare time he does a lot of sports and occasionally attends art auctions.

Most relevant publications

Vergoossen has published in the leading professional journals in the Netherlands and in international academic (top) journals, such as Accounting, Organizations and Society, Accounting and Business Research, The European Accounting Review, Accounting in Europe, The International Journal of Accounting and International Journal of Auditing. He is (co)author of several textbooks in the field of corporate reporting. For almost seven years he wrote a monthly column on a topical reporting issue for Het Financieele Dagblad, the leading financial daily newspaper in the Netherlands.

Vergoossen was one of the initiators and long-time editorial chairman of Het jaar 19xx/20xx verslagen, the annual reports survey that has been held every year since 1996 under the auspices of the NBA (previously: the NIVRA). He served for 21 years on the core editorial board of the Maandblad voor Accountancy en Bedrijfseconomii, the monthly academic accountancy journal in the Netherlands. 

• Vergoossen R.G.A., The Use and Perceived Importance of Annual Reports by Investment Analysts in the Netherlands, The European Accounting Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 1993, pp. 219/244, en Vol. 2, No. 3, 1993, pp. 579/580.
• Schattke R.W. & Vergoossen R.G.A., Barriers to Interpretation - A Case Study of Philips Electronics, Accounting and Business Research, Vol. 27, No. 1, 1996, pp. 72/84.
• Vergoossen R.G.A., Changes in Accounting Policies and Investment Analysts' Fixation on Accounting Numbers, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 22, No. 6, 1997, pp. 589/607.
• Litjens R., Bissessur S., Langendijk H. & Vergoossen R., How Do Preparers Perceive Costs and Benefits of IFRS for SMEs? Empirical Evidence from the Netherlands, Accounting in Europe, Vol. 9, 2012, pp. 227-250.
• Litjens R., Van Buuren J. & Vergoossen R., Addressing Information Needs to Reduce the Audit Expectation Gap: Evidence from Dutch Bankers, Audited Companies and Auditors, International Journal of Auditing, Vol. 19, 2015, pp. 267-281.