Making the most impact: 'Giving voice to the next generation of auditors'

Published: June 18 2021

Category: Research

On Thursday June 17, the faculty of Nyenrode Business University awarded 'Giving voice to the next generation of auditors' by Marlies de Vries, faculty member and Program Director of Controlling, the title of ‘impact case 2021’. According to the faculty, this case shows best how Nyenrode conducts research with impact. Besides the case of Marlies de Vries, also cases by Niels van Nieuw Amerongen (Teaching, research & practice), Lineke Sneller (Stay cool when it’s hot) and Roberto Flören & Marta Berent-Braun (Understanding family business dynamics) were nominated.

'Giving voice to the next generation of auditors' describes how high the work pressure is for young accountants, but how this topic was never up for discussion on the work floor.

‘Young professionals’ and high work pressure

“As part of the research program 'Giving voice to the next generation of auditors', together with the NBA Young Professionals a study was conducted about the experiences of young accountants. This study has helped them opening up the dialogue about the bottlenecks in regards to work pressure and it has helped young professionals being heard more”, says Marlies de Vries.

Impact on society

Bo van der Rhee, Director of Research at Nyenrode: “This year we saw some great new Impact Cases on a variety of topics ranging from how to deal with the financial risks of fires in warehouses, how to accurately determine the value of a property, the impact of citizens on society 4.0, how family businesses cope with the Corona crisis, how thesis projects can be used to create academic output, and how to make the right marketing decisions”.

“The research conducted by Marlies de Vries, as part of her doctoral research, has led to (scientific) publications. Marlies was also recently (May 2020) appointed quartermaster for the Future of the Audit Profession by the Dutch Minister of Finance. Wonderful achievements which have now been documented in an easy to read and compelling Impact Case!”

Marlies de Vries: “This price is a reward for the research which has been conducted together with Bas Herrijgers (from the NBA Young Professionals). It is great to see how the young professionals were able to truly secure their ‘seat at the table’ and how, with that, an important theme has been added to the agenda”.

An impact case is a research portfolio with a central theme, focusing on the reach and the impact of that specific research. The impact cases are easy to read for a wide audience and show how Nyenrode strengthens the connection with the practice and how our faculty members find practical solutions for relevant and current challenges in the practice.

The impact cases are divided in the categories Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Stewardship and Education. Per category, the submitted cases have been ranked based on reach (to what extent have stakeholders come into contact with the research), impact (to what extent have stakeholders made changes based on the research) and the quality of the argumentation (substantiation, clarity and structure of the impact case).

Read all the cases now here.