Dr Michael Harber

Dr, PhD (Accounting)
Lecturer and Discipline Coordinator

Email: michael.harber@nd.edu.au

  • Biography

    Michael is a professional Chartered Accountant (CA ANZ) and PhD (Accounting) teaching and research scholar within the School of Law & Business at The University of Notre Dame Australia. Having completed his articles through the audit firm KPMG, he worked as a professional accountant before entering academia in 2012 with the particular interest to pursue teaching. After more than nine years at the University of Cape Town (South Africa) Michael moved to Australia and joined The University of Notre Dame Australia in 2020.

    As a teaching and research academic Michael is passionate about accounting education and helping nurture the accounting and finance professionals of the future through an engaging educational programme that encourages critical thinking and 'thinking outside of the box'. His teaching expertise is in the disciplines of Accounting, Finance and Auditing, across both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. For many years Michael taught into a prestigious MBA program, as well as executive-level finance programs designed for corporate management. As a researcher Michael is interested in 'interpretivist' and 'critical' approaches to important questions surrounding the audit profession, most notably on topics related to audit quality, audit regulation and auditor identity. Michael has published numerous research papers in highly ranked international journals.

    In addition to his role at The University of Notre Dame Australia, Michael is a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg.

  • Teaching areas

    • Accounting
    • Finance
    • Auditing

  • Journal articles

    • Harber, M, & Willows, G. (2022). The commercialist identity of mid-tier firm auditors: a precarious balancing of priorities. Accounting Auditing and Accountability Journal, In press, EarlyCite available. (A* rated Journal per Australia ABDC ranking)
    • Harber, M., Verhoef, C., & de Villiers, C. (2022). Disputed interpretations and active strategies of resistance during an audit regulatory debate. Accounting Auditing and Accountability Journal, In press, EarlyCite available. (A* rated Journal per Australia ABDC ranking)
    • Harber, M., Duboisée de Ricquebourg, A. & Maroun, W. (2022) Costs and benefits of mandatory audit firm rotation: initial engagement experience of audit committee chairs and engagement partners, Accounting Forum (B rated Journal per Australia ABDC ranking)
    • Ndaba, H., Harber, M., & Maroun, W. (2021). Audit quality implications of regulatory change in South Africa. Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, 3(31), 477–507. (B rated Journal per Australia ABDC ranking)
    • Harber, M., & Maroun, W. (2020). Mandatory audit firm rotation: a critical composition of practitioner views from an emerging economy. Managerial Auditing Journal, 35(7), 861–896. (A rated Journal per Australia ABDC ranking)
    • Harber, M., Marx, B., & De Jager, P. (2020). The perceived financial effects of mandatory audit firm rotation. Journal of International Financial Management and Accounting, 31(2), 215–234. (B rated Journal per Australia ABDC ranking)
    • Harber, M., & Marx, B. (2020). Audit quality and independence concerns in the South African audit industry: Contrasting views. South African Journal of Accounting Research, 34(1), 1–23. (C rated Journal per Australia ABDC ranking)

  • Professional affiliations

    • Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CA ANZ)
    • The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA)