Dr Rodney Brown
- PhD in Accounting (London School of Economics)
- Master of Taxation and Financial Planning (University of New South Wales)
- Master of Business Administration (Deakin University)
- Bachelor of Commerce (University of Newcastle)
- Chartered Accountant (Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CAANZ)) - since 1999
- Fellow of Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) - since 2009
- Fellow of The Tax Institute (TTI) - since 2020
Ìý
Dr Rodney Brown is an empirical archival researcher of issues at the intersection of taxation and financial accounting.Ìý Rodney’s current research interests focus on corporate tax avoidance and the extent to which increased transparency of firms’ tax arrangements has real effects.
Rodney joined UNSW in July 2018 after spending 5 years in the UK completing a PhD in Accounting at the London School of Economics (LSE).Ìý His PhD thesis primarily examined the impact of country-by-country tax reporting on the tax aggressiveness of European Union banks.
In addition to his current teaching at UNSW, Rodney has taught postgraduate and undergraduate courses at the LSE, Kings College London and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
Prior to academic life, Rodney gained extensive industry experience over 20 years working as a Chartered Accountant and financial planner in public practice (including PwC and EY), commercial organisations and management consulting.
Rodney retains strong industry links via his professional affiliations including Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) (Member since 1999), the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) (Fellow since 2009), and The Tax Institute (TTI) (Fellow since 2020).
Rodney has been awarded several competitive research grants from the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ) and CPA Australia and he has served on university- and industry-level committees including the UNSW Business School’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee (2019-2022) and Deputy Chair of The Tax Institute’s Education Quality Assurance Board (2020-2023).ÌýÌý
Rodney is passionate about research and teaching that bridges the divide between academic research and practice.
Rodney is a reviewer for leading academic journals including the Journal of Business Finance and Accounting (ABDC A*-ranked), Australian Tax Forum (ABDC A*-ranked), Australian Tax Review (ABDC A-ranked),ÌýeJournal of Tax Research (ABDC A-ranked), World Tax Journal (ABDC B-ranked), and Accounting Perspectives (ABDC B-ranked).
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
- 2023, CPA Australia Global Research Perspectives Program Grant for 'Superannuation taxation: Options for nest practice reform', (with Scott Donald and Kerrie Sadiq), ($33,681)
- 2023, AFAANZ Research Grant for 'What can we learn about uncertain tax positions from IFRIC 23?', (with Youngdeok Lim), ($5,500)
- 2021, UNSW CLMR Research Grant for ‘Superannuation fund reserves’, (with Scott Donald), ($8,000)
- 2020, UNSW CLMR Research Grant for 'Increased public scrutiny and corporate tax avoidance: An in-depth study of the companies who appeared at the Australian Senate Inquiry into Corporate Tax Avoidance', ($4,200)
- 2019, UNSW Business School Special Research Grant for ‘Voluntary tax disclosures and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from Australia, ($10,000)
- 2019, UNSW CLMR Research Grant for ‘Analysis of the ATO’s Justified Trust program’, (with Gordon Mackenzie), ($5,000)
- 2014, CPA Australia Global Research Perspectives Program Grant for ‘The impact of corporate tax avoidance on the cost of debt in a full dividend imputation system’ (with Chris Evans and Youngdeok Lim), ($24,500)
- AFAANZ ‘Best Paper Award’, Tax Stream, 2016 AFAANZ Conference (2016)
- Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, LSE (2015)
- Accru+ Award for Best Graduating Student in the Master of Taxation & Financial Planning, UNSW (2012)
- LexisNexis Dux Award in ‘Applied Corporations Law’, Chartered Secretaries Australia Graduate Diploma in Company Secretarial Practice (2002)
- Corporate tax avoidance
- Country-by-country reporting
- Tax transparency
- Tax policy
- Tax aware investment management
- Accounting
- Superannuation
- Financial planning
Memberships – Professional Associations and Committees
- Chartered Accountant (SMSF Specialist), Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CAANZ)
- Fellow, Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA)
- Fellow, The Tax Institute (TTI)
- Deputy Chair, The Tax Institute’s Education Quality Assurance Board
- Member, European Accounting Association (EAA)
- Member, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ)
- Member, UNSW Centre for Law Markets and Regulation (CLMR)
- Member, UNSW Business School Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee
My Research Supervision
PHD (with Professor Chris Evans): Tomo Kudrich, 2023- (in progress), UNSW, 'What impact, if any' could participatory budgeting have on tax compliance?'
PhD (with Professor John Taylor): Shaun Castor, 2020-2022 (incomplete), UNSW, 'Examining the interaction between domestic courts and the G20/OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (‘BEPS’) project'
My Teaching
Current Courses Taught
- TABL5580 Contemporary Issues in Taxation
- COMM1140 Financial Management