Profile

Biography

As an undergraduate I read Modern History at Trinity College Oxford. I then qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse in 1986. My PhD was on the finance and growth of the Lancashire cotton textile industry from the University of Nottingham in 1996. In the meantime I completed a PGCE and an MBA programme.

Before joining York as Professor of Accounting and Finance in February 2004, I was Professor of Accounting and Business History at the University of Nottingham. In October 2007 I was appointed joint editor of Business History.

You can access my papers on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN).

Departmental roles

Joint Editor: Business History, Head of The York Management School, Staff Development Officer

Research

Overview

My main current research interest is the role of accounting, accountability and corporate governance in the development of organisations, particularly from a historical perspective. I am interested in perspectives that integrate financial models with economic and organisational theory and corporate strategy. Specific applications range from business history, in particular cotton and other textiles trades to capital markets and social and environmental accounting. I would be very interested to hear from anyone wishing to pursue doctoral or other collaborative research in any of these general or specific fields.

You can access my papers on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN)

Publications

Full publications list

S. Toms (with M.Beck and D. Asenova), (forthcoming), 'Accounting, regulation and profitability: The case of PFI hospital refinancing, Critical Perpectives on Accounting.

D. Higgins and S. Toms (forthcoming), 'Explaining corporate success: The structure and performance of British firms, 1950-1984, Business History. 53(1), pp.85-118

S. Toms (with K. Anderson and A. Salama), (2011), Does community and environmental responsibility affect firm risk', Business Ethics: A European Review. 20(2), pp. 192–204

S. Toms (2010), 'Value, profit and risk: Accounting and the Resource-Based View of the Firm', Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 23(5), pp.647-670.

S. Toms (with A Grody and P. Hughes), (2010), 'Risk accounting: A next generation risk management system for financial institutions, Journal of Financial Transformation, 29, pp.43-56.

S. Toms and C. Carter (2010), The contours of Critical Accounting, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 21(3), pp.171-182.

S. Toms and J. Wilson (2010), In defence of business history: A reply to Taylor, Bell and Cooke, Managemetn and Organizational History, 5(1), pp.109-120.

S. Toms (2010), ‘Calculating profit: A Historical Perspective on the Development of Capitalism, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 35(2), pp.205-221.

S. Toms (2010), ‘The labour theory of value, risk and the rate of profit’ Critical Perspectives in Accounting, 21(1), pp.96-103.

D. Higgins and S. Toms (2010), 'Capital ownership, capital structure and capital markets: Financial constraints and the decline of the Lancashire cotton textile industry, 1880-1965, Manchester Region History Review, 21, pp.1-24.

C. Bowman and S. Toms (2010) Accounting for competitive advantage: the resource-based view of the firm and the labour theory of value, Critical Perspectives in Accounting, 21(3), pp.183-194.

S. Toms (2010), ‘The social risk rent thesis: A reply to Harney’ Critical Perspectives in Accounting, 21(1), pp.96-105.

S.

Beck, M. and Toms, S. (2009) “Accounting Disclosure and Human Rights” in Mallin, C. (ed) Case Studies in Corporate Governance, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, forthcoming.

S. Toms (2009), ‘The English Cotton Industry and the Loss of the World Market’ in Wilson, J. (ed) King Cotton: A Tribute to Douglas Farnie, Lancaster: Carnegie, pp.58-76.

Toms (with J. Hasseldine and H. Massoud) (2009) ‘Asymmetric Response: Explaining Corporate Social Disclosure by Multi-National Firms in Environmentally Sensitive Industries’, Journal of Risk and Governance, Vol 1(2). pp.157-174

D. Fitzsimmons (with S. Toms + five others) (forthcoming 2009) ‘UpLIFTing PFI: Does LIFT improve public-private procurement,’ Systemist, 30(2), pp.117-135.

S. Toms and M. Ajlouni, (2009) ‘Signalling Characteristics and Information Content of Directors' Dealings on the London Stock Exchange’, Journal of Risk and Governance, Vol. 1 (1), pp.3-26.

Beck, M and Toms, S. (2008) ‘Refinancing and the profitability of UK PFI projects,’ in Akintoye, and Beck (eds.) Public Private Partnership: Policy, Management and Finance, Blackwell Science, pp.64-81.

S. Toms (2008), ‘Accounting for Capitalism’ in Edwards, J.R. and Walker, S. (eds) Routledge Companion to Accounting History, London: Routledge, chapter 15.

S. Toms (2008), ‘Immeasurability’: A critique of Hardt and Negri, Ephemera: Theory & Politics in Organization, Volume 8(4): 433-446

J. Wilson, S. Toms, J. Press, A. Popp, T. da Silva Lopes (2008), ‘Tribute to Charles Harvey’, Business History, Volume 50 Issue 1, pp.1-3

J. Wilson, S. Toms, (2008), Fifty years of Business History, Business History, Vol.50(2), pp.125-126

S. Toms, (2007), ‘Accounting and capitalism’ The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management, in Cooper, Cary L. (ed) Blackwell Publishing. Blackwell Reference Online. 05 February 2007<http://www.blackwellreference.com/subscriber/tocnode?id=g9780631233176_chunk_g97814051182794_ss1-1>

Popp, A. S.Toms, and Wilson, J (2007) ‘Industrial districts as organisational environments: Resources, networks and structures’, in Daumas, J-C, Lamard, P and Tissot, L (eds), Les territories de l’industrie en Europe, 1750-2000, Paris: Presses Universitaires de Franche-Compte.

S. Toms and M. Beck (2007), The Limitations of Economic Counter-Factuals: The Case of the Lancashire Textile Industry, Management and Organizational History, 2(4), pp.315-330.

S. Toms and J.F. Wilson (2007), ‘Scale, Scope and Accountability: A Response to Lloyd-Jones and Lewis’ Business History, vol.49, 1, pp.106-111.

M. Rowlinson, J.S. Toms and J.F. Wilson (2007) Competing Perspectives on the ‘Managerial Revolution’: From ‘managerialist’ to ‘anti-managerialist’, Business History, Vol. 49,4, pp.464-482.

S. Toms (2006) 'Accounting For Entrepreneurship: A Knowledge Based View of the Firm', Critical Perspectives in Accounting, Vol.17 (2/3), pp.336-357.

S. Toms and I. Filatotchev (2006), ‘Corporate Governance and Financial Constraints on Strategic Turnarounds’, Journal of Management Studies Vol.43 (3), pp. 407-433.

S. Toms (2006), ‘Asset Pricing Models, the Labour Theory of Value and their Implications for Accounting’ Critical Perspectives in Accounting, Vol.17, pp.947-965.

I Filatotchev, S. Toms, M. Wright (2006), ‘The firm’s strategic dynamics and the CG life cycle’, International Journal of Managerial Finance, Vol.2, No.4, pp.256-279.

D. Higgins and J.S. Toms (2006), Financial Institutions and Corporate Strategy: David Alliance and The Transformation of British textiles, c.1950-c.1990, Business History, vol.48 (4), pp.453-478.

A. Popp, S. Toms and J.F. Wilson (2006) ‘Industrial districts as organisational environments: Resources, networks and structures’, Management and Organisational History, Vol.1(4), pp.349-370.

M. Rowlinson, S. Toms and J.F. Wilson (2005) 'Legitimacy and the capitalist corporation: cross-cutting perspectives on ownership and control', Critical Perspectives in Accounting, Volume 17, Issue 5, July 2006, pp. 681-702.

S. Toms (2005), ‘Financial Control, Managerial Control and Accountability: Evidence from the British Cotton Industry, 1700-2000’, Accounting Organizations and Society, Vol.30, pp.627-653.

Hasseldine, J. Salama, A. and Toms, S. (2005) ‘Quantity versus Quality: The Impact of Environmental Disclosures on the reputations of UK plcs’, British Accounting Review, Volume 37, Issue 2 , June 2005, Pages 231-248.

S. Toms and M. Wright (2005), ‘Corporate Governance, Strategy and Refocusing: US and British Comparatives, 1950-2000', Business History, Vol.47(2); pp.267-295.

R.H. Berry, B. Reber and S. Toms (2005) 'IPO Pricing: A Neural Network Approach' International Journal of Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management, Vol.13, pp.41-59.

R.H. Berry, B. Reber and S. Toms (2005) 'Firm resources and quality signalling: evidence from UK initial public offerings' Applied Financial Economics, Vol.15, pp.575-586.

J.S. Toms and M. Wright (2005) ‘Corporate governence, strategy and structure: US and British comparatives, 1950-2000, in Filatotchev, I. and Wright, M. (eds) The life cycle of corporate governance (London: Edward Elgar).

J.S. Toms and I Filatotchev (2005), ‘Corporate governance and financial constraints on strategic turnarounds’ in Filatotchev, I. and Wright, M. (eds) The life cycle of corporate governance (London: Edward Elgar).

Peggy Hite, John Hasseldine, Abeer Al-Khoury Simon James, J.S, Toms and Marika Toumi, (2003) 'Tax Practitioners and Tax Compliance' in A.Lymer (ed) for the Taxation Research Network Proceeding (Ashgate Press).

J.S. Toms and I Filatotchev (2003) 'Networks, Corporate Governance and the Decline of the Lancashire Textile Industry, 1860-1980' in J.F. Wilson and A. Popp (eds), Clusters, Networks and Industrial Decline (Ashgate Press).

S. Toms (2002), ‘Review of the Periodical Literature, 2000’, Business History.Vol.44, No.2, pp.1-18.

S. Toms (2002) 'Firm Resources, Quality Signals and the Determinants of Corporate Environmental Reputation: Some UK Evidence', British Accounting Review. Vol.34, pp.257-282.

J.S. Toms (2000), ‘Environmental Management, Environmental Accounting and Financial Performance,’ Chartered Institute of Management Accountants Research Monograph. London: CIMA Publishing.

S. Toms and D.M Wright (2002), 'Corporate governance, strategy and structure in British business history, 1950-2000', Business History. Vol.44, No.3, pp.91-124.

S. Toms (2002), `The Rise of Modern Accounting and the Fall of the Public Company: the Lancashire Cotton Mills, 1870-1914', Accounting Organizations and Society, Vol.27, No. 1/2, pp.61-84.

S. Toms, (2001), 'Information Content of Earnings Announcements in an Unregulated Market: The Co-operative Cotton Mills of Lancashire, 1880-1900', Accounting and Business Research. Vol.31, No.3, pp.175-190.

D.M. Higgins and Toms, S (2001), 'Capital Ownership, Capital Structure and Capital Markets: Financial Constraints and the Decline of the Lancashire Cotton Textile Industry 1880-1965', Journal of Industrial History, Vol.4, pp.48-64

S.J. Procter and S. Toms (2000), ‘Industrial Relations and Technical Change: Profits, Wages and Costs in the Lancashire Cotton Industry, 1880-1914, Journal of Industrial History, Vol. 3(1), pp. 54-72.

D.M. Higgins and S. Toms (2000), ‘Public Subsidy and Private Divestment: The Lancashire Cotton Textile Industry’, Business History, Vol. 42(1), pp.59-84.

S. Toms (1998), ‘The Supply of and Demand for Accounting Information in an Unregulated Market: Examples from the Lancashire Cotton Mills’, Accounting Organizations and Society Vol. 23, No. 2; pp.217-238.

S. Toms (1998), `Windows of Opportunity in the Textile Industry: The Business Strategies of Lancashire Entrepreneurs 1880-1914’, Business History, Vol. 40(1); pp.1-25.

S. Toms (1998), ‘Growth, Profits and Technological Choice: The Case of the Lancashire Cotton Textile Industry', Journal of Industrial History, Vol.1 (1), pp.35-55.

S. Toms (1997), ‘The Finance and Growth of the Lancashire Cotton Textile Industry, 1870-1914’, Business and Economic History, Vol. 26 (2); pp. 323-7.

D.M. Higgins and S. Toms (1997), `Firm Structure and Financial Performance: the Lancashire textile Industry, c. 1884-1960', Accounting Business and Financial History, Vol. 7, No.2; pp.195-232.

S. Toms (1996), ‘Integration, Innovation and the Progress of a Pennine Cotton enterprise: Fielden Bros. of Todmorden, 1889-1914’, Textile History, Vol. 27 (1); pp.77-100.

J.S. Toms (1995), `The Financial Performance of the Lancashire Textile Industry, 1880-1914' in Blanchard (ed.) New Directions in Economic and Social History, Economic History Society, Newlees Press.

S. Toms (1994), `Financial constraints on economic growth: profits, capital accumulation and the development of the Lancashire cotton-spinning industry, 1885-1914', Accounting, Business and Financial History, 4 (3); 363-383.

S. Toms (1993), ‘The Profitability of the First Lancashire Merger: the case of Horrocks Crewdson, 1887-1905’, Textile History 24(2); 129-146.