Diane-Laure Arjaliès and Vaughan Radcliffe strive to make accounting interesting for their students through effective teaching, guidance—and not telling them what to think.
The first in his family to attend university, Radcliffe did his undergraduate and masters degrees at the University of Manchester in the U.K., and his PhD at the University of Alberta. He taught at Case Western Reserve University in the U.S. before joining Ivey in 2003. Arjaliès is a more recent arrival. Born and educated in France, she began her academic career at HEC in Paris. She moved to Canada and Ivey in 2015.
What attracted you to an academic career focused on accounting?
Radcliffe: I liked systematic thought and the idea of accounting as a profession. I intended to join a big accounting firm when I graduated, but I became more and more intrigued by the academic literature in accounting.
Arjaliès: When I was 12, it was the beginning of the financialization of France. Everyone was talking about how the financial markets were responsible for everything that happened in the country. I wanted to understand what was going on.
What do you want students to understand after they’ve taken your courses?
Radcliffe: Accounting matters—to them, to the organizations they’ll work for, to society.
Arjaliès: Question the information you receive and reflect on both short- and long-term consequences of your actions.
Why is accounting scholarship and teaching important?
Radcliffe: Accounting is the language of business. It may not be perfect, but it’s the best we’ve got. When I’m teaching students at Ivey, my job is to acquaint them with the language of business, so that they can understand what accountants are saying and ask them intelligent questions.
Arjaliès: Accounting is a social construct, a language we chose decades ago. That language has consequences for business practices. I’m interested in what we can change about this language to help business practices shift towards sustainability. After all, the world has changed.
How do you make accounting interesting to students?
Radcliffe: The standard reaction of most students is one, that they think accounting will be unbelievably boring, and two, they’re afraid this is where they will be unmasked as an admission error. My initial job is to say, “Look, you may not have done this before but I have, and I can teach you what you need to know.”
Arjaliès: Students usually wonder why sustainability and social accounting should be part of their learning curve in business. I start from where they are. I don’t tell them what to think: I let them walk the journey themselves.
And now for some silly questions!
What’s your favourite meal?
Radcliffe: On special occasions, it’s steak, medium rare.
Arjaliès: I like a meal where you have everything—a buffet or brunch.
When you want to clear your head, what music do you listen to?
Radcliffe: Choral Evensong.
Arjaliès: Bruce Springsteen.
What’s always in your carry-on when you travel on business?
Radcliffe: My laptop, an iPad, a Kindle e-reader, and a DASH7 hi-fi Bluetooth speaker.
Arjaliès: My computer, my phone, and my wallet.
What makes you laugh?
Radcliffe: Dry humour, mostly British. I’m quite fond of John Cleese in Fawlty Towers.
Arjaliès: Plenty of things—I laugh a lot!
What is one thing your students might find surprising about you?
Radcliffe: I sing with the St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir here in London and with the Cathedral Singers of Ontario. I’ve sung at Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England.
Arjaliès: I don’t have a TV; I’ve never found a use for one.
Photo: Nation Wong
Art Direction: Greg Salmela, Aegis
