Claire Fitzsimons BSc MSc (Dist) FCA BPF PGCAP (Dist) FHEA CMBE

Background

I am a senior lecturer in the finance and economics department ands have been teaching in this department for eleven years.  I have taught on professional,  postgraduate and undergraduate courses.  I am also a Postgraduate MSc dissertation supervisor for both face to face and online students, a personal tutor (currently to PG students, but previously to level 5 and level 6 students) and developed a governance, risk and control unit for an online Masters course. 

Prior to moving into Higher Education I had 18 years experience as a practicing Chartered Accountant, initially in audit with the former Deloitte Haskins and Sells/Cooper and Lybrand Deloitte, where after a few years I specialised in litigation support./forensic accountancy.  My latter 14 years in practice were as a forensic accountant, ultimately moving to Ernst and Young, where as an assistant director there I specialised in fraud investigations and regularly worked closely with criminal barristers.  

TEACHING and supervison

Within the University I have developed a teaching portfolio in areas that have always interested me – namely corporate governance, risk and ethics. I find these areas particularly relevant having frequently been involved in investigations where things have gone wrong and, as a result, I have greater expertise in the area. This also links closely with both my examining experience, as I am an assistant examiner for ACCA’s governance, risk and ethics (and its subsequent replacement) paper and my research.  My research interest relates to corporate governance and its relationship to corporate financial and ethical performance: for my MSc I undertook research into the potential relationship between the number of women on a board of director and both corporate financial and ethical performance.  I have attended various statistics course to facilitate furthering my research, namely on stata, R and data analysis.

In March 2019 I attended the Adult MHFA One Day course and am now a Mental Health First Aid Champion, which supports my role as a personal tutor, together with having a strengths profile accreditation

examiner roles

I am currently an assistant examiner for ICAEW )both FAR and case study papers) and an assistant examiner for ACCA. (SBL and SBR papers)

I am also a marker for BPP mock professional ICAEW exams and ICAS exams.

I have previously been a member of the marker team for the ICAEW forensic accreditation

Prizes and awards

First time passes and awards in ICAEW professional examinations as follows:

PE1
June 1991: 7th in the national order of merit

Overall 1st place in Manchester. First in tax and financial accounting papers in Manchester.

Awards received from both Manchester Society of Chartered Accountants (MSCA – 3 awards: John Montgomery Newman prize, Arthur E Piggott & Charles Yates Lloyd prize and Ronald Yearsley Taylor prize) and Manchester Students’ Society (MCASS – 3 awards: Highest order of merit, Michael Page Partnership prize, Julie Procter prize).

PE2
July 1992

15th in the national order of merit

Overall first place in Manchester and first in the tax and financial accounting papers in Manchester.

Various awards were received from both MSCA (5 awards: Arthur E Piggott & Charles Yates Lloyd prize, Tom Walton prize, Ronald Yearsley Taylor prize, John Montgomery Newman prize and Theodore Gregory prize) and MCASS (3 awards: Highest order of merit prize, Arthur Andersen prize and Michael Page Partnership prize)

Membership of professional associations

Membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ACA) from September 1992. Fellowship of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA) from 1 April 2003.

BPF - Business professional finance - 2019 to date

CMBE - chartered member of business educators - 2020 to date

Membership of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners from July 2003 to July 2013. Inactive member from July 2013 to June 2017.

Membership of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) from November 2015 to 2021.