Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Irma is a Reader in Accounting and Finance and a member of the Accounting, Finance, Economics & Governance (AFEG) Subject Group at Roehampton Business School. She is Research Programme Leader of the Faculty of Business and Law and has extensive leadership experience within the Faculty, having served as MBA Director (2023-2025). Before joining the Business School in March 2016, she worked at University of Roma Tre, University of Naples Parthenope and Link Campus University in Italy. She has also been a visiting scholar at LUISS University (Italy).
Irma holds a PhD in Banking and Finance from the University of Rome Tor Vergata (Italy), for which she obtained a scholarship from the Italian Ministry of Education through a competitive selection process. Prior to joining the PhD programme, she completed with distinction an MSc degree in Business Management and Control, and a UG degree in Business Management, for which she was awarded scholarships.
Research interests
Irma is an active researcher. Her research interests are in the field of accounting and finance, with a focus on the evolution of corporate reporting, companies’ disclosure practices, its determinants, and effects. Specifically, her research focuses on integrated reporting, sustainability reporting, ESG performance, risk disclosure, and market discipline. Irma's work has been published in international and national peer-reviewed journals and she has co-authored for Palgrave Macmillan the first book on Solvency II. Her work has also been regularly presented at a number of international conferences.
She has published in international peer-reviewed journals such as The British Accounting Review, Journal of Financial Services Research, International Review of Financial Analysis, Meditari Accountancy Research, Review of Accounting and Finance, Applied Financial Economics.
Irma's work has attracted external funding. Currently, she is working on a research project exploring the role of ESG performance as a driver of value creation, funded by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)'s General Charitable Trust. She has also been principal investigator on a research project funded by CIMA on the role of corporate culture in the choice of integrated reporting.
Irma is currently supervising three PhD students at Roehampton Business School, and has supervised one PhD student to completion.
Teaching
Irma is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK). She is an advocate of research-informed teaching, and she regularly brings outcomes and examples from her research and external engagement into the classroom.
As Research Programme Leader in the Faculty of Business and Law, she provides academic leadership of the PhD programme within the Faculty. She is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Research Centre for Sustainability and Responsible Management.
Irma has extensive leadership experience, having served as MBA Director at the Faculty of Business and Law, providing academic leadership of the Business School's highly successful suite of MBA programmes, as a member of the Faculty's senior management team and working closely with the Deputy Dean for Education and the Subject Heads to ensure excellence in the programme delivery and portfolio development.
Irma has experience as Programme Link Tutor (Programme Convener) for UG/PG/MBA programmes offered through collaborative partnerships. Over the years, Irma’s teaching has contributed to several Accounting and Finance modules in the Business School, including: Management Accounting Techniques (Level 5), Corporate Finance (Level 6), Financial Performance Management (Level 7), Introduction to Finance and Accounting for Managers (Level 4), Extended Academic Induction (Level 4), and Academic Guidance Tutoring (circa 40 students). She has also experience in teaching on Financial Intermediaries and Institutions, Banking and Insurance.
Irma has been a member of the Learning and Teaching Quality Group at Roehampton University Business School. She has experience as external examiner in several UK universities.
Research projects
Irma’s research on “The role of corporate culture in the choice of corporate reporting” (with Busco, C., Pereira, J.) has been funded by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)'s General Charitable Trust, Jan 2018 – Jun 2019 (as Principal Investigator).
Irma’s research on “ESG reporting as a driver of value creation” has been funded by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)'s General Charitable Trust, Nov 2022 – Sep 2023 (as Principal Investigator).
Qualifications
Certified Management & Business Educator (CMBE), Chartered Association of Business Schools
Fellow of Higher Education Academy (D2) and R4NA course, University of Roehampton
SEDA PhD Supervisor, University of Roehampton
PhD Banking and Finance (with distinction), University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
MSc Management and Firm Audit (with distinction), University of Naples Parthenope, Naples, Italy
BSc Business Management (with distinction), University of Naples Parthenope, Naples, Italy
Professional affiliations
British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA) - since 2019
Associazione Docenti Economia Intermediari Mercati Finanziari (ADEIMF) - since 2011
Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA) - since 2016
European Accounting Association (EAA) - since 2017
Financial Engineering and Banking Society (FEBS) - since 2015
Qualified Chartered Accountant, auditor and tax consultant (ODCEC) - since 2014
External positions
Diversity Equity Inclusion Committee, European Accounting Association
2024 → 2026
External Examiner York University London
2024 → 2028
External Examiner Lincoln International Business School
2021 → 2025
European Accounting Association - Virtual Activities Committee
2020 → 2025
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Financial performance and patient care in the England NHS
Malafronte, I. (PI) & Pereira, J. (PI)
1/05/23 → 31/12/28
Project: Research
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Exploring ESG performance and market reaction during the Covid-19 pandemic
Malafronte, I. (PI), Pereira, J. (CoI) & Busco, C. (CoI)
1/09/20 → 31/12/25
Project: Research
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Whither the Sustainability Trail: Mapping the SDGs in Business School Education and Research
Parhi, M. (CoI) & Malafronte, I. (PI)
Project: Research
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Carbon performance, climate governance, and equity risk
Malafronte, I., Pereira, J. & Rakeeb, F. R., 2025, (Unpublished).Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review
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What comes first? The chicken-egg relationship between integrated thinking and reporting
Malafronte, I. & Pereira, J., 30 Jan 2025, (Accepted/In press) In: Journal of Management and Governance.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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ESG Reporting as a Driver of Value Creation: A case study of ABN AMRO
Malafronte, I., Pereira, J. & Busco, C., Apr 2024, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report › peer-review
Open Access -
How ESG reporting can drive value creation
Malafronte, I., Pereira, J. & Busco, C., 4 Dec 2024Research output: Other contribution › peer-review
Open Access -
The effect of carbon performance on firm credit risk
Esmaeili, B., Pereira, J., Malafronte, I. & Nurullah, M., 2024, (Unpublished).Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › peer-review
Prizes
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Best Paper Award (International) - First Runner Up
Teti Mayer, L. (Recipient), Malafronte, I. (Recipient), Parhi, M. (Recipient) & Harris, E. (Recipient), 20 Jan 2024
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Most Cited Article since 2020 on The British Accounting Review
Malafronte, I. (Recipient), 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Activities
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DEI Challenges and Opportunities: A Focus on Gender across Disciplines
Malafronte, I. (Advisor)
31 Mar 2026Activity: Public engagement and outreach › Public speaking engagements
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Invited Speaker at Queen Mary University, Research Seminar Series 24-25
Malafronte, I. (Speaker)
12 Feb 2025Activity: Talk or presentation for an academic audience › Invited talk for an academic audience
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Journal of Management and Governance (Journal)
Malafronte, I. (Peer reviewer)
2024 → …Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Publication peer-review
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The International Journal of Accounting (Journal)
Malafronte, I. (Peer reviewer)
2024 → …Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Publication peer-review
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Inaugural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Symposium at the 2024 EAA Congress
Malafronte, I. (Advisor)
17 May 2024Activity: Public engagement and outreach › Public speaking engagements