Dr Abdullah Iqbal

Dr Abdullah Iqbal is Chair of the KBS Research Ethics Advisory Group and a Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Finance at Kent Business School. He had worked as a visiting professor at National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) Business School and Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan.

Abdullah received his Masters in Finance and PhD in Accounting and Finance degrees from the University of Manchester, UK. He is a also Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK. 

He has published in well-respected international journals such as:

•  British Journal of Management
•  Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting  
•  Journal of Banking and Finance
•  Journal of Business Ethics
•  International Review of Financial Analysis
•  Journal of Business Finance and Accounting
•  European Journal of Finance
•  Production Planning and Control.

 Abdullah was one of the keynote speakers at the first International Conference on Administration Management and Social Studies held at University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina in September 2019. He is a member of Editorial Advisory Board of International Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management. He regularly reviews research papers for 4/3* ABS ranked journals. He was the conference Chair for Accounting/Finance (International) stream in 2016 (46th) & 2017 (47th) for Atlantic Schools of Business conferences, Canada. He has also been a member of a number of learned societies such as EFMA, ASB, BAFA, MFS, AFA, and ISINI.

He has previously been a Director of Studies and helped to achieve accreditation by ACCA, ACA and CIMA while working as accreditations officer at Medway. He was also Head of Finance and Investments group at NUST Business School, Pakistan.

Abdullah has researched on a wide range of topics. These include: 

• Market-Based Accounting/Finance Research related to corporate finance
• Corporate governance, sustainability and CSR
• Islamic Banking and Finance
• Earnings management with a specific focus on the operating and stock return performance of Seasoned Equity Offerings and Initial Public Offerings

He has applied event study research methodology in the areas of capital structure during the financial crisis and earnings management around corporate/macro-economic events.
Related to corporate governance, he is working on executive compensation and shareholder activism in the context of ‘Say on Pay’. This research is expected to shed light on how shareholder activism has evolved overtime from being voluntary to mandatory and played its role in linking executive remuneration to firm performance. In addition, he is also working on how board of directors networks influence various corporate financial policies (such as dividend, capital structure, and risk management policies).
More recently, he has developed research interest in asset valuation and capital structure under Islamic finance. He is also working on aspects related to ethics in Islamic banking and how classical trade credit can be used to address some of the issues on which Islamic banking is criticised.

He has presented his research at different international conferences such as at EMFA, AFAANZ, the International Finance and Banking Association (IBFA), Multinational Finance Society (MFS), Asian Finance Association, ISINI, and COMSATS.

He is a member of the Accounting and Finance research group and the Centre for Quantitative Finance at Kent Business School. 

Abdullah has teaching interests in corporate finance, financial management, investments and portfolio management, derivatives and risk management. He has previously taught a range of different accounting and finance modules at both postgraduate (corporate finance, corporate governance, corporate/business finance and investments, and financial management) and undergraduate (principles of finance, financial management, financial accounting, and financial and management accounting) levels. 

Student Consultation Hour Appointments can be made here

Current Supervisees

• Md Nurul Islam Sohel: Sustainability Disclosure vs. Action: Impact on Bank Loan Contracting
• Inah Okpa: Corporate Monitoring and Earnings Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology for Effective Monitoring
• Adetutu Oyerinde: Environmental Sustainability Disclosure
• Someyah Tarominejadshirazi: Suicide Prevention in Higher Education Institutions in the UK

Past Supervisees

• Mohammad Abweny: The Credibility of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Disclosure: The Contribution of External Auditing
• Muntaser Melhem: Employee performance appraisal: A process perspective of institutional logics and routine dynamics    
• Aamina Khurram: The systemic relationship of dual banking system geared by competition stability/ fragility nexus   
• Omar Al-Bataineh: Essays on Corporate Finance and Social Capital: Dividend Policy, Capital Structure, and Corporate risk-taking 
• Rasmi Jamil Rasmi Meqbel: Essays on the determinants and consequences of corporate social and environmental responsibility
• Omar Shaikh (School of Economics): Essays on Risk, Religion and Social Preferences
• Nguyet Nguyen: Earnings Management: Detection, Application and Contagion
• Quratul Ain Azmat: Motives and Implications of Corporate Cash Holdings: Evidence from Pakistan
• Muhammad Hanif: Determinants of Shari’a Compliant Stock Returns: Evidence from Karachi Stock Exchange.
• Fahad Abdullah Rizvi: Impact of ownership structure on corporate dividend policy and performance
• Hina Jawaid Kalyal: Factors affecting commitment to change and its outcomes among public sector management in Pakistan

Abdullah holds a Professional Diploma in Banking (with Distinction) and has previously worked at Bank of America and Emirates Bank International. He has worked as a trainer at the National Institute of Banking and Finance, State Bank of Pakistan.
Abdullah has regularly represented University of Kent at The British Council and other educational fairs, and trained education consultants in Pakistan since 2013.