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Dr Patricia Martyn

B.Comm, Dip, A.C.M.A., PhD.

 
researcher
 

Biography

Patricia is a lecturer in the Accountancy & Finance Discipline in the J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics at NUI Galway. Patricia is a graduate of the B. Comm and Higher Diploma in Systems Analysis at NUI Galway. Following this, Patricia obtained her professional qualification with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). Patricia completed her PhD at NUI Galway in 2018. Her thesis focused on the convergence of management control systems and middle manager actions in multinational organisations. She is interested in how different modes of control work in combination to shape middle management behaviours. Patricia's work received the Outstanding Paper Award in 2017 from the Journal of Accounting and Organisational Change. She received a best paper award in the Accounting, Finance & Corporate Governance category in 2018 at the Irish Academy of Management conference.

Patricia is the Programme Director for the recently launched MSc in Corporate Finance at NUI Galway. She serves as External Examiner for a number of third level institutions. Patricia is a Council Member of the Irish Accounting and Finance Association, this is the leading Irish association that fosters high quality accounting research & teaching in Ireland. She currently serves as Communications Secretary for the Association. Patricia is a member of the Performance Management research cluster at NUI Galway's Whitaker Institute of Innovation and Societal Change  

Patricia teaches in the area of management accounting and has experience of teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She places a strong emphasis on practical examples while covering technical content to foster interest in the potential for management accounting techniques to enhance firm performance.  Before joining NUI Galway Patricia taught in the Kemmy School of Business, University of Limerick. Prior to that she worked in the Finance function in Shannon Development while completing her CIMA qualification. Patricia also worked as a consultant in the IT industry where she gained significant experience as a Systems Implementation Consultant. She worked with a range of international and national clients such as Stannah Lifts, The Irish Times and Vistakon.

Research Interests

Patricia's research interests are in the field of management control systems. She is interested in how different modes of control work in combination to shape middle management behaviours. Specifically, her interests lie in how value systems can be a powerful component of management control particularly in the context of pressure to deliver competing goals.

She completed her PhD at NUI Galway in 2018. Patricia's PhD research focuses on the operation of management control systems at middle manager level specifically examining how management control systems act as levers to impact on how middle managers implement strategy and champion change. 

Patricia is a member of Performance Management Research Cluster at NUI Galway's Whitaker Institute of Innovation and Societal Change. In conjunction with the Irish Accounting and Finance Association, Patricia has hosted a number of research seminars at NUI Galway including: Questioning the numbers - Epistemic authority, narrative and performance evaluation (Professor Matt Hall, Monash University, Melbourne) and Positioning Studies for Theoretical Contributions - Experiences Shared (Professor Teemu Malmi, Aalto University Helsinki). 

Patricia is currently a guest Co-Editor on a forthcoming special issue in the Accounting, Finance and Governance Review Journal entitled 'Innovations in Research Methods in Accounting, Finance and Governance'. 




Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2016) 'Strategy and Control: 25 Years of Empirical Use of Simons’ Levers of Control Framework'
Martyn, P, Sweeney, B and Curtis E. (2016) 'Strategy and Control: 25 Years of Empirical Use of Simons’ Levers of Control Framework'. Journal of Accounting and Organizational Change (JOAC), 12 (3):281-324 [DOI] [Details]

Conference Publications

  Year Publication
(2019) EIASM 10th Conference on Performance Measurement and Management
Martyn, P., Sweeney, B. and Lillis, A. (2019) Strategy Implementation at Middle Manager Level: How Beliefs Systems and Diagnostic Control Systems Combine to Mobilise Action EIASM 10th Conference on Performance Measurement and Management Nice, , 18-SEP-19 - 20-SEP-19 [Details]
(2018) Irish Academy of Management Annual Conference
Patricia Matyn Breda Sweeney (2018) ‘Change agents’ and ‘loyal implementors’: An empirical exploration of the interconnections between Floyd & Wooldridges’ typology of middle management strategic influence and Simons’ levers of control framework Irish Academy of Management Annual Conference [Details]
(2016) Irish Accounting & Finance Association annual conference
Martyn, P., Sweeney, B and Curtis, E. (2016) Combining predictable goal achievement and creative innovation at middle management level: Influence of beliefs systems some initial findings Irish Accounting & Finance Association annual conference [Details]
(2015) European Network of Research in Organization and Accounting Change
Martyn, P., Sweeney, B and Curtis, E. (2015) Creative innovation and predictable goal achievement: Tension and the use of management control systems at middle management level European Network of Research in Organization and Accounting Change [Details]
(2015) Irish Academy of Management
Martyn, P., Sweeney, B. and Curtis E (2015) Creative innovation and predictable goal achievement: Tension and the use of management control systems at middle management level Irish Academy of Management [Details]
(2014) British Accounting and Finance Association Annual Conference
Martyn, P., Sweeney, B and Curtis E (2014) The role of management control systems in managing exploration and exploitation: the middle management perspective British Accounting and Finance Association Annual Conference [Details]
(2014) Management Accounting Research Group Annual Conference
Martyn, P., Sweeney, B and Curtis E (2014) MCS: role at middle manager level in managing predictable goal achievement and creative innovation Management Accounting Research Group Annual Conference Aston Business School, [Details]
(2014) Irish Accounting and Finance Annual Conference
Martyn, P., Sweeney, B. and Curtis E (2014) Middle Management: The Role of Management Control Systems and the Dual Objectives of Efficiency and Creative Innovation Irish Accounting and Finance Annual Conference Queens University Belfast, [Details]
(2014) JE Cairnes PhD Colloquium
Martyn, P., Sweeney, B and Curtis E. (2014) Middle Management, Management Control Systems and the Dual Objectives of Exploration and Exploitation JE Cairnes PhD Colloquium NUI Galway, [Details]
(2013) Irish Accounting and Finance Association Annual Conference
Martyn, P., Sweeney, B and Curtis, E (2013) The use of management control systems to manage the competing demands of creative innovation & predictable goal achievement: the middle management perspective Irish Accounting and Finance Association Annual Conference Institute of Technology Tallaght, [Details]
(2012) EIASM conference on Manufacturing Accounting Research
Sweeney, B; Curtis, E; Martyn P (2012) Challenges in the Application of Simons’ Levers of Control Framework EIASM conference on Manufacturing Accounting Research [Details]
(2012) Irish Accounting and Finance Association Annual Conference
Sweeney, B; Curtis, E; Martyn, P. (2012) Simons Says: A critical analysis of the literature on Simons’ Levers of Control Framework Irish Accounting and Finance Association Annual Conference [Details]
(2011) Management Accounting Research Group Conference in association with the Management Control Association
Sweeney, B; Curtis, E; Martyn, P. (2011) Simons Says: A critical analysis of the literature on Simons’ Levers of Control Framework Management Accounting Research Group Conference in association with the Management Control Association [Details]
(2008) Centre for Learning and Teaching Annual Conference, NUI Galway
Martyn, P. and O’Regan, E. (2008) A Blended Learning Approach for Accounting Students Centre for Learning and Teaching Annual Conference, NUI Galway [Details]
(2008) Irish Accounting and Finance Association Annual Conference
Martyn, P and O' Regan, E (2008) Management Accounting: A Blended Learning Approach Irish Accounting and Finance Association Annual Conference [Details]
(2008) Annual Irish Educational Technology Users' Conference
Martyn, P. and O’Regan, E (2008) Creating a Constructive Blended Learning Environment for Accounting Students Annual Irish Educational Technology Users' Conference [Details]

Conference Contributions

  Year Publication
(2015) 10th Conference of European Network for Research in Accounting and Organisational Change,
Patricia Martyn (2015) Conference Theme: In Search of Competitiveness and Sustainable Value: Designing Accounting practices to manage Business and Social Innovation. [Conference Organising Committee Member], 10th Conference of European Network for Research in Accounting and Organisational Change, NUI Galway , 03-JUN-15 - 04-JUN-15. [Details]

Thesis

  Year Publication
(2018) Examining the Role of Management Control Systems at Middle Manager Level.
Patricia Martyn (2018) Examining the Role of Management Control Systems at Middle Manager Level. Thesis [Details]

Honours and Awards

  Year Title Awarding Body
2018 Best Conference Paper Irish Academy of Management Anuual Conference 2018
2017 Outstanding Paper in the 2017 (Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence: by the journal’s editorial team

Professional Associations

  Association Function From / To
Irish Accounting and Finance Association NUIG Council Member & Communications Secretary /
Irish Academy of Management Member /
British Accounting Association Member /
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants Member /

Committees

  Committee Function From / To
Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) Programme Board Member /
MSc. in Corporate Finance Programme Director /
MSc. in International Accounting & Analytics Programme Board Member /

Other Activities

  Description

External Examiner Cork Institute of Technology (April 2017-present)

External Examiner Letterkenny Institute of Technoloy (2018 to present)

Teaching Interests

Patricia teaches Management Accounting and Analytical & Communication Skills Development in the School of Business & Economics. These courses are affiliated with the professional qualifications of Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Certified Public Accountants (CPA) and Charterted Financial Analysts (CFA). 

Patricia's teaching philosophy centres on developing in students a comprehensive knowledge of accounting and how its concepts & techniques can be used beyond the classroom to manage and grow all types of organisations. Her teaching draws extensively on contemporary business examples to provide a contextual frame for students' learning.

In addition, Patricia is interested in new pedagogies for teaching and assessing accounting content and has participated in a number of initiatives. She has successfully designed and delivered management accounting modules via the medium of blended learning. Recently she led the development of an Analytical & Communication Skills Development module for Accounting & Finance postgraduate students. The objective of this module is to ensure that students possess the necessary skills for a transformed profession. Patricia has also coordinated a guest lecture series, inviting finance industry experts to NUI Galway, bringing contemporary industry ideas, challenges and opportunities to life in the lecture hall. 

Modules Taught

  Term/Year Module Title Module Code Subject / Desc
2 Skills for Accounting Research and Practice AY537 Postgraduate module developing research and professional skills for Masters of Accounting students
2 Introduction to Management Accounting AY105 Undergraduate management accounting large group
1 Management Accounting 1 AY207 Large group undergraduate management accounting module
2 Analytical and Communication Skills Development AY5127

Internal Collaborators

  Name Description of Collaboration
Professor Breda Sweeney

External Collaborators

  Name Organisation / Institute Country Description of Collaboration
Professor Anne Lillis University of Melbourne AUSTRALIA