Short profile

Dr Widin Bongasu Sha’ven Doctoral Supervisor — Accounting, Finance & Sustainability

Dr. Widin Bongasu Sha’ven is a Lecturer in Accounting at the University of Leicester School of Business, where she serves as Sustainable Finance and Accounting Research Group Lead, Admissions Tutor, and Personal/Year in Industry Tutor. She holds a PhD in Accounting and Finance from the University of Birmingham and brings over 12 years of experience in higher education teaching, research and doctoral supervision, including current visiting supervision roles at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. She has supervised doctoral researchers to completion in areas including forensic accounting and blockchain, corporate governance and financial soundness, and sustainability accounting, and was named Best PhD Supervisor at the University of Leicester (2025/26). Her research and supervisory interests centre on sustainability accounting and reporting, ESG disclosure, corporate governance, corporate accountability, and financial reporting.

📄 Full Profile

Dr Widin Bongasu Sha’ven PhD (Birmingham), MSc (Distinction), FHEA, CMBE, GRI Certified Sustainability Professional

Overview
Dr Sha’ven is a Lecturer in Accounting at the University of Leicester School of Business, where she also serves as Sustainable Finance and Accounting Research Group Lead, Admissions Tutor, and Personal/Year in Industry Tutor. She holds a PhD in Accounting from the University of Birmingham (thesis: Accounting and Accountability Practices in Microfinance Institutions: A Case Study from Cameroon) and an MSc in Accounting and Finance (Distinction), also from Birmingham, supported by a University of Birmingham Business School Doctoral Scholarship.

She brings over 12 years of higher education experience spanning the University of Birmingham, University of Southampton, University of Sheffield, University of Leicester, and — in her current visiting role — the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, where she supervises DBA and DProf researchers alongside undergraduate teaching.

Doctoral Supervision & Research Leadership
Dr Sha’ven has an established record of doctoral and postgraduate supervision, with three completed PhDs and three completed DBAs to date, and is currently supervising a further cohort of PhD, DBA, DProf, and Master’s researchers across multiple institutions. Completed doctoral research under her supervision includes:

• Forensic accounting and the role of blockchain technology in combating money laundering (PhD, University of Leicester)
• Corporate governance and financial soundness — a multi-level case study of Ghana’s 2017–2018 banking crisis (PhD, University of Leicester)
• The role of intermediary organisations in advancing sustainability and environmental management among SMEs in the gold mining sector, Ghana (PhD, University of Leicester)
• Sustainable social and environmental accounting practices in the oil and gas industry — the Nigeria experience (MPhil, University of Leicester)

She was named Best PhD Supervisor at the University of Leicester (2025/26) and was also a nominee for the University of Leicester Student Union’s PhD Supervisor Award (2026), alongside a Best Engagement Lecturer Award (2025/26).

Dr Sha’ven is particularly interested in supervising doctoral research in sustainability accounting, corporate reporting and accountability, corporate governance, AI and ESG disclosure, financial reporting, forensic accounting, and accounting education, along with related interdisciplinary topics.

Research Focus
Dr Sha’ven’s research centres on accounting and accountability practices in emerging and developing economies, with particular attention to governance, sustainability, and development outcomes. Her PhD research examined the divergence between a microfinance institution’s social mission and its practical accountability structures, finding stronger evidence of upward accountability to funders than downward accountability to the communities it served.

Her work is primarily qualitative and case-study based, drawing on extensive primary fieldwork, though she actively collaborates on quantitative and mixed-methods projects to broaden methodological reach. Recent and ongoing publications and working papers span forensic accounting and blockchain in anti-money laundering, corporate governance and financial soundness in emerging markets, and sustainability and environmental accounting — targeting journals including Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal and Academy of Management Journal. She has presented at international forums including the Alternative Accounts Conference (Canada), CIMA Special Interest Group meetings, and British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA) workshops.

Professional Recognition & Memberships

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
• Certified Management & Business Educator (CMBE)
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Certified Sustainability Professional
• Member, British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA)
• Member, Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS)
• Member, African Accounting and Finance Association (AAFA)

External Examining
Dr Sha’ven serves as External Examiner for BSc (Hons) Business Management and BSc (Hons) Business Management and Finance at St Mary’s University, London, and has previously examined MSc Accounting and Finance dissertations at the University of Southampton and University of Sheffield.

Ready to talk about doctoral admissions, supervision, or researcher development? Contact the Knowledge Edge team.