HOGENT UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES AND ARTS

Since the academic year 2021-2022 HOGENT offers students Business Management a new course, that focusses on value creation and integrated reporting: “Waardecreatie meten en rapporteren”. Next academic year (2022-2023), HOGENT will also offer this course to students enrolled in the international curriculum: “Reporting value creation”.

Furthermore, students Applied Computer Science are creating a database that captures sustainability information of Belgian SMEs. This information is retrieved from their annual reports, websites and sustainability reports. In addition, these students are developing a tool to identify and analyze similarities and differences in sustainability disclosures of Belgian SMEs.

KEY PERSONS

STEFANIE DE BRUYCKERE

Dr. Stefanie De Bruyckere is a lecturer, researcher and head of the Research Centre for Sustainable Organizations at HOGENT. She received her PhD in Business Economics in 2021 from Ghent University. In 2010, De Bruyckere completed her Master’s degree in Business Administration and in 2011, her Master’s degree in Teaching Economics. Since 2011, she has been a lecturer at HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts, and is involved in research projects related to accounting and taxation. De Bruyckere has also published her work in international journals such as Sustainability and Australian Accounting Review. Recently, she obtained a certificate of the UNITAR training program on sustainability.

“Corporate reporting should always be sustainable. More specifically, corporate reporting should provide stakeholders the information they need. Several crises proved the urgency for action: health crises, worldwide problems concerning poverty, scarcity of natural resources. These societal challenges and the concept of sustainability have a long history. Contributing to the INTEGRES project, cooperating with the project partners is very inspiring and motivating. We study and analyse how corporate reporting could be further improved, how it could leverage and stimulate a more sustainable approach. We share our insights and develop teaching material in order to ultimately support students in their educational career”.

CARINE COPPENS

Carine Coppens is the head of Financial Management at HOGENT University. She has 30 years of experience in accounting. Her research projects have looked at taxation in Europe and the role of external accountants. Coppens has also researched acquisitions in assurance brokers. Recently she followed a UNITAR training program on sustainability. Her work has been published and presented internationally. Coppens is a member of the examination committee of the professional institute of accountants in Belgium and has a large professional network in accounting and SMEs.

ASTRID COCQUYT

Astrid Cocquyt is a lecturer and researcher at HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts. She has two Masters degrees, one in Business Economics and Accountancy, and one in Educational Studies. Since 2017, she has been a lecturer at HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Her teaching domains are accounting, research skill development, strategic management and value creation. Furthermore, she has been involved in several research projects related to social entrepreneurship, refugee integration and clothes sharing platforms. Since 2021, she has been a researcher at Research Centre for Sustainable Organizations at HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts, with a research focus on sustainability reporting and sustainable business models. Her work has been published in Journal of Business Strategy and the Environment, and presented internationally.

Visit the research centre website

visit the research centre linkedin page