Assoc Prof Ralph Kober - Researcher Profile

Biography

Ralph Kober is an associate professor in the Department of Accounting and Finance. Ralph joined the department in May 2008 after three years at The University of Auckland, New Zealand. Prior to this Ralph was at The University of Western Australia. His research interests are in management accounting, accrual accounting in the public sector, and outcome evaluation in the field of intellectual disability. Ralph has published in accounting journals as well as specialised intellectual disability journals. He is on the editorial board of Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management. Ralph received the David Solomons prize for the best paper published in Management Accounting Research in 2007. Ralph is a member of CPA Australia and was previously Vice-President of the New Zealand branch.

Research & Supervision Interests

Management Control Systems
Performance Measurement in the Not-for-Profit Sector
Usefulness of Accrual Accounting in the Public Sector
Quality of Life as an Outcome Measure

Keywords

Accrual accounting in the public sector, Quality of Life, Management Control Systems, Not-for-Profit Sector, Public Sector, Intellectual Disability, financial performance small and medium enterprises (smes) total quality management (tqm)

Qualifications

GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Institution: Monash University

Year awarded: 2012

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Institution: The University of Western Australia

Year awarded: 2006

BACHELOR OF COMMERCE (HONOURS)

Institution: The University of Western Australia

Year awarded: 1992

Publications

Books

Kober, R.O., Wang, M. (eds), 2012, Family Quality of Life - Special Issue Part Two, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Chichester UK.

Kober, R.O., Wang, M. (eds), 2011, Family Quality of Life - Special Issue Part One, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Chichester UK.

Kober, R.O., 2010, Employment for People with Intellectual Disabilities: The Effect of Different Methods of Employment on Job Satisfaction and Quality of Life, VDM Verlag Dr Muller Aktiengesellschaft & Co KG, Saarbrucken Germany.

Kober, R. (ed), 2010, Enhancing the Quality of Life of People with Intellectual Disabilities: From Theory to Practice, Springer, Dordrecht Netherlands.

Book Chapters

Schmidt, M., Kober, R., 2010, Quality of life of families with children with intellectual disabilities in Slovenia, in Enhancing the Quality of Life of People with Intellectual Disabilities: From Theory to Practice, eds Ralph Kober, Springer, Dordrecht Netherlands, pp. 363-376.

Kober, R., 2010, The effect of employment on the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities: A review of the literature, in Enhancing the Quality of Life of People with Intellectual Disabilities: From Theory to Practice, eds Ralph Kober, Springer, Dordrecht Netherlands, pp. 127-136.

Kober, R., Eggleton, I., 2010, Using quality of life to assess performance of agencies assisting people with intellectual disabilities, in Enhancing the Quality of Life of People with Intellectual Disabilities: From Theory to Practice, eds Ralph Kober, Springer, Dordrecht Netherlands, pp. 61-70.

Journal Articles

Kober, R.O., Lee, J., Ng, J., 2012, Conceptual framework issues: Perspectives of Australian public sector stakeholders, Accounting and Business Research [P], vol 42, issue 5, Routledge, Abingdon UK, pp. 495-518.

Kober, R.O., Subraamanniam, T., Watson, J., 2012, The impact of total quality management adoption on small and medium enterprises' financial performance, Accounting and Finance [P], vol 52, issue 5, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia, Richmond Vic Australia, pp. 421-438.

Andriani, Y., Kober, R.O., Ng, J., 2010, Decision usefulness of cash and accrual information: Public sector managers' perceptions, Australian Accounting Review [P], vol 20, issue 2, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia, Richmond Vic Australia, pp. 144-153.

Kober, R.O., Lee, J., Ng, J., 2010, Mind your accruals: Perceived usefulness of financial information in the Australian public sector under different accounting systems, Financial Accountability and Management [P], vol 26, issue 3, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, UK, pp. 267-298.

Kober, R.O., Eggleton, I.R., 2009, Using quality of life to evaluate outcomes and measure effectiveness, Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities [P], vol 6, issue 1, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc., United States, pp. 40-51.

Kober, R.O., Ng, J., Paul, B.J., 2007, The interrelationship between management control mechanisms and strategy, Management Accounting Research, vol 18, issue 4, Academic Press, London UK, pp. 425-452.

Kober, R.O., Eggleton, I.R., 2006, Using quality of life to assess performance in the disability services sector, Applied Research in Quality of Life, vol 1, issue 1, Springer Netherlands, Netherlands, pp. 63-77.

Kober, R.O., Eggleton, I.R., 2005, The effect of different types of employment on quality of life, Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, vol 49, issue 10, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Oxford UK, pp. 756-760.

Watson, J., Kober, R.O., 2003, Bettina's boutique: A financial statement analysis and business valuation case study, Accounting Research Journal, vol 16, issue 1, Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, UK, pp. 81-86.

Kober, R.O., Ng, J., Paul, B.J., 2003, Change in strategy and MCS: A match over time?, Advances in Accounting, vol 20, JAI Press Inc, USA, pp. 199-232.

Kober, R.O., Eggleton, I.R., 2002, Factor stability of the Schalock and Keith (1993) Quality of Life Questionnaire, Mental Retardation, vol 40, issue 2, American Association on Mental Retardation, USA, pp. 157-165.

Kober, R.O., Tarca, A., 2002, For fun or profit? An evaluation of an accounting simulation game for university students, Accounting Research Journal, vol 15, issue 1, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, UK, pp. 98-110.

Teaching Commitment

2013:

AFC1000 Principles of Accounting and Finance

AFF1000 Principles of Accounting and Finance

BEX6100 Advanced Quantitative Research Methods

BEX6200 Advanced Quantitative Research Methods

Activities

Memberships of editorial boards

Editorial Board
Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management

Professional organisation memberships

Member
CPA Australia

Postgraduate Research Supervisions

Current Supervision

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

Seeking financial independence in indigenous communities.

Supervisors:

Halabi, A (Main), Kober, R (Associate), Mcnicholas, P (Associate).

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

Tensions in resource allocation decisions in multistakeholder environment: a case study in Victorian public hospitals.

Supervisors:

Kober, R (Main), Lye, J (Associate).

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

The interaction between performance management systems and accountability in NGOs.

Supervisors:

Ferreira, A (Joint-co), Kober, R (Joint).

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

The relationship between MCS, institutional logics, and institutional entrepreneurs: a Chinese case study.

Supervisors:

Kober, R (Joint-co), Mcnicholas, P (Joint).