New co-workers at Karlstad Business School

Akhona Khumalo, research project assistant for Information Systems.

Akhona Khumalo is from South Africa and has a Degree of Master of Science in Information Systems. Akhona’s work duties has included programming, software deployment, preliminary testing, user test support, implementation, online support, system upgrades, software specification and some maintenance work.

What kind of research have you conducted?

- I have conducted research on Multidisciplinary Teams (MDT), which are teams consisting of clinics with different specialities, who meet and discuss, analyse and decide on plans for treatment or handling of cancer patient cases. The protocols from these meetings are important guidelines for patient care. The purpose of the study was to examine the processes and their effectiveness, as well as how much technology is used in the process.

I am currently involved in a study on electronic medical journals that are available to the patients, and shared decision-making in a separate collaboration regarding a study that examines the effects of covid-19 on leisure companies in Swedish municipalities.

I am interested in the digitisation of health care and welfare processes, from the perspective of both patients and clinics. I also think that AI in health care is an interesting subject.

Expectations for your time at Karlstad Business School

- I think that the coming years at Karlstad Business School will be interesting. I look forward to forging new bonds of friendships, many collaborations and to learn from many of the distinguished researchers who have made Karlstad Business School into such a respected institution.

Per Karlsson, doctoral student in Business Administration, with a specialisation in Accounting.

Per Karlsson received a Degree of Master in Accounting and Control at Karlstad Business School in 2018, and since then he has been working in the private sector as an accounting consultant and managerial economist. Per is currently working on an article that is based on the master’s dissertation he wrote at Karlstad Business School in 2018.

- The article is about students at Swedish universities, where I and my collaboration partner on the master’s dissertation examined why students choose not to specialise in Accounting. Among other things, we found that factors such as interest in the subject and salaries within the profession affect their decision not to specialise in Accounting. We also found that friends, but also teachers affect this decision among students.

I am interested in fair value in accounting and financial reports. I believe that the subjectivity when it comes to fair value is a very interesting subject for closer examination. So my doctoral thesis will definitely revolve around fair value, but I cannot be more specific yet. Perhaps I will connect it to auditing, since there is an interesting auditor perspective on fair value.

Expectations for your time at Karlstad Business School

- It feels good to be back at Karlstad Business School. I look forward to my writing my doctoral thesis here. I hope that it will be a journey where I develop a lot when it comes to research, but also that I will develop on a personal level, as a person. It is fun and inspiring.

Janet Rasaei, doctoral student in Business Administration, with a specialisation in Accounting.

Janet Rasaei has two master's degrees from Sweden - Business Administration with a specialisation in Finance from Umeå University, and International Business and Trade from the University of Gothenburg. Beyond this, Janet also has a Degree of Bachelor in Accounting from Shiraz University in Iran. She has also worked as an auditor, controller and freelance finance analyst.

What kind of research have you conducted?

- As a part of my academic degrees, I have had the opportunity to work on two master’s dissertations. My master’s project in Finance used a quantitative research method to examine the role of political risk within the capital structure of multinational Singaporean companies. In my master’s project in International Business and Trade I conducted qualitative research in the field of reshoring. In the latter we examined how businesses based in Sweden implement reshoring and what this implementation process looks like.

What did you find?

- The decision to relocate is seen as a correction or reversal of previous decisions about offshoring. Our findings suggest that the two businesses used as case studies carried out the relocation project after careful consideration of the costs and benefits of a relocation and they made sure that the initiative for reshoring was viable. Businesses modified the process of implementation based on the type of project when it comes to size, type of production and suppliers.

I am currently conducting research within Accounting, where there are several subjects that interest me - financial accounting and reporting, management control and administrative accounting, fair value and digitisation.

Expectations for your time at Karlstad Business School

- I am happy to have a doctoral studentship at Karlstad University and to contribute to Karlstad Business School. I will gain more knowledge of accounting and my time here will also challenge me and provide academic skills.