Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Ralph is the Associate Dean Programs for Monash Business and a Professor of Management Accounting in the Department of Accounting. As Associate Dean Programs Ralph is responsible for the strategic positioning of the programs offered by Monash Business School including the facilitation of new programs and overseeing Assurance of Learning.
Ralph previously worked at The University of Auckland (3 years) and The University of Western Australia (14 years), where he completed his PhD. Ralph’s research focuses predominately on management control systems (MCS) and the not-for-profit (NFP) sector. Ralph’s recent publications have focused on how MCS can help charities navigate the COVID-19 crisis, how charities used accounting information for decision making during the COVID-19 crisis, and the impact of founders on MCS. Ralph’s research on the impact of COVID-19 on charities has been recognised with a 2021 Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Research Excellence Award and a Social Impact Measurement Network of Australia (SIMNA) 2023 Outstanding Collaboration Award. Ralph's research has been published in a variety of accounting, education and psychology journals including, Management Accounting Research, Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal, Accounting & Business Research, Financial Accountability & Management, Education + Training, Studies in Higher Education, and Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. Ralph is currently Associate Editor of Accounting & Finance and on the editorial boards of Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management and Pacific Accounting Review. Ralph’s teaching has been recognised with Faculty awards for Teaching Excellence and Learning Innovation, as well as the 2020 Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) Global Gold Teaching Excellence Award.
Ralph has also been actively involved with both academic and professional associations, having previously held various positions of responsibility across numerous associations, including being Vice President of the New Zealand Branch of CPA Australia, Chair of the Qualitative Research Special Interest Group of AFAANZ, Treasurer of the Victorian Branch of the Australasian Society for Intellectual Disability, Co-chair of the Special Interest Research Group on Quality of Life for the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability, and a Director of the International Society for Quality of Life Studies. Ralph is currently a member of the Academic Advisory Board to the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB), a councillor on the Victorian branch of CPA Australia, also the current Chief Examiner of the CPA Australia module Strategic Management Accounting.
Research interests
Management Control Systems
Performance Measurement in the Not-for-Profit Sector
Usefulness of Accrual Accounting in the Public and Not-for-Profit Sectors
Supervision interests
Management Control Systems
Performance Measurement in the Not-for-Profit Sector
Usefulness of Accrual Accounting in the Public and Not-for-Profit Sectors
Monash teaching commitment
2022 semester 2:
ACF5080 Management control systems
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research area 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)
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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The One Box: Longitudinal Community Study
Thambar, P., Kober, R. & Gong, Z.
1/07/23 → 30/06/26
Project: Research
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Identification of Food Security Needs in South Australian Primary Schools
Kober, R., Thambar, P. & Gong, Z.
1/04/22 → 30/09/22
Project: Research
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(1) Impact of The One Box; (2) Integrated CSR and The One Box model
1/07/21 → 31/03/22
Project: Research
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The role of management control systems in balancing competing goals
Kober, R., Gong, Z. & Fernandes Ferreira, A.
10/07/20 → 31/12/21
Project: Research
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Measuring the Impact of The One Box Program: Mental Wellbeing and Refugee Resettlement - A Longitudinal Study
Gong, Z., Kober, R., Thambar, P. & Wu, C., Jul 2024, Melbourne Vic Australia: Monash University. 34 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned Report › Other
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This is not an experiment: using vignettes in qualitative accounting research
Wiegmann, L., Conrath-Hargreaves, A., Guo, Z., Hall, M., Kober, R., Pucci, R., Thambar, P. J. & Thiagarajah, T., 2024, (Accepted/In press) In: Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal. 23 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
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Coordination in a not-for-profit organisation during the COVID-19 pandemic: organisational sensemaking during planning meetings
Kober, R. & Thambar, P. J., May 2023, In: Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal. 36, 4, p. 1137-1166 30 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
8 Citations (Scopus) -
Comparative Financial Analysis 2021: How Does One Box Compare to Other Food Relief Charities?
Kober, R. & Thambar, P., 9 Aug 2022, Melbourne Vic Australia: Monash University. 8 p.Research output: Book/Report › Other Report › Other
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Food Insecurity in South Australian Primary Schools: Report on Additional Findings
Gong, Z., Kober, R. & Thambar, P., Oct 2022, Melbourne Vic Australia: Monash University. 12 p.Research output: Book/Report › Other Report › Research
Prizes
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2010 Dean's Commendation for Excellence in Teaching
Kober, Ralph (Recipient), 2010
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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2011 Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching
Kober, Ralph (Recipient), 2011
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Chartered Institute of Management Accountants Global Gold Teaching Excellence Award
Kober, Ralph (Recipient), 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Chartered Institute of Management Accountants Research Excellence Award
Kober, Ralph (Recipient) & Thambar, Paul (Recipient), 2021
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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David Solomon Prize for best paper in Management Accounting Research
Kober, Ralph (Recipient) & Ng, Juliana (Recipient), May 2008
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
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The British Accounting Review (Journal)
Ralph Kober (Peer reviewer)
2022Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Peer review responsibility
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Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management (Journal)
Ralph Kober (Peer reviewer)
2022Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Peer review responsibility
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Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal (Journal)
Ralph Kober (Peer reviewer)
2022Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Peer review responsibility
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Issues in Accounting Education (Journal)
Ralph Kober (Peer reviewer)
2022Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Peer review responsibility
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Financial Accountability and Management (Journal)
Ralph Kober (Peer reviewer)
2022Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Peer review responsibility
Press/Media
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Cost of Living Bites School Lunch Boxes
Zhiyun Gong, Ralph Kober & Paul Thambar
20/02/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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How a food charity ‘made sense’ of the COVID crisis and thrived
31/05/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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It’s the culture: why financial controls may not always be key
Ralph Kober & Chris Akroyd
31/05/21
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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Improve your students’ critical-thinking abilities
18/05/21
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Article/Feature