A York University professor has co-edited a special section in a leading Latin American academic journal, spotlighting global collaboration in qualitative accounting research and reinforcing York's role in fostering international academic dialogue.
Marcela Porporato, professor in the School of Administrative Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, served as one of four guest editors for a special section on qualitative research in accounting published in the journal Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración (ARLA), the official publication of CLADEA, the association of Latin American Business Schools.
The section showcases critical and qualitative accounting research from scholars across the Global South and North, with contributions from members of two key academic networks: the Qualitative Accounting Research Symposium (QARS) and the Qualitative Research and Critical Accounting - Latin American Network (QRCA).
The idea for the special section was sparked during a QARS panel titled "Challenging Unconscious Dichotomies" featuring scholars Rania Kamla, Theresa Hammond, Olatunde Julius Otusanya and Alessandro Ghio. Co-organized by York University's Professor Joanne Jones and hosted at York's Keele Campus in 2023, the symposium served as a platform for dialogue on bridging global research communities and challenging socially constructed dichotomies in accounting systems.
The concept for the special section gained momentum in November 2024, and the call for papers invited authors to explore how accounting practices can reflect and reinforce social divisions, and how those divisions affect society.
"We encouraged researchers to look at how accounting reflects real-world social divides - like those based on geography, gender or income - and how those divides show up in business and society," says Porporato. "The papers selected show a wide range of ideas and approaches and highlight the value of collaboration and dialogue in this kind of research."
Published in September, the section features work from several York-affiliated scholars, including professors Gajindra Maharaj and Kelly Thomson, adjunct professor Taslima Nasreen, and Alejandra Moreno-Lopez, a former international visiting research trainee. Six of the issue's nine articles comprise the special section.
The section was published in September 2025 and includes contributions from scholars affiliated with institutions in Canada, Latin America, Europe and Africa.
This story was originally featured in YFile, York University's community newsletter.
