Mrs Ellen Spender

Associate Professor

Accounting and Finance

JavaScript is required to view this email address.

Basic Welsh Speaker

Office 231 - 231
Second Floor
School of Management
Bay Campus

About

At Swansea University Ellen is an Associate Professor in accounting and module co-ordinator for several undergraduate and postgraduate modules and Ellen is also the School of Management Student Engagement Lead. Ellen is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

During her time at Swansea Ellen has been honoured to receive several commendations by students for the quality of her teaching. Indeed, her career as a professional lecturer has been markedly learner-centric, and her constructivist approach to teaching is an extension of her personal-professional interest in and passion for student engagement. Student feedback at Swansea University has been both encouraging and positive, thereby affirming her teaching methodologies.

Student engagement is Ellen’s main research focusing on enhancing student experience by delivering quality teaching and engaging successfully with students to motivate them to fulfil their individual educational potential. In 2021, Ellen was honoured with the Teacher of the Year Award in the School of Management.

Ellen completed her Postgraduate Certificate in Education in 1997 and during Ellen’s career as a qualified lecturer she has delivered a variety of subjects in several educational institutions.

Areas Of Expertise

Financial Accounting
Financial Statement Analysis
Forensic Accounting
Corporate Finance

Career Highlights

Teaching Interests

Ellen teaches forensic accounting providing an overview of the role of the forensic accountant to final year undergraduates.

She delivers financial accounting and corporate finance for the MSc Accounting and Finance, MSc Engineering Leadership and Management, and Master of Business Administration programmes.

Research Award Highlights Collaborations

Publications

Research Highlights

Spender, E., Baylis, R., & Helikum, L. (2024). Students’ notetaking during lectures: an examination of resources, motivation, and learning styles.. In BAFA Accounting Education SIG Annual Conference 2024
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66743
Spender, E. (2023). Advances in education: Using a game-based learning platform in the online learning environment. Advances in Online Education, 1(2), 196-209.
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa60505
https://hstalks.com/article/7433/advances-in-education-using-a-game-based-learning-/
Williams, T., Davies, L., Evans, S., & Spender, E. (2022). Is intensive block teaching successful?. In EDULEARN ProceedingsIATED.
https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2022.1443, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa60548
Spender, E. & Evans, S. (2022). EMERGING FROM THE BLACK BOX: THE TRANSITION FROM ONLINE TO IN-PERSON STUDENT ATTENDANCE. In EDULEARN Proceedings (pp. 9433-9439). IATED.
https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2022.2280, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa60684
Cranfield, D., Venter, I., Evans, S., & Spender, E. (2022). Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Cafés: A Case Study in Higher Education. In Dan Remenyi (Ed.), 8th Knowledge Management and Intellectual Capital Excellence Awards: An anthology of case histories (pp. 1-142). Academic Conferences International Ltd
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61181
https://www.academic-bookshop.com/ourshop/prod_7846018-8th-Knowledge-Management-and-Intellectual-Capital-Excellence-Awards-2022-An.html
Cranfield, D., I.M.Venter, ., Evans, S., & Spender, E. (2022). Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Café's: A Case Study in Higher Education. In ECKM 2022 : 23rd European Conference on Knowledge Management
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61183
https://www.academic-conferences.org/conferences/eckm/
Baylis, R. & Spender, E. (2023). The role of note taking within the accounting classroom: the modern versus the traditional.. In British Accounting and Finance Association, Accounting Education Special Interest Group Conference, Durham University, 2023
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa63520

All Research

Journal Articles

Spender, E. (2023). Advances in education: Using a game-based learning platform in the online learning environment. Advances in Online Education, 1(2), 196-209.
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa60505
https://hstalks.com/article/7433/advances-in-education-using-a-game-based-learning-/

Book Chapters

Cranfield, D., Venter, I., Evans, S., & Spender, E. (2022). Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Cafés: A Case Study in Higher Education. In Dan Remenyi (Ed.), 8th Knowledge Management and Intellectual Capital Excellence Awards: An anthology of case histories (pp. 1-142). Academic Conferences International Ltd
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61181
https://www.academic-bookshop.com/ourshop/prod_7846018-8th-Knowledge-Management-and-Intellectual-Capital-Excellence-Awards-2022-An.html

Conference Contributions

Spender, E., Baylis, R., & Helikum, L. (2024). Students’ notetaking during lectures: an examination of resources, motivation, and learning styles.. In BAFA Accounting Education SIG Annual Conference 2024
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66743
Baylis, R. & Spender, E. (2023). The role of note taking within the accounting classroom: the modern versus the traditional.. In British Accounting and Finance Association, Accounting Education Special Interest Group Conference, Durham University, 2023
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa63520
Cranfield, D., I.M.Venter, ., Evans, S., & Spender, E. (2022). Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Café's: A Case Study in Higher Education. In ECKM 2022 : 23rd European Conference on Knowledge Management
SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61183
https://www.academic-conferences.org/conferences/eckm/
Williams, T., Davies, L., Evans, S., & Spender, E. (2022). Is intensive block teaching successful?. In EDULEARN ProceedingsIATED.
https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2022.1443, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa60548
Spender, E. & Evans, S. (2022). EMERGING FROM THE BLACK BOX: THE TRANSITION FROM ONLINE TO IN-PERSON STUDENT ATTENDANCE. In EDULEARN Proceedings (pp. 9433-9439). IATED.
https://doi.org/10.21125/edulearn.2022.2280, SU Repository: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa60684

Taught Modules

MN-3555 Forensic Accounting

The term `forensic¿ means `used in courts of law¿, and the role of `forensic accounting¿ is to provide professional accountancy support in litigation cases. The growth of forensic accounting as a discrete discipline within the accountancy profession is a reflection of today¿s increasingly litigious climate, and the proliferation of cases presented to the courts highlights the wide variety of types of fraud and other finance-related infringements, ranging from the simple to the complex. The principal focus of this module will be on the criminal aspect of forensic accounting. Other key areas include the role of forensic accounting in civil litigation, the expert witness, terrorism finance, money laundering, bribery and corruption, and the role of corporate governance in risk containment.
MN-M004 Financial Statement Preparation and Analysis

There is a limited amount of information available to external stakeholders of a company. It is therefore vital for the user to extract as much information as possible from a set of financial statements. Students on this module will learn the techniques used in financial statement analysis and will apply those techniques to evaluate company performance and to assess their value. The limitations of the techniques will be identified.
MN-M050 Foundations of Management

This module introduces learners to the key tools that a manager should possess within their arsenal in order to actively contribute to an organisation, enable effective decision making within global market dynamics, monitor and report on its performance, and capitalise on its greatest assets ¿ its people, by understanding, nurturing, listening to and fostering their development. The module will explore the principles of financial planning and control and reporting of results in accordance with IFRS, to then move to the analysis of financial statements and the key financial ratios for performance management, monitoring and strategic decision making, including company valuations and business development considerations. The basic economics concepts will be introduced; supply an demand, markets structure and dynamics, pricing and currency, to enable the evaluation of strategic options to achieve competitive advantage within a global marketplace. The Management of Human resources and the organisational behaviour theories and key concepts will be introduced and critically evaluated, to understand the individual and their relationship within organisations and to substantiate the claim of sustained competitive advantage that the implementation of HRM within firms can bring. Key functions of HRM will be introduced and considerations specific to international organisations will be made.
MN-MB03P Understanding Finance

Financial performance alone is not enough to determine how a company will develop in the long run, hence non-financial information, including sustainability information, should enable businesses to achieve their sustainability objectives by identifying areas for improvement and enhancing internal decision-making processes. Integrating sustainable business practices and building resilience into business models means organisations should be able to link accountability to external stakeholders with good governance. Decisions about investments and capital expenditure should encapsulate environmental, social and governance criteria bringing benefits to both the investor and society at large. This module is designed to provide students with an understanding of the range of financial decisions made by organisations and to equip students for their role in supporting the financial manager in this wide-ranging decision-making process.
MN-MBA03 Understanding Finance

Financial performance alone is not enough to determine how a company will develop in the long run, hence non-financial information, including sustainability information, should enable businesses to achieve their sustainability objectives by identifying areas for improvement and enhancing internal decision-making processes. Integrating sustainable business practices and building resilience into business models means organisations should be able to link accountability to external stakeholders with good governance. Decisions about investments and capital expenditure should encapsulate environmental, social and governance criteria bringing benefits to both the investor and society at large. This module is designed to provide students with an understanding of the range of financial decisions made by organisations and to equip students for their role in supporting the financial manager in this wide-ranging decision-making process.

Invited Presentations, Lectures and Conferences

Association for Learning Technology (ALT) Annual Conference

September 2021
Advance HE Learning and Teaching Conference

July 2020
Technology in the Classroom

March 2020

University of York
“Remote Exams: The Move from Traditional Exam Questions to Case Study Style Assessment”

July 2022

The 10th European Conference on Education. UCL, London.
“In Conversation with Ellen And Sue”. Spender, E. & Evans, S.

July 2022

The 10th European Conference on Education UCL, London. Palma, Spain
“Emerging from the Black Box”. Spender, E. & Evans, S.

July 2022

EDULEARN 2022: 14th Annual International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies. Palma, Spain.
“Is Intensive Block Teaching Successful?”

July 2022

Palma, Spain
‘Creating a student led on-line inclusive community of learning and co-creation of programme content using digital technology’

June 2021

Virtual
Technology in the Classroom: Interactive Game-Based Learning Platforms to increase Student Engagement

April 2020

Virtual

Key Grants and Projects

Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE): Manual Notetaking to Increase Student Engagement and Knowledge Retention 2021 - 2023

, with Evans, S., Davies, L., & Williams, T.
Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE): The Meme-ification of teaching and learning: Using Memes to increase students engagement, understanding and knowledge retention. 2022 - 2024

, with Tran. L.T.T

Other Roles

External Examiner , De Montfort University

2020 - Present
External Examiner , United Kingdom Advising and Tutoring Association (UKAT)

2022 - Present
Conference Organiser Committee Member (ALDinHE), Association for Learning Development in Higher Education

2022 - Present

Mrs Ellen Spender

Email address

Welsh language proficiency

About

Areas Of Expertise

Career Highlights

Research Highlights

All Research

MN-3555 Forensic Accounting

MN-M004 Financial Statement Preparation and Analysis

MN-M050 Foundations of Management

MN-MB03P Understanding Finance

MN-MBA03 Understanding Finance

Association for Learning Technology (ALT) Annual Conference

Advance HE Learning and Teaching Conference

Technology in the Classroom

“Remote Exams: The Move from Traditional Exam Questions to Case Study Style Assessment”

“In Conversation with Ellen And Sue”. Spender, E. & Evans, S.

“Emerging from the Black Box”. Spender, E. & Evans, S.

“Is Intensive Block Teaching Successful?”

‘Creating a student led on-line inclusive community of learning and co-creation of programme content using digital technology’

Technology in the Classroom: Interactive Game-Based Learning Platforms to increase Student Engagement

Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE): Manual Notetaking to Increase Student Engagement and Knowledge Retention 2021 - 2023

Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE): The Meme-ification of teaching and learning: Using Memes to increase students engagement, understanding and knowledge retention. 2022 - 2024

External Examiner , De Montfort University

External Examiner , United Kingdom Advising and Tutoring Association (UKAT)

Conference Organiser Committee Member (ALDinHE), Association for Learning Development in Higher Education