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Dr Rodney Brown

Dr Rodney Brown

Senior Lecturer
  • PhD in Accounting (London School of Economics)
  • Master of Taxation and Financial Planning (University of New South Wales)
  • Master of Business Administration (Deakin University)
  • Bachelor of Commerce (University of Newcastle)
  • Chartered Accountant (Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CAANZ)) - since 1999
  • Fellow of Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) - since 2009
  • Fellow of The Tax Institute (TTI) - since 2020

 

Business School
School of Accounting, Auditing and Taxation

Dr Rodney Brown is an empirical archival researcher of issues at the intersection of taxation and financial accounting.  Rodney’s current research interests focus on corporate tax avoidance and the extent to which increased transparency of firms’ tax arrangements has real effects.

Rodney joined UNSW in July 2018 after spending 5 years in the UK completing a PhD in Accounting at the London School of Economics (LSE).  His PhD thesis primarily examined the impact of country-by-country tax reporting on the tax aggressiveness of European Union banks.

In addition to his current teaching at UNSW, Rodney has taught postgraduate and undergraduate courses at the LSE, Kings College London and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

Prior to academic life, Rodney gained extensive industry experience over 20 years working as a Chartered Accountant and financial planner in public practice (including PwC and EY), commercial organisations and management consulting.

Rodney retains strong industry links via his professional affiliations including Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) (Member since 1999), the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) (Fellow since 2009), and The Tax Institute (TTI) (Fellow since 2020).

Rodney has been awarded several competitive research grants from the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ) and CPA Australia and he has served on university- and industry-level committees including the UNSW Business School’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee (2019-2022) and Deputy Chair of The Tax Institute’s Education Quality Assurance Board (2020-2023).  

Rodney is passionate about research and teaching that bridges the divide between academic research and practice.

Rodney is a reviewer for leading academic journals including the Journal of Business Finance and Accounting (ABDC A*-ranked), Australian Tax Forum (ABDC A*-ranked), Australian Tax Review (ABDC A-ranked), eJournal of Tax Research (ABDC A-ranked), World Tax Journal (ABDC B-ranked), and Accounting Perspectives (ABDC B-ranked).
Phone
+61 2 9065 1709
E-mail
rodney.brown@unsw.edu.au
Location
Sydney, Australia
  • Journal articles | 2023
    Brown R; Sadiq K, 2023, 'A diagnostic tool for assessing the corporate income tax compliance burden: Pilot study findings', eJournal of Tax Research, 20, pp. 168 - 202, https://www.unsw.edu.au/content/dam/pdfs/business/acct-audit-tax/research-reports/ejournal-of-tax-research/2023-volume-20%2c-number-2/V20-No2-A-diagnostic-tool-P168.pdf
    Journal articles | 2023
    Brown R, 2023, 'An empirical study of the Australian Senate Inquiry into corporate tax avoidance', Australian Tax Forum: a journal of taxation policy, law and reform, 38, pp. 569 - 610
    Journal articles | 2022
    Brown R, 2022, 'A matter of trust? Corporate taxpayers' experience with the ATO's Justified Trust Program', Australian Tax Review, 51, pp. 258 - 277, https://anzlaw.thomsonreuters.com/Document/I22b8b1bb68a711ed82418c0d679ceb17/View/FullText.html?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&VR=3.0&RS=cblt1.0
    Journal articles | 2022
    Brown R, 2022, 'New frontiers in tax administration', Australian Tax Review, 51, pp. 207 - 209
    Journal articles | 2020
    Brown R; Lim Y; Evans C, 2020, 'The impact of full franking credit refundability on corporate tax avoidance', eJournal of Tax Research, 17, pp. 134 - 167, http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/eJlTaxR/2020/1.html
    Journal articles | 2020
    Brown R, 2020, 'The impact of increased tax transparency via public country-by-country reporting on corporate tax aggressiveness: evidence from the European Union', Australian Tax Forum: a journal of taxation policy, law and reform, 35, pp. 596 - 637
    Journal articles | 2020
    Brown R, 2020, 'Voluntary tax disclosures and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from Australia', Australian Tax Forum: a journal of taxation policy, law and reform, 35, pp. 391 - 429
    Journal articles | 2019
    Brown R; Jorgensen B; Pope P, 2019, '‘The interplay between mandatory country-by-country tax disclosures, geographic segment reporting, and tax havens: Evidence from the European Union’', Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 38, pp. 106 - 129, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2019.02.001
  • Conference Papers | 2024
    Brown R, 2024, 'Hindsight reveals insight: A retrospective investigation of large corporate taxpayer disclosures prior to a tax settlement with the Australian Taxation Office', Melbourne, Australia, presented at Australiasian Tax Teachers Association 2024, Melbourne, Australia, 18 January 2024 - 19 January 2024
    Conference Papers | 2023
    Brown R, 2023, 'Toward a new tax reality: An empirical examination of formulary apportionment', University of Cambridge UK, presented at Tax Research Network 2023, University of Cambridge UK, 05 September 2023 - 06 September 2023
    Conference Papers | 2022
    Brown R; Jorgensen B; Sadiq K, 2022, 'Toward a new tax reality: An empirical examination of formulary apportionment using public country-by-country reports', Charles University Prague, presented at EU Tax Observatory and CorpTax - Transparency and tax avoidance: Country-by-country reporting by multinational enterprises, Charles University Prague, 03 November 2022 - 04 November 2022
    Conference Papers | 2022
    Brown R; Sadiq K, 2022, 'A diagnostic tool for assessing the corporate income tax compliance burden: Pilot study findings', Doha, Qatar, presented at The 2nd Conference on Fiscal Policy and Economic Development: International Tax Reform and its Impact on GCC Countries, Doha, Qatar, 20 September 2022 - 21 September 2022
    Conference Papers | 2022
    Brown R, 2022, 'A matter of trust? Corporate taxpayers' experience with the ATO's Justified Trust Program', Online, presented at Australasian Tax Teachers Association 2022 conference, Online, 19 January 2022 - 20 January 2022
    Conference Papers | 2021
    Brown R, 2021, 'Increased public scrutiny to the rescue? A study of the responses to the Australian Senate Inquiry into corporate tax avoidance', Sydney, Australia, presented at 14th International Tax Administration Conference, Sydney, Australia, 23 November 2021 - 24 November 2021
    Conference Papers | 2020
    Brown R, 2020, 'Increased scrutiny to the rescue? A study of the behavioural responses of companies who appeared before the Australian Senate Inquiry into corporate tax avoidance', UNSW, presented at UNSW CLMR Research Symposium, UNSW, 30 November 2020 - 30 November 2020
    Conference Papers | 2019
    Brown R, 2019, 'Voluntary tax disclosures and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from Australia', UNSW, presented at UNSW CLMR Research Symposium, UNSW, 27 November 2019 - 27 November 2019
    Conference Papers | 2018
    Brown R; Jorgensen B; Pope P, 2018, 'The interplay between mandatory country-by-country tax disclosures, geographic segment reporting, and tax havens: Evidence from the European Union', London School of Economics, London, UK, presented at Journal of Accounting and Public Policy 2018 Conference, London School of Economics, London, UK, 07 June 2018
    Conference Papers | 2017
    Brown R, 2017, ''The impact of mandatory country-by-country tax disclosures on the tax aggressiveness of European Union banks'', in 'The impact of mandatory country-by-country tax disclosures on the tax aggressiveness of European Union banks', 2017 EAA Doctoral Colloquium, Valencia, Spain, presented at 2017 EAA Doctoral Colloquium, Valencia, Spain, 07 May 2017 - 09 May 2017
    Conference Papers | 2016
    Brown R; Lim Y; Evans C, 2016, '‘The impact of corporate tax avoidance on the cost of debt in a full dividend imputation system’', Gold Coast, Australia, presented at 2016 AFAANZ Conference, Gold Coast, Australia, 03 July 2016 - 06 July 2016
    Conference Papers | 2015
    Brown R; Evans C; Lim Y, 2015, 'The impact of corporate tax avoidance within a full dividend imputation system: Evidence from Australia', Said Business School, Oxford University, presented at Oxford Centre for Business Taxation Doctoral Colloquium, Said Business School, Oxford University, 29 September 2015 - 30 September 2015

  • 2023, CPA Australia Global Research Perspectives Program Grant for 'Superannuation taxation: Options for nest practice reform', (with Scott Donald and Kerrie Sadiq), ($33,681)
  • 2023, AFAANZ Research Grant for 'What can we learn about uncertain tax positions from IFRIC 23?', (with Youngdeok Lim), ($5,500)
  • 2021, UNSW CLMR Research Grant for ‘Superannuation fund reserves’, (with Scott Donald), ($8,000)
  • 2020, UNSW CLMR Research Grant for 'Increased public scrutiny and corporate tax avoidance: An in-depth study of the companies who appeared at the Australian Senate Inquiry into Corporate Tax Avoidance', ($4,200)
  • 2019, UNSW Business School Special Research Grant for ‘Voluntary tax disclosures and corporate tax avoidance: Evidence from Australia, ($10,000)
  • 2019, UNSW CLMR Research Grant for ‘Analysis of the ATO’s Justified Trust program’, (with Gordon Mackenzie), ($5,000)
  • 2014, CPA Australia Global Research Perspectives Program Grant for ‘The impact of corporate tax avoidance on the cost of debt in a full dividend imputation system’ (with Chris Evans and Youngdeok Lim), ($24,500)

  • AFAANZ ‘Best Paper Award’, Tax Stream, 2016 AFAANZ Conference (2016)
  • Graduate Teaching Assistant Award, LSE (2015)
  • Accru+ Award for Best Graduating Student in the Master of Taxation & Financial Planning, UNSW (2012)
  • LexisNexis Dux Award in ‘Applied Corporations Law’, Chartered Secretaries Australia Graduate Diploma in Company Secretarial Practice (2002)

  • Corporate tax avoidance
  • Country-by-country reporting
  • Tax transparency
  • Tax policy
  • Tax aware investment management
  • Accounting
  • Superannuation
  • Financial planning

Memberships – Professional Associations and Committees

  • Chartered Accountant (SMSF Specialist), Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand (CAANZ)
  • Fellow, Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA)
  • Fellow, The Tax Institute (TTI)
  • Deputy Chair, The Tax Institute’s Education Quality Assurance Board
  • Member, European Accounting Association (EAA)
  • Member, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand (AFAANZ)
  • Member, UNSW Centre for Law Markets and Regulation (CLMR)
  • Member, UNSW Business School Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee

My Research Supervision

PHD (with Professor Chris Evans): Tomo Kudrich, 2023- (in progress), UNSW, 'What impact, if any' could participatory budgeting have on tax compliance?'

PhD (with Professor John Taylor): Shaun Castor, 2020-2022 (incomplete), UNSW, 'Examining the interaction between domestic courts and the G20/OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (‘BEPS’) project'

My Teaching

Current Courses Taught