Rate My Professor Kathy Rao

Dr Kathy Rao is a Senior Lecturer in Accounting in the School of Accounting and Finance within the College of Business and Law at Adelaide University. She holds a PhD in Corporate Social Responsibility from Flinders University, with her doctoral research focusing on gender diversity in Australian listed companies' boards. Prior to her current role, she served as a Senior Lecturer in Accounting at UniSA Business, joining in February 2016. Rao is a full member of CPA Australia and eligible to supervise Masters and PhD students. She teaches courses such as Management Accounting Concepts and Techniques (ACCT 5003), Cost Management and Control Systems (ACCT 2006), Accounting for Management (ACCT 5011), and Management Accounting (ACCT 5016). Currently, she supervises three Higher Degree by Research students on topics including accounting for modern slavery in Kenya and Ghana, workplace gender equality, women entrepreneurs in regional Australia, and sustainable intrapreneurs in India.

Rao's research specializations encompass corporate social responsibility (CSR) and management governance, power imbalances, gender diversity on boards, modern slavery disclosures, and pathways for social and economic outcomes in regional Australia. Her work has garnered more than 3,000 citations on Google Scholar. Key publications include 'Quality of voluntary modern slavery disclosures: top Australian listed companies' (Rao, K. K., Burritt, R. L., & Christ, K., Pacific Accounting Review, 2022); 'Accounting for modern slavery: an analysis of Australian listed company disclosures' (Christ, K. L., Rao, K. K., & Burritt, R. L., Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 2019); 'Board diversity and CSR reporting: an Australian study' (Rao, K., & Tilt, C., Meditari Accountancy Research, 2016); 'Board composition and corporate social responsibility: the role of diversity, gender, strategy and decision making' (Rao, K., & Tilt, C., Journal of Business Ethics, 2016); and 'The dynamic capabilities approach and regional business resilience: an Australian case study' (Rao, K. K., Mackenzie, C., & Subedi, S., Regional Studies, Regional Science, 2024). She received the 2016 Highly Commended Paper Award in the Emerald Literati Awards. Rao has secured grants such as the AFAANZ Research Grant (2022-2025) for gender-related disclosures in modern slavery statements and a Regional Australia Institute grant (2020) for business disaster recovery pathways. Her research on barriers to women on boards has received significant media coverage, including social media, radio, and television interviews.