Dr Richard Bruce
PhD, MBA, FRSA, FCILT, MIAgrM
Management School
Lecturer in Supply Chain Accounting and Finance
Programme Lead for International Business Management with Study Abroad
Internationalisation Lead
Student Exchange Lead
Co-Lead Resilient Net Zero Agri-Food Supply Chains Cluster


+44 114 222 2723
Full contact details
Management School
B036
Sheffield University Management School
Conduit Road
Sheffield
S10 1FL
- Profile
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I have been a member of the Management School academic staff since January 2012 following a career that included a spell as a fast-track Civil Servant (Department of the Environment), an academic and technology transfer specialist at Harper Adams University, and 16 years as a Global Agri-food Supply Chains consultant.
A key publication in Nature (Plants) in 2017 ‘Environmental impact of fertiliser’ led to two major commercial research contacts for a Belgian food company.
An article in ‘The Conversation’ in April 2021 about the collapse of Greensill Capital led to being invited to give evidence the Treasury Select Committee’s initial session on that case, and subsequent research involving ICAEW and a major global bank.
As Co-Lead of the Resilient Net Zero Agri-Food Supply Chains cluster in the Institute for Sustainable Foods, with Julie Gray in Biosciences, I work with industry, professional and academic colleagues to try to find practical solutions for this very topical subject.
- Qualifications
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- PhD - University of Sheffield
- MBA - University of Sheffield
- Research interests
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- Agri-food supply chains
- Supply Chain Finance
- Intangible assets
- Inter-organisational relationships
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Vanishing value chains, industrial districts and HRM in the Brazilian automotive industry. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(2), 254-271. View this article in WRRO
- Food chain inefficiency (FCI) : accounting conversion efficiencies across entire food supply chains to re-define food loss and waste. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 3. View this article in WRRO
- An agenda for integrated system-wide interdisciplinary agri-food research. Food Security, 9(2), 195-210. View this article in WRRO
- The environmental impact of fertilizer embodied in a wheat-to-bread supply chain. Nature Plants, 3. View this article in WRRO
- Vanishing value chains, industrial districts and HRM in the Brazilian automotive industry. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(2), 254-271. View this article in WRRO
- Grants
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- 2 Commercial research grants from a Belgian food company
- KE Award to investigate the application of accounting tools in cacao production in Vietnam
- KE award to investigate sustainability related materiality reporting by a UK Housebuilder
- Teaching interests
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My PG module 'Supply Chain Accounting & Finance' includes assessed Group Presentations with leading experts joining the teaching team at a professional firm's offices to assess the presentations, which has led some students to say that this module was the most demanding and the most rewarding one they'd studied. Several students have completed projects with companies with whom I was working, which in several cases, led to employment offers. The 3-hour teaching sessions have a mix of different elements including opportunities for discussion. I also aim to have at least one key industry player as a visiting speaker.
As the Programme Lead for the International Business Management course I also act as the Academic Tutor for all students on the programme, roles that include periodic socials and weekly meetings, really important in the first year to help students settle in and focus on the key tasks they have to complete to be able to study abroad in the 2nd year.
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Peer reviewer for the Journal of Cleaner Production
- Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
- Member of the Institute of Agricultural Management
- PhD Supervision
I am interested in supervising in the following areas:
- Supply Chain Accounting
- Supply Chain Finance
- Agri-food sector
- Open Booking Accounting
- The application of new technology
Are you interested in applying for a PhD?
I have previously supervised:
Name Thesis title Year of completion Furqan Asad Suhail Translation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Selected case studies of Pakistani companies 2025