Dr Saba Ishaq is a Lecturer in Accounting and Finance at Wrexham University. Her research examines how accounting and finance work for firms and entrepreneurs who are underserved by mainstream finance, with a focus on access to Islamic finance, gendered entrepreneurship, and the accountability, reporting and sustainability practices of small and medium-sized enterprises. She teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate accounting and finance programmes and supervises student dissertations.
She holds a PhD in Accounting from Aston University and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Before joining Wrexham, she was an Assistant Lecturer at Coventry University.
Research Interests
My research examines how accounting and finance work for firms and entrepreneurs underserved by mainstream finance. I focus on access to Islamic finance, gendered entrepreneurship, and the accountability, financial reporting and sustainability practices of SMEs. My work draws on strong structuration theory and critical perspectives, combining accounting with sociology and gender studies to examine the everyday financial and organisational practices of firms.
Research Projects
| Title | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Strengthening Inclusive and Place-Based Research Culture Networks in North Wales | Co-Investigator | Funded by the Learned Society of Wales through its 2026 Research Culture Networks scheme. As Co-Investigator I contribute to building a cross-sector network connecting researchers in North Wales with local councils, third sector organisations and private sector partners, focused on how research is conducted, supported and valued across different settings. |
| Breaking Gendered Boundaries: Women’s Entrepreneurship in Business Ventures Culturally Reserved for Men | Principal Investigator | Funded through Wrexham University's Race Equity and Inclusion scheme, which supports research by staff from racially minoritised backgrounds. As Principal Investigator I used this award to produce research on women's entrepreneurship in business sectors culturally reserved for men, examining through Strong Structuration Theory how women negotiate and reshape gendered expectations in everyday business practice. |
| The Entropy of Capital: Combining Systems Engineering and Accounting to Solve the Cost Allocation Problem (Under Review) | Co-Investigator | A six-month ESRC-funded scoping project testing an exploratory, cross-disciplinary approach to the cost allocation problem in management accounting. The project asks whether principles from systems engineering and thermodynamics can produce an objective, bias-free method for distributing shared overhead costs, moving beyond the subjective estimates that conventional models such as Activity-Based Costing rely on. As Co-Investigator I contribute accounting expertise to an interdisciplinary team across Wrexham University and Nottingham Business School. |
Collaborators
| Name | Role | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Umair Riaz | Collaborator | The Open University |
| Dr Ben Binsardi | Collaborator | Wrexham University |
| Eranda Abeysinghe | Collaborator | Wrexham University |
| Dr Melina Manochin | Collaborator | Birmingham University |
| Dr Sahar E- Vahdati | Collaborator | Coventry University |
Publications
| Year | Publication | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Reimagining SME finance: a social structuration approach to Islamic banking., Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management. [DOI] | Other Journal |
| 2026 | From ‘bare life’ to embodied organization: forced migrants as somatic entrepreneurs (Under Review), Organization Studies. | Peer Reviewed Journal |
| 2026 | When global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) go local: sustainability in the everyday practices of Pakistani SMEs (Under Review), Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society. | Other Publication |
| 2026 | Negotiating Accountability: Epistemic Authority and Adaptive Resistance in SME–Consultant Relationships in Pakistan (Under Review), ACCOUNTING AUDITING & ACCOUNTABILITY JOURNAL. | Peer Reviewed Journal |
| 2026 | Accounting in the margins: a structuration-based analysis of resistance and routinised practices in SMEs (Under Review), Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation. | Peer Reviewed Journal |
| 2026 | Breaking gendered boundaries: women's entrepreneurship in business ventures culturally reserved for men (Under Review), International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship . | Other Publication |
| 2026 | Claiming Equality and Reproducing Inequality: Women Entrepreneurs’ Encounters with Islamic Finance (Under Review), International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research. | Peer Reviewed Journal |
| 2022 | Accounting and financial reporting practices of SMEs in Pakistan and resistance to reforms: a strong structuration analysis, British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA) Annual Conference. | Conference Contribution |
| 2022 | Small and Medium Enterprises' (SMEs') access to Islamic banking finance in Pakistan: a study of interactions, Academy of Sustainable Finance, Accounting, Accountability and Governance (ASFAAG) Annual Conference. | Conference Contribution |
Honors and Awards
| Date | Title | Awarding Body |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Best PhD Paper Finalist | Academy of Sustainable Finance, Accounting, Accountability and Governance (ASFAAG) |
| 2024 | Runner-up, Lecturer of the Year | Coventry University |
| 2019 | Dean’s Scholarship | Aston University |
Professional Associations
| Association | Function |
|---|---|
| Advance HE | Fellow |
Employment
| Employer | Position | From/To |
|---|---|---|
| Coventry University | Assistant Lecturer | 2023 - 2025 |
| Wrexham University | Lecturer | 2025 - |
Education
| Institution | Qualification | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Aston University | PhD (Accounting) | Accounting |
| Coventry University | PGCert Academic Practice in Higher Education (Distinction) | Academic Practice in Higher Education |
| Glasgow Caledonian University | MSc Accounting and Finance (Distinction) | Accounting and Finance |
| Aston University | PGCert Social Science Research (Distinction) | Social Science Research |
Journal Reviewer or Editor
| Journal Name | Activity |
|---|---|
| Qualitative Research in Financial Markets | Peer Reviewer |
| British Accounting Review | Peer Reviewer |
Teaching Interests
My teaching spans accounting, finance, corporate governance, business ethics, sustainability and research methods, across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. I currently coordinate and teach modules including Business Analytics, International Business and Trade, Financial Reporting and Analysis, International Financial Markets and Banking, and Corporate Finance and Financial Management. Alongside this, I supervise student projects and dissertations in accounting, finance and investment.
Programs/ Modules Coordinated
| Title | Subject |
|---|---|
| Business Analytics | BUS495 |
| International Business and Trade | BUS5A11 |
| Financial Reporting and Analysis | BUS694 |
| Fundamentals of Business and Finance | BUS397 |
| International Financial Markets and Banking | BUS7D2 |
| Corporate Finance and Financial Management | BUS7D1 |