Professor Gerald Vinten

Citation

Burrowes, A. (2008), "Professor Gerald Vinten", Managerial Auditing Journal, Vol. 23 No. 9. https://doi.org/10.1108/maj.2008.05123iaa.001

Professor Gerald Vinten

Article Type: Obituary From: Managerial Auditing Journal, Volume 23, Issue 9

Professor Gerald Vinten: scholar, poet, philosopher and ethicist, devoted to the pursuit of optimal accountability in business and government. He was a friend to many. A thinker and a humorous man.

Gerald earned postgraduate qualifications from the Universities of Leeds, Oxford, City, Glamorgan and the Open University. His doctoral thesis was on business ethics, corporate governance and internal audit.

Gerald’s personal library was exhaustive, particularly on corporate governance topics including accountability and whistleblowing.

He served the Royal Society of Health as Chairman and Council Member as well as being a former President of the Institute of Internal Auditors. He served on the council of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, and was the first chair of the new London region of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). He served the main council of the RSA for five years and chaired the history, records and collections panel, and was the link person for the “Tomorrow’s company” corporate governance initiative.

His career included appointments at the Cass Business School, University of Bedfordshire (as a Whitbread Professor of Business Policy and Faculty Director of Research), Southampton Business School (as a Professor of Management and Deputy Dean), the Open University and the European Business School.

He was the founding editor of Managerial Auditing Journal (MAJ) and during his career published circa 300 articles, as well as books on whistleblowing and internal auditing. Gerald often picked up the pen and articulated himself with poetic licence on his close to heart topics of ethics and corporate governance.

A man for all seasons, Gerald played the recorder, clarinet and piano. His musical interests focused on classical music, particularly Brahms and Elgar, and Jazz. He had a passion for the soundtrack from 42nd Street. As an arts graduate he had wide and varied interests, including the interplay of religions and business. He was a long-time member and trustee of the (South Place) Ethics Society.

When I was a newcomer to the UK 15 years ago Gerald took the time to show me Kew Gardens and on many subsequent occasions welcomed me to his city home in the Barbican. Recently, I read an article in MAJ coauthored with two scholars from Macau. This epitomized for me Gerald’s encouragement and mentoring that so many of us experienced.

Gerald is survived by his wife Ock Carter.

Gerald Vinten: born 8 February 1948, Rochester, Kent, died St Joseph’s Hospice, Hackney, 22 June 2008.

Adieu, my friend.

On behalf of the MAJ editorial team.

Ashley BurrowesProfessor of Accounting, Woodbury University, Burbank, California, USA