{{Short description|British accounting academic (born 1951)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox scientist | honorific_prefix = The Right Honourable | name = The Lord Sikka | image = Official portrait of Lord Sikka crop 2.jpg | image_size = | alt = Portrait of Prem Sikka | caption = Official portrait, 2022 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|8|1|df=y}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | residence = | citizenship = | nationality = | fields = Accounting | workplaces = {{plainlist| * University of East London (1979–1996) * University of Essex (1996–present) * University of Sheffield (2017–present)}} | alma_mater = {{plainlist| *University of Sheffield *London School of Economics *Open University}} | doctoral_advisor = | academic_advisors = | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | known_for = {{plainlist| * Critical accounting research * Auditing research}} | author_abbrev_bot = | author_abbrev_zoo = | influences = | influenced = | awards = | signature = <!--(filename only)--> | signature_alt = | footnotes = | party = Labour Party | spouse = | module = {{Infobox officeholder | embed = yes | office1 = Member of the House of Lords | status1 = Lord Temporal | term_label1 = Life peerage | term_start1 = 10 September 2020 | term_end1 = }} }} '''Prem Nath Sikka, Baron Sikka''' (born 1 August 1951)<ref>{{cite web |title=Prem Sikka |url=https://api.parliament.uk/query/resource?uri=https://id.parliament.uk/PX7UerbC |website=api.parliament.uk |access-date=29 June 2022}}</ref> is a British-Indian accountant and academic. He holds the position of Professor of Accounting at the University of Sheffield, and is Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Essex.
== Life and career == Sikka migrated to the UK from India with his family in 1966, and left school two years later with five passes at CSE.<ref name=lff>{{cite web |url=https://leftfootforward.org/2020/10/interview-prem-sikka-on-joining-the-house-of-lords-as-a-socialist-academic/ |title=INTERVIEW: Prem Sikka on joining the House of Lords as a socialist academic |last=Mortimer |first=Josiah |date=13 October 2020 |website=Left Foot Forward |access-date=23 October 2020}}</ref><ref name=cv>{{cite web |url=http://www1.essex.ac.uk/ebs/documents/PremsikkaCV.pdf |title=Curriculum Vitae |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=University of Essex |access-date=23 October 2020}}</ref> He has said of his parents that they "were working-class people – and work killed them in the end": his mother died at the age of 53 and his father, a Labour Party activist, died at 59. He then became an accounts clerk with an insurance broker in London. He pursued his education via part-time study, gaining O-levels and A-levels before qualifying as a Chartered Certified Accountant from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in 1977.<ref name=cv />
Sikka worked in corporate accountancy during the 1970s, before joining North East London Polytechnic as a lecturer in 1979, where he progressed to become a Senior Lecturer the following year, a Principal Lecturer in 1986, a Reader in 1993, and a professor in 1995, before leaving the institution (now the University of East London) in 1996.<ref name=cv /> In 1982, he earned a master's degree in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics. In 1991, he earned a PhD in accounting from the University of Sheffield. In 1995 he earned a bachelor's degree in Social Sciences from the Open University.<ref name="theconversation.com">{{cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/profiles/prem-sikka-4302|title=Prem Sikka|author=|date=|website=The Conversation|access-date=23 February 2018}}</ref> In 1996, Sikka joined the faculty of the University of Essex, where he now holds the position of Emeritus Professor. In 2017, he joined the University of Sheffield as Professor of Accounting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/profile/premsikka|title=Prem Sikka|author=|date=|website=The Guardian|access-date=23 February 2018}}</ref><ref name="researchgate.net">{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Prem_Sikka|title=Prem Sikka – BA MSc PhD – University of Essex, Colchester – ResearchGate|author=|date=|website=ResearchGate|access-date=23 February 2018}}</ref>
Sikka is a co-founder of the Tax Justice Network, and has served as a Senior Adviser to it since its establishment in 2002.<ref name=cv /> Through this he became involved in politics, briefing the Socialist Campaign Group before becoming involved in policy development for Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell during their time as Labour Party leader and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer respectively, working on issues related to tax, corporate governance and executive pay.<ref name=lff />
He describes his hobbies as "travel, movies, table tennis, badminton, music, Bollywood (1960s and 1970s), supporting West Ham, afflicting the comfortable and tormenting dinosaurs".<ref name=cv />
Sikka has called for banning MPs from having second jobs, referring to them as "institutionalised bribery".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://leftfootforward.org/2025/01/mps-second-jobs-are-institutionalised-bribery-they-should-be-banned/|title=MPs' second jobs are institutionalised bribery. They should be banned.|first=Prem|last=Sikka|date=10 January 2025|website=Left Foot Forward}}</ref>
== Criticism of the accounting profession == Sikka is an outspoken critic of the accounting profession, particularly with regard to its roles in auditing public corporations and helping transnational corporations avoid taxes. He has written about auditing failures, corporate governance issues, money laundering, insolvency and tax avoidance for ''The Guardian'' since 1990. He has also written for ''The Independent'' and ''HuffPost''.
Sikka's research has been described as being about the "dark side of capitalism".<ref name="researchgate.net"/> In May 2017 Sikka featured in the documentary ''The Spider's Web: Britain's Second Empire'' on the UK's relationships with tax havens.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np_ylvc8Zj8 ''The Spider's Web: Britain's Second Empire''] (video link to the documentary, published by Queuepolitely on 14 September 2018)</ref>
Sikka's active use of the media as an academic to criticise the accounting profession has itself been the subject of academic research.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lawrence |first1=S. |last2=Low |first2=M. |last3=Sharma |first3=U. |title=Prem Sikka and the media: using the media to hold accountants to account |journal=Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management |date=2010 |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=249–269 |doi=10.1108/11766091011072747}}</ref>
==House of Lords== He was nominated for a life peerage in the 2020 Political Honours and created '''''Baron Sikka''', of Kingswood in Basildon in the County of Essex'' on 10 September 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3631477 |publisher=The London Gazette |access-date=15 September 2020 |title=Crown Office}}</ref>
==Selected publications== Sikka's academic research has examined problems in auditing, tax avoidance, corporate social responsibility, and corporate governance. According to Google Scholar, the following academic publications by Sikka have been cited over 100 times as of January 2019: * Sikka, P. (2009) [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036136820900018X Financial crisis and the silence of the auditors]. ''Accounting, Organizations and Society'', 34 (6-7), 868–873. * Sikka, P., & Willmott, H. (1995). [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Prem_Sikka/publication/222499163_The_Power_of_Independence_Defending_and_Extending_the_Jurisdiction_of_Accounting_in_the_United_Kingdom/links/59df36b045851593bea631ef/The-Power-of-Independence-Defending-and-Extending-the-Jurisdiction-of-Accounting-in-the-United-Kingdom.pdf The power of independence: defending and extending the jurisdiction of accounting in the UK]. ''Accounting, Organizations and Society'', 20(6), 547–581. * Sikka, P., Puxty, A., Willmott, H., & Cooper, C. (1998). [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235497901593 The impossibility of eliminating the expectations gap: some theory and evidence]. ''Critical Perspectives on Accounting'', 9(3), 299–330. * Sikka, P., & Willmott, H. (2010). [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235410000481 The dark side of transfer pricing: Its role in tax avoidance and wealth retentiveness]. ''Critical Perspectives on Accounting'', 21(4), 342–356. * Arnold, P. J., & Sikka, P. (2001). [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361368201000095 Globalization and the state–profession relationship: the case the Bank of Credit and Commerce International]. ''Accounting, Organizations and Society'', 26(6), 475–499. * Sikka, P. (2010, September). [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0155998210000244 Smoke and mirrors: Corporate social responsibility and tax avoidance]. ''Accounting Forum'', 34(3-4), 153–168. * Sikka, P., Willmott, H., & Lowe, T. (1989). [https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/09513578910132286 Guardians of Knowledge and Public Interest: Evidence and Issues of Accountability in the UK Accountancy Profession]. ''Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal'', 2(2). * Hammond, T., & Sikka, P. (1996). [https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdf/10.1108/09513579610122018 Radicalizing accounting history: the potential of oral history]. ''Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal'', 9(3), 79–97. * Sikka, P. (2008). [https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdf/10.1108/09513570810854437 Enterprise culture and accountancy firms: new masters of the universe]. ''Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal'', 21(2), 268–295. * Mitchell, A., Puxty, T., Sikka, P., & Willmott, H. (1994). [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00877153 Ethical statements as smokescreens for sectional interests: The case of the UK accountancy profession]. ''Journal of Business Ethics'', 13(1), 39–51. * Mitchell, A., Sikka, P., & Willmott, H. (1998). [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0361368298000105 Sweeping it under the carpet: The role of accountancy firms in moneylaundering]. ''Accounting, Organizations and Society'', 23(5-6), 589–607. * Sikka, P., & Willmott, H. (1995). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222450469_Illuminating_the_State-Profession_Relationship_Accountants_Acting_as_Department_of_Trade_and_Industry_Investigators Illuminating the state-profession relationship: accountants acting as department of trade and industry investigators]. ''Critical Perspectives on Accounting'', 6(4), 341–369. * Mitchell, A., & Sikka, P. (1993). [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235483710026 Accounting for change: The institutions of accountancy]. ''Critical Perspectives on Accounting'', 4(1), 29–52. * Sikka, P., Willmott, H., & Puxty, T. (1995). [https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdf/10.1108/09513579510094723 The mountains are still there: Accounting academics and the bearings of intellectuals]. ''Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal'', 8(3), 113–140. * Sikka, P., & Hampton, M. P. (2005). [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0155998205000293 The role of accountancy firms in tax avoidance: Some evidence and issues]. ''Accounting Forum'', 29(3), 325–343.
==References== {{Reflist}} {{s-start}} {{s-prec|uk}} {{s-bef|before=The Lord Botham}} {{s-ttl|title=Gentlemen'''<br />''Baron Sikka'' '''}} {{s-fol|after=The Lord Sedwill}} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sikka, Prem Sikka, Baron}} Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the University of Sheffield Category:Academics of the University of Sheffield Category:Alumni of the Open University Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics Category:Academics of the University of Essex Category:British accountants Category:Labour Party (UK) life peers Category:1951 births Category:Indian emigrants to the United Kingdom Category:Academics of the University of East London Category:Life peers created by Elizabeth II Category:Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom