The 20th New Zealand Management Accounting Conference 2026 is a three-day association conference (23-25 Nov) hosted by Waikato Management School on the University of Waikato Hamilton campus, themed 'Transforming Management Accounting' and combined with the World Conference on Management Accounting Research, with plenary speakers from CA ANZ, CPA Australia and the XRB.
The 20th New Zealand Management Accounting Conference runs from Monday 23 to Wednesday 25 November 2026 at the Waikato Management School on the University of Waikato's Hamilton campus. The 2026 edition carries the theme "Pānōnitia Te Ao Kaute Kia Eke - Transforming Management Accounting" and is combined with Advances in Management Accounting, the World Conference on Management Accounting Research, drawing academics, industry professionals, policymakers and research students from New Zealand and abroad.
The programme opens with a Doctoral Colloquium on Monday 23 November, followed by the main conference across Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 November.
The conference is hosted by the Waikato Management School, with co-convenors Umesh Sharma, Chris Akroyd and Mary Low leading an organising committee drawn from the school's accounting staff. Enquiries are handled by Associate Professor Umesh Sharma.
The 2026 plenary line-up links the academic programme directly to New Zealand's professional accounting bodies. Industry plenaries feature Charlotte Evett, General Manager NZ Regions at Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand; Sheree Ryan, an XRB Board member and Deputy Chair of the NZ Accounting Standards Board; Amy Wharakura-Taewa, CFO at Waikato-Tainui; and Rebecca Kennedy of CPA Australia. The academic plenary is delivered by Professor Sumit Lodhia of Adelaide University.
The conference is aimed at accounting academics, industry professionals, policymakers and research students. Reaching its 20th edition marks a long-running series within New Zealand's management accounting research community.
A Doctoral Colloquium is included for the second time, giving 12 PhD candidates at different research stages the floor for 15-minute presentations followed by structured feedback from mentors and academics from New Zealand and Australia. Topics span ESG greenwashing, climate-related disclosures and carbon accounting, and AI in accounting education.
The main conference is held at the MSB.0.01 Foyer within the Waikato Management School, with Doctoral Colloquium streams running in MSB.0.01 and MSB.1.20. The conference dinner takes place on Tuesday 24 November at the Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts, also on the Hamilton campus.
For delegate movement and accommodation, the University's College Hall offers on-campus rooms off Gate 4, Hillcrest Road, bookable during registration. Partner rates are available at the Novotel Hamilton Tainui and Ibis Tainui Hamilton, and at the Aspen Manor Motel. The organisers note that hotels, motor lodges and B&Bs sit 15 to 30 minutes from campus across central Hamilton, Tamahere and Cambridge.
A 20th-edition academic conference anchored to a Hamilton campus, combined with a world conference and backed by both CA ANZ and CPA Australia speakers, brings a multi-day research and professional audience into the Waikato region. Its mix of a doctoral colloquium, main sessions and an on-campus gala dinner is a representative example of the university-hosted association conference segment that underpins regional business-events activity outside the main centres.
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