As we celebrate LSE's 125 anniversary, Alnoor Bhimani, Professor of Management Accounting and Director of the South Asia Centre, reflects on his time at LSE - back from when it all began in 1986.
Professor Alnoor Bhimani
How long have you worked at LSE and how did you come to work at the School?
I joined LSE as a doctoral student in 1986 and was appointed to a Lectureship two years later in the Department of Accounting and Finance (as it was then before splitting into two).
What areas have you worked in?
In terms of research, I initially had an interest in the rise of management control systems in French companies during the 17th to 20th centuries. I then became drawn to financial management and technology issues and debates around economic growth. More recently, I have been writing on accounting and digitalisation and how organisational finance functions are currently transforming.
After passing major review as a Lecturer, it became apparent I was not intending to leave LSE anytime soon so I was made Senior Lecturer and then Reader before being offered a Chair. For my sins, I became Head of the Accounting Department and later Founding Director of LSE Entrepreneurship. Recently, I’ve become Director of the South Asia Centre.
What’s the best part of your job/time at LSE?
Contributing to academic debates on social change and developing ways of addressing the globe’s challenges is a big draw for me. But without a doubt, it is also the people that I’ve met. Friendship, camaraderie, conversations and sometimes even intrigue have kept me here for over three decades!
Tell us about a book you can't put down
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup (by John Carreyrou (Knopf: 2018) is pretty good! This literary non-fiction describes how Elizabeth Holmes, a Stanford drop-out, founded a start-up that would develop a medical device whereby a few drops of blood from the finger would provide a full health diagnosis. Five years ago, her company was worth over $9 billion. Within months, after a reporter (John Carreyrou) started questioning former employees who ‘were let go’ and wrote a few probing articles on his findings, the "unicorn" that promised to revolutionize the medical industry was worth zero. The book deals with some accounting issues and personal flaws in aspects of business life: dishonesty, hubris, deceit, power hunger, mis-use of influence and cut-throat ambition. A riveting read!
What have been the biggest changes you’ve seen?
When I first visited LSE, I asked a porter on Houghton Street where the main entrance was. He pointed to a small door and said: "This is it!"I soon discovered the Paternoster lift which I rode multiple times in-between visits to the Three Tuns bar. It had to go of course. Since then, the recent redevelopment of the buildings at LSE is just about the biggest structural change I’ve seen.
I’ve also observed the different styles of leadership exhibited by eight directors starting with Dr I G Patel in 1988 who referred to me as "the banker from Vancouver"!
What’s your fondest memory of working at LSE?
On one occasion, a student said to me at the start of a 6pm class "You look tired Sir. Do you mind if I teach the class?" I agreed. He did a great job and we hired him as a class teacher. Another student, trying to replicate this, fainted in front of the class!
At a conference, after presenting a paper, a colleague said mine was the best. I replied "Thank you – I didn’t realise I was so good." He answered, "I didn’t say you were good!"
Recently I met a fellow student from my PhD days here who remarked "You haven’t changed at all." I thought it was a compliment until he said I always looked old!
What excites you about the future of LSE?
LSE has always been about thinking how to do things differently. This hasn’t changed though the new mantra is formulated around how our research can impact society. What we can do better is to become more anti-disciplinary and to be less drawn to boundaries we artificially create in our fields which distances us from finding solutions to real world problems.
What makes you feel part of LSE?
LSE is where new ideas are born and great friendships are created. In fact, I’ve never thought of it as a place where I come to work, but rather like part of a home extension which is impossible to stray from!