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Tim Neerup Them­sen

Associate Professor

Subjects
Public management Project management Financial management Budget Accounting Construction

Primary research areas

Pro­ject ac­count­ing and per­form­ance
I study how ac­count­ing prac­tices shape pro­jects and in­flu­ence what we call suc­cess. My work ex­plores how tools such as budgets and risk matrices both en­able and con­strain pro­ject per­form­ance in pub­lic and private or­gan­iz­a­tions.
Risk man­age­ment and per­form­ativ­ity
I ex­plore how risk man­age­ment frame­works and tech­no­lo­gies per­form the abil­ity to man­age risks — show­ing how visu­al and cal­cu­lat­ive tools can pro­duce a false sense of se­cur­ity for the real­iz­a­tion of the pro­ject’s ob­ject­ives.
Pub­lic sec­tor in­tern­al audit­ing and gov­ernance
I study how ac­count­ing, audit­ing, and con­trol prac­tices shape pub­lic gov­ernance. My re­search shows that we have moved from an “audit so­ci­ety” to an “in­nov­a­tion so­ci­ety” – re­de­fin­ing ac­count­ab­il­ity and the role of in­tern­al audit in gov­ern­ment, and chal­len­ging tra­di­tion­al ideas of con­trol, trans­par­ency, and pub­lic value.
Be­ha­vi­our­al con­sequences of man­age­ment ac­count­ing
I ex­am­ine how man­age­ment ac­count­ing af­fect hu­man be­ha­viour, respons­ibility, and col­lab­or­a­tion — and how eco­nom­ic tools shape every­day or­gan­iz­a­tion­al ac­tion.
Ac­count­ing, value, and so­ci­ety
I am in­ter­ested in how ac­count­ing defines value for money and the re­spons­ible use of scarce re­sources, and how ac­count­ing prac­tices can help cre­ate more sus­tain­able and trans­par­ent so­ci­et­ies

I change how we think about pro­ject ac­count­ing in so­ci­ety

Projects rarely deliver the results they promise. I study how project accounting shapes projects and influences what we call success. My research shows that commonly used project accounting tools – such as budgets and risk matrices – do more than support the management of projects; they can limit decisions, prevent necessary actions, and even challenge the value of a project’s outcome. 

By understanding how project accounting works in practice, we can improve the way projects are designed, governed, and evaluated — in both the public and private sectors. My work helps organizations and decision-makers make large investments more transparent, accountable, and economically sound. 

I am driven by a curiosity about how numbers, calculations, and reports come to matter for real people and organizations — and how they can support not only successful projects, but the responsible use of scarce resources in society. 

Publications

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29 January 2025

Forskere: Hverken regioner, entreprenører eller ministeriet skal have skylden for supersygehus-skandale. Det er budgetterne, den er gal med

Tim Ne­erup Them­sen, Associate Professor

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2025

The Contronymity of Project Accounting for Performing the Relevance of Project Outcomes

Tim Ne­erup Them­sen, Associate Professor

Kjell Tryg­ge­stad, Associate Professor

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2024

How a Project Design Becomes a Macro-actor

Laboratory Simulations in Trials of Strength Between Competing Bridge Designs, Project Budgets and Sustainability

Pe­ter Skær­bæk, Professor

Tim Ne­erup Them­sen, Associate Professor

Kjell Tryg­ge­stad, Associate Professor

Go to publication

Recent research projects

Per­form­ance man­age­ment in high­er edu­ca­tion

Ex­plores how the design and use of per­form­ance con­tracts between the Min­istry of High­er Edu­ca­tion and Sci­ence and Dan­ish uni­ver­sit­ies have evolved, shap­ing gov­ernance and per­form­ance man­age­ment.

Ac­count­ing for col­lab­or­a­tion costs

Ex­am­ines how cli­ents and con­tract­ors ac­count for the costs of co­ordin­a­tion, com­mu­nic­a­tion, and col­lab­or­a­tion — and how ac­count­ing prac­tices in­flu­ence pro­ject re­la­tions and man­age­ment de­cisions.

Outside activities

Cur­rently, I have no out­side em­ploy­ments or activ­it­ies , -