Svend Peter Malmkjær
Part-time Lecturer
Management accounting, performance management and financial decision-making – connecting theory and practice
How can financial analysis lead to better decisions? How can organisations design management control systems that support both strategy and day-to-day practice? And how can an interesting business problem become a rigorous master’s thesis?
I am a part-time lecturer in the Department of Operations Management at CBS, combining teaching and supervision with practical business experience. Through my work on various boards, I have gained experience in business leadership. This gives me insight into the decisions, priorities and uncertainties behind financial statements, strategies and analyses. My focus is on helping students connect theory, research methods and empirical evidence with the challenges businesses face.
My academic interests include management accounting, performance management, strategy and financial decision-making. I am interested in how organisations create value, measure performance and use management information, and in how control systems and incentives influence behaviour, collaboration and development. I also explore the potential of AI and machine learning in financial analysis, and the integration of sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into management control and decision-making.
My supervision experience ranges from cost management and strategic analysis to business valuation and the use of machine learning to assess corporate default risk. I place emphasis on theses that are academically rigorous and clear about their implications for practice.
Students, colleagues and businesses are welcome to contact me about thesis ideas, academic discussion and collaboration. Please include a brief description of your topic, degree programme and initial thoughts on data or a company case.
Would you like to know more about my background and experience? You are welcome to visit my LinkedIn profile.
Planning your master’s thesis
You are welcome to contact me with an idea in these areas. Possible research questions include:
- How can management accounting and performance management support business strategy?
- How can an organisation design a performance management system that best supports its strategy, organisational structure and needs?
- How do changes in a business affect its value and financial performance?
- How can AI and machine learning contribute to analysis, risk assessment and decision-making?
- How can organisations understand and improve their costs, processes and use of resources?
- How can organisations integrate sustainability and ESG into strategy, management accounting and investment decisions?
- How can financial models and stock market data be used to analyse investments, financing, capital structure and equity valuation, including the relationship between risk and return?
In supervision, I emphasise a clear research question, a manageable scope and alignment between the question, theory, methods and analysis. I will challenge your assumptions and support you in making independent, well-founded choices. This applies equally to company-based case studies and quantitative analyses using financial models and larger datasets. You do not need a fully developed project when you first contact me; a relevant question and some initial ideas are a good starting point.
Teaching, examining and serving as an external examiner form a substantial part of my academic work. These activities give me broad insight into the challenges students face when developing and presenting independent academic work. I value clear argumentation, critical reflection and an understanding of the assumptions and limitations of an analysis.
I have complemented my background with professional development in higher education teaching at Harvard University and in machine learning at MIT Sloan and the London School of Economics. In 2023, I received recognition for my teaching on the Graduate Diploma (HD) programme at CBS.
Find inspiration for your thesis: Explore theses I have supervised that received a grade of 10 or 12 on the Danish seven-point grading scale via CBS Library.
Primary employment
I have no outside employment