Time: 13:00-15:00 (UK Time), Wednesday, 25 May 2022
Presenter: Dr. Tolulola Lawal, SOAS University of London, UK
Chair: Prof. Victor Murinde, SOAS University of London
Online venue: Click here to join the seminar on Microsoft Teams (For any inquiry about how to join the online seminar, please contact Dr. Athina Petropoulou: ap102@soas.ac.uk)

Abstract

The paper is positioned within the literature that focuses on the importance of language in letters to shareholders. Using a mixed-method approach that relies on conceptual metaphor theory, corpus linguistics, and discourse analysis, the study investigates the use and function of metaphors in a self-constructed corpus of 91 UK banks chairman’s letters for 2004-2020, a period covering a state of relative stability (2004-2006), financial crisis and scandals (2007-2019), and the coronavirus pandemic (2020). The preliminary findings from this study indicate that bank chairmen draw from master metaphors such as journey, building, and war in their communications with shareholders. Additionally, the choice and use of metaphors seem to be influenced by the social-economic environment supporting the hypothesis of the rhetorical use of metaphors. The study has implications for our understanding of “corporate-speak” in various macroeconomic-cum-corporate contexts.

Presenter

Dr. Tolulola Lawal

Dr Tolulola Lawal is a Lecturer in Accounting at the School of Finance and Management, SOAS University of London. Prior to joining SOAS, he lectured at the Department of Business Administration, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria. Tolulola holds an MBA in Accounting and Finance from Olabisi Onabanjo University and an MSc in this same field from the University of Birmingham. He completed his PhD in Management Research with a particular interest in accounting and finance at Imperial College London, graduating with the Director’s Award for the Best Thesis. His research areas are capital market implications of accounting information, corporate finance, corporate governance, and corporate narratives. Among his current research projects, Tolulola is looking at determinants and consequences of COVID-19 flash reporting for Japanese firms. Tolulola, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, is also currently investigating language and tropes in corporate narratives. He has published in top journals in accounting and finance, such as the International Journal of Banking Finance and Accounting.