Dr Julia Smith started her academic career in the Centre for Research into Industry, Enterprise, Finance and the Firm (CRIEFF), Department of Economics, University of St Andrews, in 1993, as a Research Assistant, Associate then Fellow. She worked on a number of research projects under the guidance of the Director of CRIEFF, Professor Gavin C Reid. She then went on to a Postdoctoral Research appointment with Professor James Foreman-Peck, at the Institute of Economics and Statistics, University of Oxford, where she was also a member of St Antony's College. From there, Dr Smith moved to Cardiff Business School, University of Wales Cardiff, where she was a Lecturer then Senior Lecturer in the Accounting & Finance Division. She has been a Reader in Accounting & Finance at the University of Strathclyde since 2006.

Dr Smith's research interests are in the area of management accounting, venture capital, and small business. She has worked on interdisciplinary projects with academics in accounting, finance and economics. Her current research covers work on management accounting in SMEs, venture capital decisions in high-technology investments, and entrepreneurial orientation in social enterprises. She recently had a project funded by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland to investigate a stated-preference approach to financial reporting, along with co-workers Professor Gavin C Reid and Dr Yu-lin Hsu.

Dr Smith is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (FCMA), A Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) and a member of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, manufactures and commerce (FRSA), and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her teaching interests are in management accounting, financial management, and accounting & financial management for smaller enterprises. She is Director of Research for Accounting & Finance at Strathclyde, and sits on the Faculty and University Research Committees.

Dr Smith's teaching interests are in: management accounting, financial management, and accounting & financial management for smaller enterprises. She is currently Director of Honours Accounting and Director of PhD applications in Accounting at Strathclyde.