At Simon Business School, accounting is not viewed as a separate academic discipline, but rather as an integral part of applied economics. By studying accounting and accounting phenomena from the perspective of an applied financial economist, an accounting researcher can provide evidence that potentially affects such diverse areas as the theory of the firm, corporate finance, the economics of regulation, capital markets and capital market efficiency.
Heidi Tribunella and Thomas Tribunella
From Quickbooks to Xero, small-business owners looking for mobile accounting apps face a head-spinning array of options—a situation rich with opportunity for small-practice CPAs. Heidi Tribunella, clinical associate professor of accounting, and her husband, Thomas Tribunella, professor of accounting at SUNY Oswego, wrote “Twenty Questions on the Sharing Economy and Mobile Accounting Apps,” for The CPA Journal, published by the New York State Society of CPAs. In it, they urge CPAs who advise small businesses to become experts on accounting apps. Read more about Twenty Questions on the Sharing Economy and Mobile Accounting Apps.
Jaewoo Kim, Charles E. Wasley, Joanna Shuang Wu
In recent years, a growing number of public firms have voluntarily adopted mark-to-market pension accounting, which requires companies to report gains or losses associated with their defined benefit pension plans in their income statements. It is a counterintuitive move; experts expect an increase in earnings volatility because of the unpredictable effect of future uncontrollable market factors on a firm’s pension expense. Read more about Economic Determinants of the Decision to Voluntarily Adopt Mark-to-Market Accounting for Pension Gains and Losses.
Sudarshan Jayaraman
New research by Simon professor Sudarshan Jayaraman and S.P. Kothari of Massachusetts Institute of Technology explores the impact of greater cross-border financing on domestic banks and their relationship with manufacturers. Economists have long understood the banking sector’s impact on manufacturing firms. Read more about Industry and Banking.
Bryce Schonberger, K. R. Subramanyam, and Hyun Hong
Do option prices anticipate predictable patterns in future stock returns? A new paper by Simon professor Bryce Schonberger and two co-authors suggests they do not. The authors found that option markets mechanically incorporate the current stock price rather than correct for it—even in instances where a stock price appears to be incorrect. Read more about Do Options Price Predictable Patterns in Future Stock Returns?
Sudarshan Jayaraman
In the highly leveraged world of banking, what spurs banks to monitor their borrowers: bank debt or equity? Read more about “Who Monitors the Monitor? Bank Capital Structure and Borrower Monitoring”.
Joanna Shuang Wu and Edward L. Owens
Simon School professors Joanna Shuang Wu, associate professor of accounting, and Edward L. Owens, assistant professor of accounting, set out to investigate for themselves whether a large sample of bank-holding companies were indeed window-dressing leverage numbers to mask fluctuations during the quarter. They also wanted to see if the market knew—and if it cared. Read more on "Banks and Short-Term Borrowing."
Research