Research

Investors respond more favorably when auditors are involved in non-GAAP disclosures.

Using firms’ disclosure of non-GAAP measures in 10-K filings, we show that auditor involvement in non-GAAP reporting enhances the credibility of non-GAAP disclosures, leading investors to respond more favorably.

Journal of Accounting Research, forthcoming. Do investors value auditor involvement in non-GAAP reporting?, with Phillip Lamoreaux and Lauren Matkaluk.

Banks whose auditors provide regulatory consulting exhibit higher financial reporting quality.

Using banks’ disclosures of audit and regulatory consulting fees, we show that banks whose auditors provide regulatory consulting exhibit higher-quality financial reporting, consistent with regulatory expertise spilling over to financial statement audits.

Review of Accounting Studies, 2025. Regulatory consulting and banks’ financial reporting quality: Evidence from the Dodd-Frank Act, with Hailey Ballew.

Firms with higher ex ante cybersecurity risk face higher lending costs.

Using data from the private debt market, I show that lenders price cybersecurity risk into loan contracts, suggesting that cybersecurity risk is an important source of credit risk.

The Accounting Review, 2026. Cybersecurity risk and bank loan contracting.

Managers avoid impairment losses through accounting judgments other than fair value estimates.

Using detailed data on insurers’ investment holdings, we show that managers’ opportunistic avoidance of impairment losses is driven primarily by subjective judgments about loss persistence and intent to hold, rather than discretion in fair value estimates.

The Accounting Review, 2022. Fair value measurement discretion and opportunistic avoidance of impairment loss recognition, with Leslie Hodder.

Firms with more effective control systems produce more innovation.

Effective control systems appear to facilitate innovation by improving information flows and helping firms identify, protect, and capitalize on valuable intellectual property.

Contemporary Accounting Research, 2022. The impact of control systems on corporate innovation, with Brian Miller and Brian Williams.

Audit offices with more female auditors exhibit higher audit quality and lower audit fees.

Audit offices with a greater presence of female auditors are associated with stronger audit outcomes, particularly when women serve in staff and senior roles and workplace support is stronger.

Review of Accounting Studies, 2026. Does gender composition of audit teams matter? An examination of audit quality and audit cost, with Joshua Khavis and Brandon Szerwo.

Audit quality improved following the PCAOB inspection scandal.

Following the 2017 PCAOB-KPMG inspection scandal, KPMG increased audit quality while largely retaining clients, suggesting meaningful operational improvements in response to public scrutiny.

British Accounting Review, forthcoming. Audit quality in the face of a crisis: Evidence from the audit inspection scandal, with Francine McKenna, Mikhail Pevzner, and Tzachi Zach.

PCAOB oversight has reshaped the audit profession.

A synthesis of 76 studies highlights how registration, inspections, and enforcement influence audit quality, auditor behavior, and other stakeholders in capital markets.

Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, forthcoming. A systematic review of academic literature on PCAOB oversight, with Phillip Lamoreaux, Beverly Larson, and Devin Williams.