Accounting

Accounting Group

The MIT Sloan Accounting Group’s research spans many areas of accounting, including the impact of accounting information on capital markets, the use of accounting information for contracting purposes, corporate disclosure practices, executive compensation, and taxation. In addition, MIT Sloan accounting faculty has begun investigating governmental accounting issues.

Accounting is a means of communicating information about individuals or organizations. Through research, teaching, and professional service, the Accounting Group seeks to inform—as well as influence—this communication process.

Our faculty is regularly invited to present their research to fellow academics, companies, industry groups, accounting standard-setting bodies, regulatory agencies, and governments.

Four editors of the Journal of Accounting and Economics call MIT Sloan home. In its more than three decade existence, the JAE has come to be recognized for the publication of the highest quality manuscripts that employ economic analyses of accounting problems.

Accounting group teaching activities include courses in the MBA, Executive MBA, MIT Sloan Fellows, Master of Finance, Executive Education, and undergraduate programs.

News

Professor Emeritus Ross Watts

To be inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame by the American Accounting Association (AAA) in August 2024.

Testimony before the United States Senate Committee on Finance

On March 16th, 2021, Michelle Hanlon testified before the United States Senate Committee on Finance as a part of their full committee hearing, entitled "Made in America: Effect of the U.S. Tax Code on Domestic Manufacturing". A recording and downloadable copy of her testimony can be found at the Senate website of the hearing.

AAA Best Archival Paper Award

Andrew Sutherland and co-authors Jonathan Cook (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board), Zachary Kowaleski (Univ. of Notre Dame), Michael Minnis (Chicago Booth), and Karla M. Zehms (Univ. of Wisconsin−Madison) were awarded the American Accounting Association's Best Archival Paper Award. The award was presented at the AAA 2020 Auditing Section Midyear Meeting in Houston, TX for the paper "Auditors are Known by the Companies They Keep". 

AAA Presidential Scholar

Michelle Hanlon was designated as a 2020 Presidential Scholar by the President of the American Accounting Association (AAA).  

The Board of Directors of the AAA has requested that The Accounting Review publish her talk, which was entitled "The Possible Weakening of Financial Accounting from Tax Reform,” as part of the Presidential Research Lecture series.

S.P. Kothari awarded Padma Shri for contributions in finance and academia.

MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS PRESS NOTE
North Block, New Delhi-1
Dated the 25th January, 2020

Padma Awards - one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.

https://twitter.com/CHAKRAVIEW1971/status/1221099427756154882?s=08

Professor Michelle Hanlon was sworn in to the Massachusetts Tax Expenditure Commission in August of 2019.

Top MIT professor to chair World Hindu Congress in Chicago

The Times Of India 06.14.18
A top professor of the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, S.P. Kothari, will chair the second World Hindu Congress set to be held in Chicago this September, organizers of the mega event have announced. More than 2,000 delegates from over 80 countries are expected to attend the second edition of the quadrennial conference to be addressed by nearly 250 eminent speakers from across the globe, including Tibetan Spiritual leader Dalai Lama, Richard Gere and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

What makes companies lie

Barron's 06.09.2018
Managers with middling levels of public scrutiny are most likely to lie and then later restate their earnings, reports Delphine Samuels, an assistant professor of accounting at MIT Sloan, who conducted the study along with two professors at Wharton, Daniel Taylor and Robert Verrecchia.

AAA Presidential Scholar

S.P. Kothari was designated as a 2017 Presidential Scholar by the President of the American Accounting Association (AAA).  S.P. delivered a commissioned Presidential Research Lecture as a plenary speaker at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the AAA in San Diego last week.  

The Board of Directors of the AAA has requested that The Accounting Review publish his talk, which was entitled "The Governance Role of Accounting Information: Challenges Facing Users, Producers, and Standard Setters,” as part of the Presidential Research Lecture series.

ATA Outstanding Manuscript Award

Michelle Hanlon and Nemit Shroff have received the 2017 American Tax Association (ATA) Outstanding Manuscript Award.  This annual award recognizes a significant contribution to the tax literature published during the three prior calendar years.The winning paper, co-authored with John R. Graham (Duke University) and Terry Shevlin (UC Irvine), is entitled “Incentives for Tax Planning and Avoidance: Evidence from the Field” (The Accounting Review, vol. 89, 2014, p. 991-1024).

The award was presented earlier this month at the 2017 American Accounting Association Annual Meeting in San Diego.

Andrew Sutherland

Andrew Sutherland has received the FARS Best Dissertation Award 2016 from the Financial Accounting and Reporting Section (FARS) of the American Accounting Association (AAA).Andrew’s winning dissertation is entitled “The Economic Consequences of Borrower Information Sharing: Relationship Dynamics and Investment.”

The award was presented during the 2016 AAA Annual Meeting in New York City earlier this month.

Rodrigo Verdi

Rodrigo Verdi has received the 2016 American Accounting Association (AAA) Distinguished Contribution to Accounting Literature Award, which recognizes “accounting research of exceptional merit that has significantly impacted the discipline over a period of at least five years.”
Rodrigo’s winning paper, co-authored with Holger Daske (University of Mannheim), Luzi Hail (Wharton), and Christian Leuz (Chicago Booth), is entitled “Mandatory IFRS Reporting Around the World: Early Evidence on the Economic Consequences” (Journal of Accounting Research, Vol. 46, No. 5, December 2008).

S.P. Kothari

Receives honorary doctorate from the University of Cypress

Wins 2014 Notable Contributions to Accounting Literature Award

Professor Emeritus Ross Watts

To be inducted into the Australian Accounting Hall of Fame

Michelle Hanlon

Wins AAA 2020 Distinguished Contributions to Accounting Literature Award and Presidential Scholar Designation

Testimony before the US House Committee on Ways and Means

Michelle Hanlon and Nemit Shroff win the AAA Midyear Meeting Best Paper Award

Nemit Shroff

Wins AAA 2014 Competitive Manuscript Award

"Do investors benefit from profit guidance?" writes Matt Krantz, USA Today, December 14, 2013