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Latest Stories in Accounting

December 13, 2021
Written
A Dozen of Our Favorite Insights Stories of 2021
Just some of the original ideas and fascinating research coming from Stanford GSB faculty this year.
Career & Success
A person working on a computer, reading the Insights articles page on the Stanford GSB web page. | Credit: iStock/BrianAJackson.
December 02, 2021
Written
Want to Kickstart Climate Action? Make Companies Report Their Carbon Footprints.
A “modest proposal” to give corporations a real incentive to cut emissions.
Energy & Environment
A line graph reporting carbon emissions. | Credit: iStock/Jitalia17.
August 20, 2021
Written
The Fast and the Incurious: How High-Speed Stock Trading Pushes Out Smart Money
Automated trades are tactically brilliant, but these “speed demons” can discourage serious market research.
Finance
A trader reacts as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. Photo by: Reuters/Andrew Kelly
July 26, 2021
Written
What Executives Are Really Saying When They Dodge Questions
Linguistic analysis helps interpret what’s behind non-answers during corporate earnings calls.
Corporate Governance
Silhouette of three board members in a dark conference room. Credit: iStock/FangXiaNuo
April 19, 2021
Written
Why Some Companies Stood by Workers When COVID-19 Battered Business
A new study finds that corporate decisions to either protect workers or lay them off had a lot to do with ... compassion.
Leadership
Woman working at home while surrounded daughter’s art supplies. Credit: Reuters/Caitlin Ochs
March 23, 2021
Written
Info Games: How Corporations Wield Disclosures as a Merger Tool
During corporate takeovers, buyers often tailor their public statements to drive down the price of takeover targets, a new study shows.
Accounting
Chess pieces on a board. Credit: iStock/marchmeena29
March 19, 2021
Written
The Trickle-Down Tragedy of Corporate Fraud
When companies shut down because of executive malfeasance, bottom-tier workers suffer most — especially when it comes to future earnings.
Accounting
Lighted bundle of dynamite. | Illustration by Álvaro Domínguez.
February 08, 2021
Written
Executive Bonuses Might Work Better Than You Think
Cash and equity incentives promote individual and collective performance benefits, new research finds.
Management
A bike made for 3 with a bag of money dangling from a stick off the front. Credit: Alvaro Dominguez
January 19, 2021
Written
Homogeneity at the Top
New research drills down on C-suite diversity in Fortune 100 firms and finds there’s a lot more work to do.
Corporate Governance
Layered illustrations of mens profiles in similar shades of white and light gray. Credit: Tricia Seibold and iStock/Leontura
January 15, 2021
Written
How to Pressure Test Your Strategic Vision
Learning to construct, debate, and communicate a logically valid argument is an essential pillar in making great strategy.
Leadership
An illustration of chess as the queen and rooks deliver checkmate to king. Credit: iStock/BeholdingEye
May 18, 2020
Written
The Future of Hydrogen May Be Here
A new study shows that power-to-gas systems harnessing renewable energy can produce cleaner, cost-effective hydrogen for industry.
Energy & Environment
Hydrogen chemical symbols are displayed on a sign at a hydrogen station. Credit: Reuters/Issei Kato
May 05, 2020
Written
How Much Is Your Slice of That Unicorn Really Worth?
A new online calculator estimates the true value of stock at venture-backed startups.
Finance
A photo of an origami unicorn made of a dollar bill. Credit: iStock/shutter2photos
May 04, 2020
Written
Tax Havens Mask Global Risk Exposures
Corporations raise vast sums of money through subsidiaries in tax havens. A new study unravels big surprises in global imbalances.
Finance
Cayman National Bank is pictured in George Town, Cayman Islands. Credit: Reuters/Gary Hershorn
March 23, 2020
Written
Where Insider Trading Flourishes
Two ways company insiders are taking advantage of privileged information and going undetected.
Accounting
A statue of George Washington stands across from the New York Stock Exchange in Manhattan, New York City. Credit: REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
January 06, 2020
Written
Good Corporate Governance Is a Great Idea, But Is Anyone Practicing It?
There’s little evidence that common board best practices lead to better oversight.
Corporate Governance
Business people in a board room. Credit: iStock/Morsa Images
December 19, 2019
Video
Should CEOs Take a Stance on Controversial Topics?
CEOs have traditionally shied away from politically charged issues, but that may be changing.
Corporate Governance
David Larker, The James Irvin Miller Professor of Accounting at Stanford GSB, smiling outdoors in front of a green background. Credit: Nancy Rothstein.
October 28, 2019
Written
The Mixed Impact of U.S. Corporate Tax Cuts
Slashing business taxes brings some local investment but fewer overall U.S. jobs, new research finds.
Political Economy
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan speaks at a news conference announcing the passage of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on November 16, 2017. Credit: Reuters/Aaron P. Bernstein
October 18, 2019
Video
How Corporations Use Tax Havens to Maximize Profits
What does it mean for a company to pay its fair share?
Accounting
Lisa De Simone. Credit: Nancy Rothstein
October 15, 2019
Written
In the Stock Market, Watch What They Know, Not What They Do
A new study finds that similarities in technological expertise can bind the fortunes of seemingly unrelated companies.
Accounting
A street sign, Wall Street, is seen outside New York Stock Exchange in New York City. Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton
October 02, 2019
Written
Are Bank Regulators Missing the Big Picture?
A new strategy to predict a bank’s risk of failure appears to outperform what regulators consider their gold standard for bank strength.
Accounting
A man looks at a stock quotation board outside a brokerage. Credit: Reuters/Toru Hanai