Paul Fischer

• Paul Fischer, Mirko S. Heinle, Jung Min Kim, Christina Zhu (Working), Rational Information Acquisition Screens. Abstract

  We develop and empirically test a model of information acquisition in capital markets. In the model, investors are uncertain about the returns to acquiring private information before they acquire it. This results in a novel reason for why past price movements impact future capital market outcomes: investors use public information, including past prices, as a screen to estimate the returns to acquiring private information and efficiently allocate their limited information-processing capacity across firms. The model predicts that larger unexplained price movements lead to more private information acquisition, higher future price volatility, and higher future trading volume. Using fine-grained data measuring information acquisition on Edgar and Bloomberg, we provide empirical evidence in support of the model’s predictions.

• Paul Fischer, Chongho Kim, Frank Zhou (2022), Disagreement about fundamentals: Measurement and consequences, Review of Accounting Studies, 27 (), pp. 1423-1456.
• Paul Fischer, Mirko S. Heinle, Kevin C. Smith (2021), Constrained Listening, Audience Alignment, and Expert Communication, RAND Journal of Economics, 51 (Winter), pp. 1037-1062. Abstract

  We consider a cheap-talk setting with two senders and a continuum of receivers with heteroge- nous preferences. Each receiver is constrained to listen to one of the senders but can choose which sender to listen to. The introduction of a second sender facilitates more informative com- munication and even enables full communication for a large set of sender preference pairs. We use the model to assess the size and characteristics of sender audiences, the amount of informa- tion communicated, and the impact of the senders’ biases on the receivers’ actions.

• Paul Fischer, Mirko S. Heinle, Robert E. Verrecchia (2016), Beliefs-driven price association, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 61 (2-3), pp. 563-583. Abstract

  In addition to being a function of traditional fundamentals such as cash-flow persistence and the discount rate, the equilibrium association between a security price and a value-relevant statistic can simply be a function of what rational investors believe the association will be. We refer to this phenomenon as beliefs-driven price association (BPA). By explicitly considering the phenomenon of BPA, we show that the price response to information releases can vary over time even if the risk-free interest rate and investor preferences are static and the earnings/cash flow generating process is stable. This observation suggests, for example, that price-to-earnings associations and price volatility can vary over time even if a stable pattern of economic fundamentals suggests otherwise. The possibility of BPA suggests that measures of the cost of capital, information content, and growth prospects inferred from observed market prices will be confounded. While we do not predict when periods of BPA will arise, we provide empirically testable predictions about how prices should behave during periods of BPA. In particular, we predict that, during sufficiently long periods of high (positive or negative) BPA, price volatility, price levels, and expected returns will be higher than would be implied by a fundamental valuation framework. Finally, while BPA in the pricing of one security does not cause BPA in the pricing of other securities, the price levels of those other securities will be affected if the securities with BPA are sufficiently large relative to the market as a whole.

• Samuel B. Bonsall IV, Zahn Bozanic, Paul Fischer (2013), What Do Management Earnings Forecasts Convey About the Macroeconomy?, Journal of Accounting Research, 51 (2), pp. 225-266. Abstract

  We decompose quantitative management earnings forecasts into macroeconomic and firm-specific components to determine the extent to which voluntary disclosure provided by management has macroeconomic information content. We provide evidence that the forecasts of bellwether firms, which are defined as firms in which macroeconomic news explains the greatest amount of variation in the forecasts, provide timely information to the market about the macroeconomy when bundled with earnings announcements. Further, we show that bellwether firms provide timely information about both industry-specific events and broader economic events. Finally, we document that the macroeconomic news in individual forecasts is more pronounced for bad news and point forecasts.

• Robert Bloomfield and Paul Fischer (2011), Disagreement and the Cost of Capital, Journal of Accounting Research, 49 (1), pp. 41-68. Abstract

  We assess how forms of disagreement among investors affect a firm’s cost of capital. Firms experience a lower cost of capital if investors perceive that other investors are ignoring relevant disclosures (perceived errors of omission), but a higher cost of capital if investors perceive that others are responding to irrelevant disclosures (perceived errors of commission). The impact of these two sources of disagreement on the cost of capital is determined by the distribution of opinion and the nature of disclosure. For example, even though aggregated disclosures reveal less to investors, aggregated disclosures may decrease the cost of capital by eliminating disagreement associated with perceived errors of commission. These and additional results arise because the cost of capital is driven not only by investors’ uncertainty about the firm’s future earnings performance, but also by investors’ uncertainty about the evolution of beliefs, which partly determines the path of prices.

• Paul Fischer and Phillip Stocken (2010), Analyst Information Acquisition and Communication, The Accounting Review, 85 (6), pp. 1985-2009. Abstract

  We examine a communication game between an analyst and a decisionmaker and investigate how the presence of public information affects the precision of the information the analyst gathers and communicates to the decision-maker. We characterize conditions under which public information causes the analyst to underinvest or overinvest in the information gathered relative to the case where analyst credibility is not an issue. We then discuss when the presence of public information causes the analyst to reduce the depth of coverage of the firm, suggesting that the introduction of public information can make the decision-maker strictly worse off.

• Paul Fischer, Jeffrey D. Gramlich, Brian Miller, Hal D. White (2009), Investor Perceptions of Board Performance: Evidence from Uncontested Director Elections, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 172-189. Abstract

  This paper provides evidence that uncontested director elections provide informative polls of investor perceptions regarding board performance. We find that higher (lower) vote approval is associated with lower (higher) stock price reactions to subsequent announcements of management turnovers. In addition, firms with low vote approval are more likely to experience CEO turnover, greater board turnover, lower CEO compensation, fewer and better-received acquisitions, and more and better-received divestitures in the future. These findings hold after controlling for other variables reflecting or determining investor perceptions, suggesting that elections not only inform as a summary statistic, but incrementally inform as well.

• Paul Fischer and Steven Huddart (2008), Optimal Contracting with Endogenous Social Norms, American Economic Review, 1459-1475. Abstract

  Research in sociology and ethics suggests that individuals adhere to social norms of behavior established by their peers. Within an agency framework, we model endogenous social norms by assuming that each agent’s cost of implementing an action depends on the social norm for that action, defined to be the average level of that action chosen by the agent’s peer group. We show how endogenous social norms alter the effectiveness of monetary incentives, determine whether it is optimal to group agents in a single or two separate organizations, and may give rise to a costly adverse selection problem when agents’ sensitivities to social norms are unobservable.

• Paul Fischer and Henock Louis (2008), Financial Reporting and Conflicting Managerial Incentives: The Case of Management Buyouts, Management Science, 1700-1714. Abstract

  We analyze the effect of external financing concerns on managers’ financial reporting behavior prior to management buyouts (MBOs). Prior studies hypothesize that managers intending to undertake an MBO have an incentive to manage earnings downward to reduce the purchase price. We hypothesize that managers also face a conflicting reporting incentive associated with their efforts to obtain external financing for the MBO and to lower their financing cost. Consistent with our hypothesis, we find that managers who rely the most on external funds to finance their MBOs tend to report less negative abnormal accrual prior to the MBOs. In addition, the relation between external financing and abnormal accruals is tempered when there are more fixed assets that can serve as collateral for debt financing.

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Current Courses

• ACCT2420 - Accounting And Business Analysis

  In the course, students learn how to analyze firms' financial statements and disclosures to determine how a firm's particular accounting choices reflect the underlying economics of the firm. As a result, the course strengthens students' ability to use financial statements as part of an overall assessment of the firm's strategy and valuation. The course is especially useful for anyone interested in working on the buy or sell side. The course provides both a framework for and the tools necessary to analyze financial statements. At the conceptual level, it emphasizes that preparers and users of financial statements have different objectives and incentives. At the same time, the course is applied and stresses the use of actual financial statements. For example, students learn how to detect when firms are managing earnings and/or balance sheets. It draws heavily on real business problems and uses cases to illustrate the application of the techniques and tools. If ACCT 2420 is not offered in a given year, Undergraduate students can take ACCT 7420. Please submit a permission request through Path@Penn.edu.

  ACCT2420401 ( Syllabus )

• ACCT2430 - Accounting For Mergers, Acquisitions, And Complex Financial Structures

  The objective of this course is to discuss and understand the accounting that underlies merger, acquisition, and investment activities among firms that result in complex financial structures. Key topics include the purchase accounting method for acquisitions, the equity method for investments, the preparation and interpretation of consolidated financial statements, tax implications of mergers and acquisitions, earnings-per-share considerations, the accounting implications of intercompany transactions and non-domestic investments, etc. Also this class will follow the MBA calendar.

  ACCT2430401 ( Syllabus )

• ACCT7420 - Financial Reporting And Business Analysis

  This intensive one-semester course focuses on how to extract and interpret information in financial statements. The course adopts a user perspective of accounting by illustrating several specific accounting issues in a decision context.

  ACCT7420401 ( Syllabus )

• ACCT7430 - Accounting For Mergers, Acquisitions And Complex Financial Structures

  This class studies how complex financial structures account for their activities. Primary emphasis is on the application of purchase accounting for mergers and acquisitions, the equity method for investments, and preparing and interpreting consolidated financial statements. Other topics covered include translations and remeasurements for nondomestic investments, and earnings per share calculations for complex financial structures. Tax considerations and acquisition strategies are of only peripheral interest in this class, and students who are concerned primarily with those topics are advised to seek a different elective.

  ACCT7430401 ( Syllabus )

Past Courses

• ACCT2420 - Fin Report & Bus Analys

  In the course, students learn how to analyze firms' financial statements and disclosures to determine how a firm's particular accounting choices reflect the underlying economics of the firm. As a result, the course strengthens students' ability to use financial statements as part of an overall assessment of the firm's strategy and valuation. The course is especially useful for anyone interested in working on the buy or sell side. The course provides both a framework for and the tools necessary to analyze financial statements. At the conceptual level, it emphasizes that preparers and users of financial statements have different objectives and incentives. At the same time, the course is applied and stresses the use of actual financial statements. For example, students learn how to detect when firms are managing earnings and/or balance sheets. It draws heavily on real business problems and uses cases to illustrate the application of the techniques and tools. If ACCT 2420 is not offered in a given year, Undergraduate students can take ACCT 7420. Please submit a permission request through Path@Penn.edu.

• ACCT2430 - Acct For Complx Fin Stru

  The objective of this course is to discuss and understand the accounting that underlies merger, acquisition, and investment activities among firms that result in complex financial structures. Key topics include the purchase accounting method for acquisitions, the equity method for investments, the preparation and interpretation of consolidated financial statements, tax implications of mergers and acquisitions, earnings-per-share considerations, the accounting implications of intercompany transactions and non-domestic investments, etc. Also this class will follow the MBA calendar.

• ACCT7420 - Fin Report & Bus Analys

  This intensive one-semester course focuses on how to extract and interpret information in financial statements. The course adopts a user perspective of accounting by illustrating several specific accounting issues in a decision context.

• ACCT7430 - Acct For Complx Fin Stru

  This class studies how complex financial structures account for their activities. Primary emphasis is on the application of purchase accounting for mergers and acquisitions, the equity method for investments, and preparing and interpreting consolidated financial statements. Other topics covered include translations and remeasurements for nondomestic investments, and earnings per share calculations for complex financial structures. Tax considerations and acquisition strategies are of only peripheral interest in this class, and students who are concerned primarily with those topics are advised to seek a different elective.

• ACCT9410 - Research in Acct II

  This is Part II of a theoretical and empirical literature survey sequence covering topics that include corporate disclosure, cost of capital, incentives, compensation, governance, financial intermediation, financial reporting, tax, agency theory, cost accounting, capital structure, international financial reporting, analysts, and market efficiency. Please contact the accounting doctoral coordinator for information on the specific upcoming modules/topics that will be taught.

• ACCT9430 - Research in Acct Iv

  This is Part IV of a theoretical and empirical literature survey sequence covering topics that include corporate disclosure, cost of capital, incentives, compensation, governance, financial intermediation, financial reporting, tax, agency theory, cost accounting, capital structure, international financial reporting, analysts, and market efficiency. Please contact the accounting doctoral coordinator for information on the specific upcoming modules/topics that will be taught.

• INSP4999 - Honors Thesis

  The senior thesis course is a capstone for seniors in the Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business. Students in the Huntsman Program should consult with the Huntsman Program advisors for more information.

• M.B.A. Association Outstanding Core Professor, Smeal College of Business, Pennsylvania State University, 2007
• Lester Shonto Award for Excellence in Accounting Education, Smeal College of Business, Pennsylvania State University, 2007
• 6th McLaughlin award for Research in Accounting Ethics, University of Oklahoma, Spring, Optimal Contracting with Endogenous Reporting Norms, with Steven Huddart., 2005
• M.B.A. Association Outstanding Core Professor, Smeal College of Business, Pennsylvania State University, 2002
• M.B.A. Association Outstanding Core Professor, Smeal College of Business, Pennsylvania State University, 2000
• Anvil Award Finalist, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Spring, 1996
• Commerce Graduate Society, M.B.A. I Teaching Award, University of British Columbia, for Financial Accounting, 1993
• Commerce Graduate Society, M.B.A. I Teaching Award, University of British Columbia, for Managerial Accounting, 1992

Knowledge @ Wharton

• Why All Investors Are Vulnerable to ‘Correlation Neglect’, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/10/2026
• Why Some Founders in Startup Accelerators Do Better Than Others, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/10/2026
• Hand Gestures Can Help You Sell. Here’s Why, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/10/2026
• Future of Finance | Joao Gomes and Itay Goldstein, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/10/2026
• The Economic Reality Behind Billionaires’ Taxes and State Budgets, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/06/2026
• Ad Age Editor-in-Chief, Jeanine Poggi, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/05/2026
• How Advertising Could Reshape ChatGPT and Digital Marketing, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/04/2026
• Scaling Insights: How Big Data and Simulation Are Transforming the NFL, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/04/2026
• How Investor Wealth Grows With Delaware’s Politically Balanced Judiciary, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/03/2026
• Your Organization’s Unwritten Rules and How to Fix Them, Knowledge @ Wharton - 02/03/2026