Costello College of Business Faculty Research

Given today’s short attention spans, how much could it really hurt a business to get caught attempting to manipulate their reputation on a platform like Yelp? George Mason University accounting professor Yi Cao has done the math, and it isn’t pretty for businesses willing to cross ethical lines.

What is the role of professional judgment and oversight in AI-assisted audits? How is private equity investment altering the management and strategic direction of accounting firms? Can regulators close the tax gap for cryptocurrencies and borderless digital assets and ensure enforcement? The 2026 Accounting Horizons Conference, hosted by the Costello College of Business at George Mason University, provided a platform to examine answers to questions shaping the accounting industry’s future.

When crowdfunding platform Kickstarter started allowing creators to put environmental pledges front and center, George Mason University accounting professor Yi Cao saw a unique opportunity. His co-authored research shows how “going green” turned out to be an impactful business choice with financial, operational and, yes, environmental implications for entrepreneurs and customers.

Retail investor attention creates an incentive for firms to present earnings that satisfy investors' expectations using accounting discretion. Such a “numbers game” – the use of legally permissible accounting practices to influence reported earnings – makes investor attention an economic force influencing corporate reporting decisions, argues finance professor Lei Gao of George Mason University.

As workers enter new organizational roles, join new employers, or transition into different fields, they often experience emotional turmoil associated with changes in their professional identity. To ease the adjustment, they can train their “transition muscles” by learning from past experiences and anticipating future changes, suggests a new book chapter from George Mason University management professor Sarah Wittman.

How fast is too fast to reply to a prospective employer? Wrong question, argues George Mason University management professor Einav Hart. Across several settings and contexts, Hart and her co-authors found that once a hiring manager is interested enough to reach out, even the slightest delay in responding could harm your chances.

The best way to resolve a consumer’s doubts about electric cars is to let them drive one for a day or two. But Ioannis Bellos and Hang Ren, professors in the information systems and operations management area at George Mason University, argue that extended test drives can sometimes do more harm than good, for both profits and the planet.

In his award-winning dissertation, now a published paper, George Mason University accounting professor Steven Maex reveals that privacy laws such as the European Union’s GDPR can spur firms to improve how they manage one of their most valuable assets: their data.

Legalized gambling can bring in significant economic rewards from tax revenue and job creation. But at what cost to society? The states that legalized online sports betting saw a 3.1 percent increase in suicide rates, according to research co-authored by Brad Greenwood, professor of information systems and operations management.

The widely used machine-learning technique known as LASSO relegates smaller market events to an ignored “inactive zone”. How can that be a good thing for ambitious asset traders? Bo Hu, assistant professor of finance, explores the logic (and illogic) behind LASSO’s popularity and power.