Jerold Zimmerman

Research Philosophy of Jerold Zimmerman

The most challenging part of being a researcher is identifying interesting topics. World-class scholars are curious.They pose interesting questions, and then bring to bear compelling evidence to solve the riddle. I have always been curious about how organized crime continues to survive despite enormous law enforcement resources directed at its demise. This question motivated me and Daniel Forrester to write Relentless: The Forensics of Mobsters' Business Practices.

Publications:

A. Books and Monographs

Relentless: The Forensics of Mobsters' Business Practices (with Daniel Forrester) forthcoming 2021.

Accounting for Decision Making and Control, Richard D. Irwin, Inc. (1995); 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (1997); 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2000), 4th edition, (2003); 5th edition, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2006); 6th edition, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2009), 7th edition, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2011); 8th edition, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2014); 9th edition, McGraw-Hill Education (2017), 10th edition, McGraw-Hill Education (2019). Translated by Dongbei University of Finance & Economics Press (P.R. China, 2000).

Management Accounting in a Dynamic Environment (with C. McWatters), Routledge Taylor & Francis (2016).

Managerial Economics and Organizational Architecture (with J. Brickley and C. Smith), McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (1997); 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2001); 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2004), 4th edition, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2006); 5th edition, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2009); 6th edition, McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2016); 7th edition, McGraw-Hill Education (2021). Translated by Huaxia Publishing House (2001).

Designing Organizations to Create Value: From Strategy to Structure (with J. Brickley, C. Smith, and J. Willett), McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., (2003). Reprinted in Chinese (McGraw-Hill: Taiwan, 2003).

Contemporary Accounting Research: Synthesis and Critique (edited by S.P. Kothari, T. Z. Lys, D. J. Skinner, R. L. Watts, and J. L. Zimmerman), North-Holland Publishing Company (2002).

Management Accounting: Analysis and Interpretation (with and D. Morse), McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (1997); 2nd edition (with C. McWatters and D. Morse), McGraw-Hill/Irwin (2001).

Management Accounting: Analysis and Interpretation (with C. McWatters and D. Morse), Pearson Education Limited (UK) (2008).

Organizational Architecture: A Managerial Economics Approach (with J. Brickley and C. Smith), Richard D. Irwin, Inc. (1996).

Positive Accounting Theory (with R. Watts), Prentice-Hall (1986). Translated by Dongbei University of Finance & Economics Press (1999).

B. Published Peer-Reviewed Papers

“Idiosyncratic Shocks to Firm Underlying Economics and Abnormal Accruals” (with E. Owens and J. Wu) Accounting Review 92 (2017).

“The Disclose or Abstain Incentive to Issue Management Guidance” (with E. Li and C. Wasley) Journal of Law, Finance, and Accounting 1 (2016) pp. 187-223.

“The Role of Accounting in the 21st Century Firm,” Accounting and Business Research 45 (2015), pp. 485-509.

“Myth: External Financial Reporting Quality Has a 1st Order Effect on Firm Value,” Accounting Horizons 27 (Dec. 2013) pp. 887–894.

“The Joint Effects of Materiality Thresholds and Voluntary Disclosure Incentives on Firms’ Disclosure Decisions” (with S. Heitzman and C. Wasley), Journal of Accounting and Economics (February 2010).

“Unintended Consequences of Granting Small Firms Exemptions from Securities Regulation: Evidence from Sarbanes-Oxley Act” (with F. Gao and J. Wu), Journal of Accounting Research (May 2009).

“Asymmetric Sensitivity of CEO Cash Compensation to Stock Returns” (with A. Leone and J. Wu), Journal of Accounting and Economics, Vol. 42 (2006).

“Conjectures Regarding Empirical Managerial Accounting Research,” Journal of Accounting and Economics (December 2001).

"Changing Incentives in a Multitask Environment: The Case of Teaching at a Top-Tier Business School" (with J. Brickley), Journal of Corporate Finance, Vol. 7 (2001).

“Historical Cost as a Commitment Device” (with R. Ball and S. Keating), Maandblad voor Accountancy en Bedrijfs-economie (Netherlands), (November, 2000).

“Depreciation Policy Changes: Tax, Earnings Management, and Investment Opportunity Incentives” (with S. Keating), Journal of Accounting and Economics (December 1999).

"Price and Return Models" (with S. Kothari), Journal of Accounting and Economics (September 1995).

"Efficient and Opportunistic Choices of Accounting Procedures: Corporate Control Contests" (with A. Christie), Accounting Review (October 1994).

"Financial Performance Surrounding CEO Turnover" (with K. Murphy), Journal of Accounting & Economics (January/April/July 1993). Reprinted in The Economics of Executive Compensation, K. Hallock and K. Murphy, eds., Edward Elgar Publishing Limited (1997).

"Positive Accounting Theory: A Ten Year Perspective," (with R. Watts) Accounting Review (January 1990). Reprinted in The History of Accounting, J.R. Edwards, editor, Routledge Publishing (2000).

"Choosing Manufacturing Production Control and Cost Accounting Systems," (with U. Karmarkar and P. Lederer) in R. Kaplan, ed., Measures for Manufacturing Excellence, Harvard Business School Press (1990).

"Government Regulation and Accounting Research," (with R. Watts) Federal Support of Higher Education, R. Amacher and R. Meiners, eds., Paragon House (1989).

"Accounting, Incentives, and the Lot-Sizing Decision: A Field Study," Accounting and Management: Field Study Perspectives, W. Bruns, Jr. and R. Kaplan, eds., Harvard Business School Press (1987).

"Agency Theory Research in Accounting," (with R. Watts) Usefulness to Investors and Creditors of Information Provided by Financial Reporting, Second Edition, P. Griffin, ed., Financial Accounting Standards Board (1987).

"Labor Union Contract Negotiations and Accounting Choices," (with S. Liberty) Accounting Review (October 1986).

"Taxes and Firm Size," Journal of Accounting and Economics (August 1983).

"Agency Problems, Auditing, and the Theory of the Firm: Some Evidence," (with R. Watts) Journal of Law and Economics (October 1983).

"Research on Positive Theories of Financial Accounting," Accounting Research Convocation, 1982, University of Alabama (1982).

"Voluntary Corporate Disclosure: The Case of Interim Reporting," (with R. Leftwich and R. Watts), Supplement to the Journal of Accounting Research (1981).

"Positive Research in Accounting," in Perspectives on Research, Proceedings of the 1980 Beyer Consortium, R. Nair and T. Williams, eds. (Madison: School of Business, University of Wisconsin, 1980).

"The Costs and Benefits of Cost Allocations," Accounting Review (July 1979). Reprinted in Some Controversies on the Theory of the Firm, Overhead Allocation and Transfer Pricing, M. Wells, ed. (New York, N.Y.: Arno Press, 1980); Information for Decision Making, A. Rappaport, ed., (Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1982); The International Library of Management (United Kingdom: Dartmouth Publishing Company, 1997).

"The Demand for and Supply of Accounting Theories: The Market for Excuses," (with R. Watts) Accounting Review (April 1979). Reprinted in Modern Accounting Research: A Survey and Guide, R. Mattessich, ed., (Vancouver, B.C.: CCGA Research Foundation, 1983).

"Towards A Positive Theory of the Determination of Accounting Standards," (with R. Watts) Accounting Review (January 1978). Reprinted in Modern Accounting Research: A Survey and Guide, R. Mattessich, ed., (Vancouver, B.C.: CCGA Research Foundation, 1983) and Financial Accounting Theory, S. Zeff and T. Keller, eds., (New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1983).

"The Municipal Accounting Maze: An Analysis of Political Incentives," Studies on the Measurement and Evaluation of the Economic Efficiency of Public and Private Non-Profit Institutions (1977). Supplement to the Journal of Accounting Research.

"An Analysis of Competitive Bidding on BART Contracts," (with K. Gaver) Journal of Business (July 1977).

"Decision Models for Individual Scientists Involved in Basic Research," Management Science (June 1977).

"Schools of Accountancy — Accomplish Little," (with W. Meckling) CPA Journal (October 1976).

"Valuing Employee Stock Options Using Option Pricing Model," (with C. Smith) Journal of Accounting Research (Autumn 1976).

"Budget Uncertainty and the Allocation Decision in a Non-Profit Organization," Journal of Accounting Research (Autumn 1976).

C. Notes and Comments

"A Positive Accounting Theorist’s Take on The End of Accounting," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol. 34, No. 4 (Fall, 2022).

“Book Review of Baruch Lev and Feng Gu, The End of Accounting and the Path Forward for Investors and Managers (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2016),” Accounting Review Vol. 91, No. 6 (2016).

“Private Equity, the Rise of Unicorns, and the Reincarnation of Control-Based Accounting,” Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol. 28, No. 3 (Summer, 2016).

“Corporate Governance Myths: Some Comments on Armstrong, Guay, and Weber,” (with J. Brickley), Journal of Accounting and Economics, Vol. 50 (2010) 235–245.

“Using Organizational Architecture to Lead Change,” (with J. Brickley, C. Smith, and J. Willett) Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Spring, 2009).

“Corporate Governance, Ethics, and Organizational Architecture,” (with J. Brickley and C. Smith) Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Spring 2003). Reprinted in Corporate Governance at the Crossroads: A Book of Readings, edited by Donald Chew and Stuart Gillan (McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2004).

“Business Ethics and Organizational Architecture,” (with J. Brickley and C. Smith) Journal of Banking and Finance, Vol. 26 (2002).

“On ‘Research vs. Teaching’: A Long-Term Perspective,” (with J. Demski) Accounting Horizons, Vol. 14, No. 3 (September 2000).

“An Introduction to Game Theory and Business Strategy” (with J. Brickley and C. Smith), Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol. 13, No. 2 (Summer 2000).

“Teaching the Economics of Organizations,” (with J. Brickley and C. Smith) Financial Practice and Education, Vol. 9, No. 2 (Fall/Winter 1999).

"Management Fads and Organizational Architecture," (with J. Brickley and C. Smith) Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Summer 1997).

"EVA and Divisional Performance Measurement: Capturing Synergies and Other Issues," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Summer 1997).

"Transfer Pricing and the Control of Internal Transactions," (with J. Brickley and C. Smith) Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Summer 1995).

"The Economics of Organizational Architecture" (with J. Brickley and C. Smith), Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Summer 1995).

"Ethics, Incentives, and Organizational Design," (with J. Brickley and C. Smith) Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Vol 7, No. 2 (Summer 1994).

"Improving a Manuscript's Readability and Likelihood of Publication," Issues in Accounting Education (Fall 1989).

"Doctoral Accounting Courses," American Accounting Association Seminar on Doctoral Programs in Accounting (1986).

"Management Compensation and the Managerial Labor Market," (with M. Jensen) Journal of Accounting and Economics (1985).

"Deflating Inflation Accounting," Chase Financial Quarterly (Fall 1981).

"On the Irrelevance of Replacement Cost Disclosures for Security Prices," (with R. Watts) Journal of Accounting and Economics (August 1980).

"Comments on S. Sunder's 'Corporate Capital Investment, Accounting Methods and Earnings: A Test of the Control Hypothesis'," Proceedings of the American Finance Association Meetings, 1979, Journal of Finance (May 1980).

"On the 'Statement on Accounting Theory and Theory Acceptance'," Proceedings of the 1978 American Accounting Association Meetings (1978).

"Price-Level Restatements - A Technical Note," Journal of Accounting Research, Vol. 12 (Autumn 1974).

D. Research Papers

“What is Really Wrong with U.S. Business Schools?” (with H. DeAngelo and L. DeAngelo), 2006. Simon School of Business Working Paper. https://ssrn.com/abstract=766404

“Can American Business Schools Survive?” September 2001, Simon School of Business Working Paper. https://ssrn.com/abstract=283112