Prof. Pingyang GAO
Accounting and Law

Area Head of Accounting and Law
Professor
3910 2184
pgao@hku.hk
KK 1204


Academic & Professional Qualification
Ph.D., Yale University, 2008
M.A., Peking University, China, 2004
B.A., Renmin University of China, China, 2002
Biography
Professor Gao joined HKU Business School in 2020. Until then he had been on the faculty of Chicago Booth since 2008. He also spent the fall of 2019 at Yale as a visiting professor.
His research has focused on important public policy and securities regulation issues with respect to capital markets and corporate governance. He has conducted extensive research on accounting issues in the banking industries as exposed by the financial crisis of 2007-2009, the worldwide adoption of IFRS, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in the United States. He has also worked on various aspects of disclosure and securities regulations, in particular in the intersection of financial reporting with capital markets and corporate governance. His research has been published in all top accounting journals. He is a recipient of American Accounting Association Competitive Manuscript Award and several Best Paper awards of conferences. He is on the editorial board of Journal of Accounting Research and regularly reviews papers for major journals in accounting, finance and economics.
Gao received a bachelor’s degree from Renmin University of China in 2002, a master’s degree from Peking University in 2004, and a PhD degree from Yale University in 2008. He has received several honors, including the IBM faculty fellowship, PCL Faculty Scholar, and Centel Foundation/Robert P. Reuss Faculty Scholar. He is a member of the Edward Alexander Bouchet Graduate Honor Society at Yale University, a network of scholars who exemplify service and advocacy for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the academia. He participates regularly in the activities of professional organizations, including AAA, AFA, AEA, and CAPANA. He is a member of Growth and Institutions organized by Tsinghua University. He is also an inactive CPA in China.
Research Interest
Accounting Standards Setting
Financial Reporting to Capital Markets
Corporate Governance
Bank Accounting
Financial Crisis
Selected Publications
1. Keynesian Beauty Contest, Accounting Disclosure, and Market Efficiency,?Journal of Accounting Research?46(4), 2008;
(Winner of?Best Paper Award?of 2007 American Accounting Association Northeast Regional Meeting)
2. Disclosure Quality, Cost of Capital, and Investors’ Welfare,?The Accounting Review?85(1), 2010 (lead article);
(Winner of 2008?Competitive Manuscript Award?by American Accounting Association)
3. A Measurement Approach to Conservatism and Earnings Management,?Journal of Accounting and Economics?55(2), 2013;
4. Informational Feedback Effect, Adverse Selection, and the Optimal Disclosure Policy,?with?Pierre J. Liang,?Journal of Accounting Research?51(5), 2013;
5.? A Two-step Representation of Accounting Measurement,?Accounting Horizons, 27 (4), December 2013
6. Reporting Choices in the Shadow of Bank Runs, with?Xu Jiang,?Journal of Accounting and Economics, 65 (1), 2018;
7. Accounting Manipulations, Peer Pressure, and Internal Control,with?Gaoqing Zhang,?The Accounting Review, 94 (1), 127–151, 2019;
8. Idiosyncratic Information, Moral Hazard and Risk Premium,?Contemporary Accounting Research, 36 (4), 2178–2206, 2019;
9. Auditing Standards, Professional Judgement, and Audit Quality, with?Gaoqing Zhang,?The Accounting Review, 94(6), 201–225, 2019;
10. Firm Value and Market Liquidity around the Adoption of Common Accounting Standards, with?Xu Jiang?and?Gaoqing Zhang,?Journal of Accounting and Economics, 68 (1), 101–220, 2019;
11. The Economic Consequences of Discrete Recognition and Continuous Measurement,?with?Xu Jiang,?Journal of Accounting and Economics, February 2020;
Awards and Honours
2018 CAPANA Conference Best Paper Award for “Accounting Information, Renegotiation, and Debt Contracts”
IBM Faculty Scholar 2015-2017
PCL Faculty Scholar, 2014-2015
Centel Foundation/Robert P. Reuss Faculty Scholar, 2013-2014
Edward A. Borchet Graduate Honor Society, 2009
American Accounting Association (AAA) Competitive Manuscript Award for “Disclosure Quality, Cost of Capital, and Investors’ Welfare,” 2008
Deloitte & Touche Foundation Doctoral Fellowship, 2007
AAA/Deloitte/J. Michael Cook Doctoral Consortium Fellow, Tahoe City, 2007
AAA Northeast Region Meeting Best Paper Award for “Keynesian Beauty Contest, Accounting Disclosure, and Market Efficiency,” 2007
General Electric — Peking University Scholarship, GE Foundation, 2003
Beijing Outstanding Student, Beijing Municipal Government, 2001
PricewaterhouseCoopers/Long Tao Scholarship, PWC Foundation, 2000 & 2001
Outstanding Volunteer in Community Services, Haidian District Government, Beijing, 2000
Uni-President Group Scholarship, Uni-President Foundation, 1999
Best Debater of Renmin University of China, 1998