Sonja O Rego

Areas of Expertise

Income Taxation; Tax Avoidance; Accounting for Income Taxes; Earnings Management; Agency Theory; Corporate Finance

Academic Degrees

• Ph.D., Accounting, University of Michigan, 1999
• M.A.E., Economics, University of Michigan, 1999
• M.B.A., Accounting and International Business, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1991
• B.S., Finance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1989

Professional Experience

• Professor, Indiana University, 2016-present
• Associate Professor, Indiana University, 2011-2016
• Associate Professor, University of Iowa, 2007-2011
• Assistant Professor, University of Iowa, 1999-2007
• Doctoral Student, Research/Teaching Assistant, University of Michigan, 1995-1999
• Staff Tax Accountant, Arthur Andersen LLP, 1993-1995
• Corporate Income Tax Auditor, New York State Department of Tax & Finance, 1991-1993

Awards, Honors & Certificates

• Kelley School of Business Trustees Teaching Award (Spring 2015)
• Doctoral Student Association Faculty Distinguished Teaching Award, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University (Spring 2014)
• Deloitte Foundation Accounting Faculty Fellow, Kelley School of Business (2013-Present)
• Emerald 2013 Citations of Excellence Award for “Tax Reporting Aggressiveness and Its Relation to Aggressive Financial Reporting,” with Mary Margaret Frank and Luann Lynch, in The Accounting Review, 2009
• Dean’s Faculty Fellow, Kelley School of Business (2011-2013)
• ATA Tax Manuscript Award 2011 for “Tax Reporting Aggressiveness and Its Relation to Aggressive Financial Reporting,” with Mary Margaret Frank and Luann Lynch, in The Accounting Review, 2009
• Gilbert P. Maynard Excellence in Accounting Instruction Award (April 2006)
• Tippie College of Business Student''s Choice for Faculty Excellence Award (Spring 2004)
• Tippie College of Business Dean''s Teaching Award (Spring 2004)
• Gilbert P. Maynard Excellence in Accounting Instruction Award (April 2002)
• Certified Public Accountant, Illinois (inactive)

Selected Publications

• Gleason, Cristi, Morton Pincus, and Sonja Rego (2017), "Material Weaknesses in Tax-Related Internal Controls and Last Chance Earnings Management," Journal of the American Taxation Association, 39(1): 25-44.
• Cazier, Richard, Sonja Rego, Xiaoli Tian, and Ryan Wilson (2015), “The Impact of Increased Disclosure Requirements and the Standardization of Accounting Practices on Earnings Management through the Reserve for Income Taxes,” Review of Accounting Studies, 20 (1): 436-469.
• Badertscher, Brad, Sharon Katz, and Sonja Rego (2013), “The Separation of Ownership and Control and Corporate Tax Avoidance,” Journal of Accounting and Economics, 56 (2013): 228-250.
• Rego, Sonja and Ryan Wilson (2012), “Equity Risk Incentives and Corporate Tax Aggressiveness,” Journal of Accounting Research 50 (3): 775-809. 
• Frank, Mary Margaret, Luann Lynch, and Sonja Rego (2009), “Tax Reporting Aggressiveness and Its Relation to Aggressive Financial Reporting,” The Accounting Review 84 (2): 467-496.
• Badertscher, Brad, John Phillips, Mort Pincus, and Sonja Rego (2009), “Earnings Management Strategies and the Trade-Off between Tax Benefits and Detection Risk: To Conform or Not to Conform,” The Accounting Review 84 (1): 63-97.
• Li, Haidan, Mort Pincus, and Sonja Rego (2008), “Market Reaction to Events Surrounding the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Earnings Management,” Journal of Law and Economics 51 (1): 111-134. 
• Frank, Mary Margaret and Sonja Rego (2006), “Do Managers Use the Valuation Allowance Account to Manage Earnings Around Certain Earnings Targets?” Journal of the American Taxation Association 28 (1): 43-65. 
• Phillips, John, Mort Pincus, Sonja Rego and Huishan Wan (2004), “Decomposing Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities to Isolate Earnings Management Activity.” Journal of the American Taxation Association 26 (Supplement): 43-66.
• Rego, Sonja (2003), “Tax Avoidance Activities of U.S. Multinational Corporations,” Contemporary Accounting Research 20 (4): 805-833. 
• Phillips, John, Mort Pincus, and Sonja Rego (2003), “Earnings Management: New Evidence Based on Deferred Tax Expense,” The Accounting Review 78 (2): 491-521.