Wayne Guay

Professor Guay’s research focuses on the design of executive compensation contracts, stockbased incentives, corporate governance, financial reporting quality, the corporate information environment, firm valuation. His articles have appeared in Journal of Accounting & Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, Accounting Review, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Finance, American Economic Review, Michigan Law Review, and Economic Policy Review. His research on stock option accounting and valuation was selected by the Financial Executive Research Foundation as the 2002 Article of the Year in The Accounting Review. He currently serves as an editor of the Journal of Accounting & Economics.

He has consulted with a wide range of companies, and provided expert testimony in a variety of highprofile litigation matters. His consulting and testimony focuses on design of executive compensation and incentives, corporate governance, employee stock option valuation, insider trading, firm valuation and financial statement analysis.

Professor Guay teaches the Core MBA Course on financial accounting. He received a PhD in Accounting from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester in 1998.

Wayne Guay, Delphine Samuels, Daniel Taylor (2017), Guiding Through the Fog: Financial Statement Complexity and Voluntary Disclosure, Journal of Accounting and Economics, 62 (2), pp. 234269.

Wayne Guay and Robert E. Verrecchia (Working), Conservative Disclosure.

Karthik Balakrishnan, Jennifer Blouin, Wayne Guay (Under Review), Does Tax Aggressiveness Reduce Financial Reporting Transparency?.

John Core and Wayne Guay (Working), The Other Side of the TradeOff: The Impact of Risk on Executive Compensation: A Revised Comment.

John Core and Wayne Guay (Working), When are Executive Compensation and Incentives Appropriately Measured by Their Market Values?.

Christopher Armstrong, John Core, Wayne Guay (Working), Why do CEOs hold so much equity?.

Wayne Guay, John Kepler, David Tsui (Working), What Is the Purpose of CEO Cash Bonuses?.

Christopher Armstrong, Wayne Guay, Hamid Mehran, Joseph Weber (2016), The Role of Information and Financial Reporting in Corporate Governance: A Review of the Evidence and the Implications for Banking Firms and the Financial Services Industry, Economic Policy Review, 22 (1), pp. 149.

Wayne Guay, Daniel Taylor, Liang (Jason) Xiao (Working), Adapt or Perish: Evidence of CEO Adaptability to Industry Shocks.

Christopher Armstrong, John Core, Wayne Guay (2014), Do independent directors cause Improvements in Firm Transparency?, Journal of Financial Economics, 113 (3), pp. 383403.

Abstract: Although recent research documents a positive relation between corporate transparency and the proportion of independent directors, the direction of causality is unclear. We examine a regulatory shock that substantially increased board independence for some firms, and find that information asymmetry, and to some extent management disclosure and financial intermediation, changed at firms affected by this shock. We also examine whether these effects vary as a function of management entrenchment, information processing costs, and required changes to audit committee independence. Our results suggest that firms can alter their corporate transparency to suit the informational demands of a particular board structure.

Past Courses

ACCT202 FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING II

Covers liabilities and equities, especially longterm debt, convertible securities, equity issuance, dividends, share repurchases, employee stock options, pensions, leases, deferred tax, and derivative securities. Related topics covered include computation of diluted earnings per share, disclosure issues, earnings management, and basic financial statement analysis of cash flows.

ACCT399 SUPERVISED STUDY

Intensive reading and study with some research under the direction of a faculty member. Approval from one of the departmental advisers must be obtained before registration.

ACCT613 FIN AND MNGL ACCT

This course provides an introduction to both financial and managerial accounting, and emphasizes the analysis and evaluation of accounting information as part of the managerial processes of planning, decisionmaking, and control. A large aspect of the course covers the fundamentals of financial accounting. The objective is to provide a basic overview of financial accounting, including basic accounting concepts and principles, as well as the structure of the income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows. The course also introduces elements of managerial accounting and emphasizes the development and use of accounting information for internal decisions. Topics include cost behavior and analysis, product and service costing, and relevant costs for internal decisionmaking. This course is recommended for students who will be using accounting information for managing manufacturing and service operations, controlling costs, and making strategic decisions, as well as those going into general consulting or thinking of starting their own businesses.

ACCT921 EMPIRICAL RES IN ACCT I

The course covers empirical research design and provides students with a perspective on historically important accounting research. Topics covered such as research on the timeseries and crosssectional properties of financial accounting measures, capital markets behavior, financial intermediaries, and international accounting research.

ACCT922 EMPIRICAL RES IN ACCT II

The course covers empirical research design and provides students perspective on historically important accounting research. Topics covered such as research on the timeseries and crosssectional properties of financial accounting measures, capital markets behavior, financial intermediaries, and international accounting research. Topics covered may include corporate governance, executive compensation, debt contracting, accounting regulation, tax, and management accounting.

Wharton MBA Core Curriculum Teaching Award, 2015 Best Paper Award, Australian Journal of Management, 2011 Best Paper Award – The Accounting Review Article of the Year, selected by the Financial Executive Research Foundation, 2002 Wharton Undergraduate Excellence in Teaching Award, 2002 Best Paper Award – second prize, Journal of Accounting & Economics Conference, 2001 WorldatWork Compensation Research Camp, 2001 American Compensation Association Research Grant, 1997 Deloitte & Touche Doctoral Fellow, 1997

Volkswagen Just Nuked The Public’s Trust In Companies Trying To Save The Planet, Huffington Post 09/21/2015 Why Disgraced CEOs Get Insanely Generous Payout Packages When They’re Fired, Time 09/11/2015 Putting your money where your mouth is: companies link green goals to pay, The Guardian 06/26/2014 CEO PAY Average pay of local corporate chieftains rose last year; shareholders seem more interested in own returns than in curbing executive compensation, San Diego UnionTribune 06/09/2013 Shareholders Cut CEO Pay in Backlash, ABCNews.com 05/21/2012 CEO pay rises again in 2011, while workers struggle to find work, USA Today 03/28/2012 Prof. of Accounting Wayne Guay writes an oped about whether US companies should be forced to disclose CEO pay ratios (subscription may be required)., Financial Times 09/07/2010 The opposition’s rebuttal remarks, Economist 08/15/2010 Picking Big ‘Peers’ to Set Pay: Executive Compensation Is Often Skewed by Comparisons, The Wall Street Journal 08/17/2009

Knowledge @ Wharton

CEO Pay: Can a Tax Address Income Inequality?, Knowledge @ Wharton 12/13/2016 Can Bonus Clawback Rules Fix Finance Industry Incentives?, Knowledge @ Wharton 05/04/2016 Is It Possible to Defog America’s Corporate Financial Reports?, Knowledge @ Wharton 04/19/2016 How Independent Directors Bridge the Information Gap, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/16/2015 Apple Faces Life as a Mature Company, Knowledge @ Wharton 03/06/2014 Can Disciplining Bank Boards Help Drive Reforms?, Knowledge @ Wharton 04/17/2013 When Dividends Pay Dividends — and When They Don’t, Knowledge @ Wharton 03/27/2013 iPerks: Apple, Like Others, Takes Steps to Woo Employees, Knowledge @ Wharton 11/20/2012 The End of Exorbitant CEO Exit Packages? Don’t Hold Your Breath, Knowledge @ Wharton 07/18/2012 Warren Buffett’s Big Secret, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/29/2012 Private Equity: Fact, Fiction and What Lies in Between, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/29/2012 Private Equity: Fact, Fiction and What Lies in Between, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/08/2012 Shortsighted Frugality? Employers Who Rein in Compensation Too Much Could Pay a Price Later, Knowledge @ Wharton 01/18/2012 Limited Seating: Mixed Results on Efforts to Include More Women at the Corporate Board Table, Knowledge @ Wharton 10/26/2011 A Recession for Perks? What Companies Offer and What Employees Want, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/22/2011 Say on Pay: Will U.S. Shareholders Give Executives the Thumbs Up on Compensation?, Knowledge @ Wharton 12/08/2010 Walking ‘on Eggshells’: Corporate Boards Juggle Many Intangibles When Judging Performance, Knowledge @ Wharton 09/29/2010 Walking ‘on Eggshells’: Corporate Boards Juggle Many Intangibles When Judging Performance, Knowledge @ Wharton 09/15/2010 Executive Compensation: More Regulation, or Just More Transparency?, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/17/2010 Crackdown on Executive Pay: Too Much or Not Enough?, Knowledge @ Wharton 10/28/2009 Creating ‘a Bigger Mess?’ Battle Lines Are Drawn on the Proxy Access Rule, Knowledge @ Wharton 09/02/2009 Obama’s Regulatory Plan: Too Hot, Too Cold, or Just Right?, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/24/2009 Outrage over Outsized Executive Compensation: Who Should Fix It and How?, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/04/2009 Not a Dirty Word: How Companies Use Debt to Improve Their Bottom Line, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/04/2009 CEOs and Market Woes: Is Poor Corporate Governance to Blame?, Knowledge @ Wharton 12/10/2008 The Art and Science of Measuring CEO Performance, Knowledge @ Wharton 08/22/2007 The Impact of Good Governance on International Investing: The ‘Home Bias’ Effect and Other Issues, Knowledge @ Wharton 07/25/2007 Current Controversies in Executive Compensation: ‘Issues of Justice and Fairness’, Knowledge @ Wharton 05/02/2007 Will the SEC Embrace a Softer SarbanesOxley?, Knowledge @ Wharton 04/18/2007 ShortCircuited: Cutting Jobs as Corporate Strategy, Knowledge @ Wharton 04/04/2007 Home Unimprovement: Was Nardelli’s Tenure at Home Depot a Blueprint for Failure?, Knowledge @ Wharton 01/10/2007 What’s in Your Future(s)? The Merger of the Chicago Exchanges, Knowledge @ Wharton 11/01/2006 Executive Compensation: Over the Top or On Track?, Knowledge @ Wharton 10/25/2006 CEO Pay: A Window into Corporate Governance, Knowledge @ Wharton 05/17/2006 What Happens When the Press Blasts Your CEO for Excess Compensation? Apparently Not Much, Knowledge @ Wharton 03/22/2006 Sirius Satellite Radio and Howard Stern Go Ear to Ear with XM, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/22/2006 SEC’s Spotlight on Executive Pay: Will It Make a Difference?, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/08/2006 A Bumpy Road for Delphi, GM and U.S. Auto Workers, Knowledge @ Wharton 11/21/2005 Wishing Upon a Star: Hiring a CEO from Inside the Company Vs. Going Outside, Knowledge @ Wharton 04/06/2005 Expensing Stock Options: Can FASB Prevail?, Knowledge @ Wharton 06/02/2004 How Employee Stock Options Can Influence the Value of Ordinary Shares, Knowledge @ Wharton 12/17/2003 Stock Options: The End of the Affair?, Knowledge @ Wharton 07/30/2003 A “Perfect Storm” of Circumstances Batters Corporate Pension Plans, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/12/2003 The Changing Use of Derivatives: More Hedging, Less Speculation, Knowledge @ Wharton 02/12/2003 Are Stock Options In Your Future?, Knowledge @ Wharton 01/29/2003