Luo Zuo

Biography

Luo Zuo is a Professor of Accounting at Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. Professor Zuo received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013, after which he joined Cornell University. At Cornell University, he was granted tenure in 2017 and promoted to full professor in 2022. Professor Zuo holds several editorial positions at top academic journals. He is an Editor of The Accounting Review, an Associate Editor of Management Science and the Journal of Accounting and Economics, and an editorial board member of Review of Accounting Studies. Professor Zuo has also held various leadership positions in academic programs and professional associations. He served as the Faculty Director of the Cornell-Tsinghua Finance MBA Program and the Faculty Lead of the Cornell-HKUST Partnership. He currently serves as the President of the Chinese Accounting Professors’ Association of North America.

Professor Zuo has a broad range of research interests at the intersection of accounting and finance. His current research explores the role of individual decision makers in shaping observed accounting phenomena. This line of research recognizes two central ideas in behavioral economics. First, individual behavior depends not only on economic incentives and accessible information, but also on individual preferences, abilities, experiences, and other characteristics. Second, the constraints that structure human interactions encompass both formal institutions (e.g., rules, laws, constitutions) and informal institutions (e.g., norms, conventions, rituals). For example, his research demonstrates the long-term impact of early-career experiences on professional conduct in a variety of populations, including corporate managers, audit partners, and financial advisors. His work on top management teams (TMTs) in China explains that listing the TMT names in the order of power in the annual report serves as a ritual in a relational society and that the divergence between the name order and executive compensation reflects nonmarket institutional forces in China.

Professor Zuo has received numerous research and teaching awards, including the Cornell-Tsinghua Finance MBA Program Best Teaching Award, the University of Toronto Roger Martin Award for Emerging Leaders, the Journal of Accounting Research Excellence in Refereeing Award, the American Accounting Association FARS Outstanding Discussion Award, the Johnson School Accelerated MBA Core Faculty Award, and the Johnson School Faculty Research Award. His research has been featured in The Economist, The NBER Digest, The Wall Street Journal, and many other media outlets.

Selected Publications

• He, Xianjie; Kothari, S.P.; Xiao, Tusheng; Zuo, Luo. "Industry-Specific Knowledge Transfer in Audit Firms: Evidence from Audit Firm Mergers in China"The Accounting Review. 97.3 (2022): 249-277
• Do, Truc; Zhang, Huai; Zuo, Luo. "Rocking the Boat: How Relative Performance Evaluation Affects Corporate Risk Taking"Journal of Accounting and Economics. 73.1 (2022): 101425
• Ke, Bin; Mao, Xinshu; Wang, Bin; Zuo, Luo. "Top Management Team Power in China: Measurement and Validation"Management Science. 67.10 (2021): 6602-6627
• Law, Kelvin; Zuo, Luo. "How Does the Economy Shape the Financial Advisory Profession?"Management Science. 67.4 (2021): 2466-2482
• He, Jie; Tian, Xuan; Yang, Huan; Zuo, Luo. "Asymmetric Cost Behavior and Dividend Policy"Journal of Accounting Research. 58.4 (2020): 989-1021
• He, Xianjie; Kothari, S.P.; Xiao, Tusheng; Zuo, Luo. "Long-Term Impact of Economic Conditions on Auditors' Judgment"The Accounting Review. 93.6 (2018): 203-229
• Ljungqvist, Alexander; Zhang, Liandong; Zuo, Luo. "Sharing Risk With the Government: How Taxes Affect Corporate Risk Taking"Journal of Accounting Research. 55.3 (2017): 669-707
• Schoar, Antoinette; Zuo, Luo. "Shaped by Booms and Busts: How the Economy Impacts CEO Careers and Management Styles"Review of Financial Studies. 30.5 (2017): 1425-1456
• Cen, Ling; Maydew, Edward; Zhang, Liandong; Zuo, Luo. "Customer-Supplier Relationships and Corporate Tax Avoidance"Journal of Financial Economics. 123.2 (2017): 377-394
• Zuo, Luo. "The Informational Feedback Effect of Stock Prices on Management Forecasts"Journal of Accounting and Economics. 61.2-3 (2016): 391-413

Awards and Honors

• Best Teaching Award (2023) Cornell-Tsinghua Finance MBA Program
• Excellence in Refereeing Award (2023) Journal of Accounting Research
• Best Paper Award (2022) MIT Asia Conference in Accounting
• Roger Martin Award for Emerging Leaders (2021) University of Toronto
• FARS Outstanding Discussion Award (2021) American Accounting Association

Recent Courses

• NMI 5000 - Directed Reading & Research
• NCCT 5000 - Financial Accounting
• NRE 5040 - PhD Seminar in Accounting

Academic Degrees

• PhD Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013
• PhM Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2008
• BBA Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2005