David Burgstahler
Prof. David Burgstahler, Ph.D. is Julius A. Roller Professor of Accounting at the University of Washington. Professor Burgstahler has been on the Foster School of Business faculty since 1981 and served as Associate Dean for Masters Programs from 2002-2004 and as Acting Dean from January to May 2005. He has also served as Vice-President for Publications of the American Accounting Association from 2007-2009. His research and teaching interests include earnings management, capital market reactions to earnings surprises, valuation, statistical methods in auditing, and research methods. He received the 2002 AAA-AICPA Notable Contributions to the Accounting Literature Award.
Size Management by European Private Firms to Minimize Disclosure and Audit Costs
David Burgstahler evaluates evidence of size management to avoid competitive costs of disclosure, as well as the cost of audits, for small, private firms in Europe. Disclosure and audit requirements are determined by firm size, as measured by total assets, sales, and number of employees. While there is substantial variation across jurisdictions, small firms are frequently not required to disclose a complete set of financial statements nor to have an audit. Thus, to the extent expanded financial statement disclosures and audits are costly, firms have incentives to manage their size to remain below the thresholds that impose audit and disclosure requirements.