Rate My Professor Ian Gow

Ian Gow is Professor of Accounting and Director of the Melbourne Centre for Corporate Governance and Regulation (MCCGR) in the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of Melbourne, where he joined in July 2017. He holds a PhD in Business Administration from Stanford University (2009), with a dissertation on corporate governance and accounting conservatism; an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School (2002); and Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of New South Wales (1995). Prior to his current role, Gow was Assistant Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School from 2011, teaching financial reporting, management control, and performance measurement in MBA, doctoral, and executive programs, and Assistant Professor at the Kellogg School of Management from 2009 to 2011. Earlier in his career, he worked as Valuation and Accounting Analyst at Morgan Stanley (2004), Senior Financial Analyst at General Motors (2002-2003), Associate at Stern Stewart & Co (1997-2000), and Business Analyst at Andersen Consulting (1995-1996).

Gow's research specializations include corporate governance, executive compensation, activist investors, valuation, and the use of information in capital markets. His key publications encompass books such as "The Big Four: The Curious Past and Perilous Future of the Global Accounting Monopoly" (with Stuart Kells, 2018) and "Empirical Research in Accounting: Tools and Methods" (with Tony Ding, CRC Press, 2024). Prominent journal articles include "The Efficacy of Shareholder Voting: Evidence from Equity Compensation Plans" (Journal of Accounting Research, 2013, with Christopher S. Armstrong and David F. Larcker), "Rating the Ratings: How Good are Commercial Governance Ratings?" (Journal of Financial Economics, 2010, with Robert M. Daines and David F. Larcker), "Correcting for Cross-Sectional and Time-Series Dependence in Accounting Research" (The Accounting Review, 2010, with Daniel J. Taylor and Gaizka Ormazabal), and "Why Do Pro Forma and Street Earnings Not Reflect Changes in GAAP? Evidence from SFAS 123R" (Review of Accounting Studies, 2012, with Mary E. Barth and Daniel J. Taylor). In 2021, Gow was named among Australia's top 250 researchers in accounting and taxation. His work has over 4,400 citations on Google Scholar, underscoring its impact on empirical accounting research.