From 2011: Privileged Lending
Syndicate loans and inside information.
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Biography
Abbie J. Smith's research on corporate governance and transparency was stimulated by service on corporate and mutual fund boards and the heightened interest in these issues resulting from the wave of accounting scandals that began with Enron. Her corporate governance research examines the “CEO factor” in explaining corporate behavior as manifested in the relation between CEO lifestyle and corporate reporting, insider trading, risk management, bankruptcy, financial performance, and social responsibility.
Smith is a member of the board of directors of Ryder System, Inc., Dimensional Funds, and Chicago-based UBS Funds, and has served on audit, compensation, finance, and governance committees. She feels her board experience has given her an inside perspective on the generation and evaluation of business models and strategies, the determinants of corporate investment, financing, reporting behavior, and the interplay between academic research and its business applications. This perspective heavily influences her approach to research and teaching.
She earned a bachelor's degree in 1975 from the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, an MBA in 1979, and a PhD in accounting in 1981 from Cornell University. She joined the Chicago Booth faculty in 1980. She received a Marvin Bower Fellowship from the Harvard Business School, a McKinsey Award for Excellence in Teaching, and grants from the Accounting Research Center, James S. Ely, III Corporate Governance Research Fund, Fama Miller Center, and IGM at Booth.
Smith enjoys yoga, theater, music, gardening, and travel.
Research Interests
Corporate governance and transparency; performance measurement; corporate restructuring; financial accounting information; flows of information to capital markets; and securities prices.
Academic Areas
- Accounting
Selected Publications
With R. Bushman and R. Wittenberg-Moerman, “Price Discovery and Dissemination of Private Information by Loan Syndicate Participants,” Journal of Accounting Research (2010).
With R. Bushman and J. Piotroski, "What Determines Corporate Transparency?," Journal of Accounting Research - Supplement (2004).
With R. Bushman and J. Piotroski, "Does Analyst Following Increase Upon the Restriction of Insider Trading?," Journal of Finance (2005).
With R. Bushman, Q. Chen, and E. Engel, "Financial Accounting Information, Organizational Complexity, and Corporate Governance Systems," Journal of Accounting and Economics (2004).
With R. Bushman, "Financial Accounting Information and Corporate Governance," Journal of Accounting and Economics (2001).
Davidson, Robert, Aiyesha Dey, and Abbie Smith. "Executives' “off-the-job” behavior, corporate culture, and financial reporting risk." Journal of Financial Economics (2013).
Executives' Legal Records, Lavish Lifestyles, and Insider Trading Activities (working paper).
CEO Materialism and Corporate Social Responsibility (working paper).
For a listing of research publications, please visit the university library listing page.
Working Papers
2025 - 2026 Course Schedule
| Number | Course Title | Quarter |
|---|---|---|
| 30130 | Financial Statement Analysis | 2026 (Winter) |
Get Insights from Abbie J. Smith in Chicago Booth Review
From 2003: Buy, Sell, or Hold
Creating incentives for financial analysts.
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