Areas of Expertise

Advanced Business Technology, Capital Markets, Taxation, Machine Learning, Blockchain

Academic Degrees

• Ph.D. Accounting, University of Oregon 2015
• M.S., Accounting,Texas A&M University, 2010
• B.B.A., Accounting, Texas A&M University, 2010

Awards, Honors & Certificates

• Sauvian Undergraduate Teaching Award
• Trustees Teaching Award
• Innovative Teaching Award
• Notable Contribution to the Tax Literature Research Award

Selected Publications

• Hutchens, M., Rego, S., and Williams, B. (2024). The Impact of Standard Setting on Individual Investors: Evidence from SFAS No. 109. Review of Accounting Studies, 29(2), 1407-1455.
• Merkley, K., Pacelli, J., Piorkowski, M., and Williams, B. (2024). Crypto-Influencers. Review of Accounting Studies, 29(3), 2254-2297.

  Abstract

  Abstract

  This study examines the investment value of information provided by crypto-influencers, that is, social media influencers covering crypto assets on Twitter. We examine the returns associated with approximately 36,000 tweets issued by 180 of the most prominent crypto social media influencers covering over 1,600 crypto assets for the two years spanning through December 2022. Our primary results indicate that crypto-influencers’ tweets are initially associated with positive returns. However, these tweets are followed by significant negative longer-horizon returns, suggesting they generate minimal long-term investment value. These effects are most pronounced for tweets issued by crypto-influencers proclaiming to be crypto experts, for smaller cap crypto asset securities and for self-described experts with many Twitter followers. In an additional analysis, we use machine-learning methods to classify tweets and find that this pattern of results strengthens when the tweets have a more positive sentiment or relate to buy recommendations.

• Hutchens, M., Rego, S., and Williams, B. (2024). Tax Avoidance and Firm Risk: New Insights from a Latent Class Mixture Model. The Accounting Review, 99(1), 285–313.
• De Simone, L. Stomberg, B., and Williams, B.. (2023). Does Tax Enforcement Disparately Affect Domestic versus Multinational Corporations around the World? Contemporary Accounting Research, 40(4), 2816–2845.

  Abstract

  Abstract

  Global tax enforcement policies have received increased attention since the financial crisis, with much stated focus on curbing perceived harmful tax practices of multinational corporations. Yet there is a dearth of evidence on possible differential effects of home-country tax enforcement on multinationals. We take a step toward filling this void in the tax policy discussion by examining whether there is a differential relation between changes in home-country enforcement and the tax avoidance of domestic versus multinational corporations. Using OECD data on 50 countries from 2005 to 2019, we find increases in home-country enforcement are associated with lower levels of tax avoidance for domestic firms than for multinational corporations. Using a subset of firms from the Bureau van Dijk database, we find that multinationals avoid more tax in foreign countries when home-country enforcement increases. Results are stronger for multinationals with a higher proportion of subsidiaries in low-tax countries and when enforcement spending is low. These findings have implications for policymakers and highlight the importance of coordinated enforcement efforts across jurisdictions—such as the recently proposed global minimum tax—to successfully curb multinationals’ worldwide tax avoidance.

• Guenther, D., Peterson, K., Searcy, J., and Williams, B. (2023). How Useful are Tax Disclosures in Predicting Effective Tax Rates? A Machine Learning Approach. The Accounting Review. 98(5), 297-322.
• Miller, B., Sheneman, A., and Williams, B. (2022). The Impact of Control Systems on Corporate Innovation. Contemporary Accounting Research, 39(2), 1425-1454.

  Abstract

  Abstract

  This study examines the impact of control systems on corporate innovation. Innovation is key to firm performance and growth, allowing corporations to stay competitive in their industry. We expect control systems to improve information flows within the firm by allowing managers to better identify and patent their most valuable intellectual property. Despite our prediction that control systems positively impact innovation, a priori, this relation is unclear as these same control systems may create an overly restrictive bureaucratic environment that may mitigate the benefits of effective controls for innovation. Using various measures of control system quality, we find evidence that effective control systems are associated with more innovation. Overall, the results of our study suggest effective control systems are associated with the ability of a firm to leverage its innovative projects. Our results suggest that corporations with effective control systems are more likely to be able to react to market and technology changes by ensuring their best ideas are patented.

• Mason, P., and Williams, B. (2022). Does IRS Monitoring Deter Managers From Committing Accounting Fraud. Journal of Accounting, Auditing, and Finance, 37(3), 700–722.
• Schwab, C., Stomberg, B., and Williams, B. (2022). Effective Tax Planning. The Accounting Review, 97(1), 413-437.
• Williams, B. (Brady), and Williams, B. (2021). Real effects of financial reporting  on innovation: Evidence from tax law and accounting standards. The Accounting Review, 96(6), 397–425.
• Holzman, E., Miller, B., and Williams, B. (2021). The Local Spillover Effect of Corporate Accounting Misconduct: Evidence from City Crime Rates. Contemporary Accounting Research, 38(3), 1542-1580.

  Abstract

  Abstract

  This study documents a spillover effect of accounting fraud by showing that after the revelation of accounting misconduct, there is an increase in financially motivated neighborhood crime (robberies, thefts, etc.) in the cities where these misconduct firms are located. We find that more visible accounting frauds (e.g., greater media attention and larger stock price declines) are more strongly associated with a future increase in financially motivated neighborhood crime. We also find that the association between fraud revelation and increased future financially motivated crime is strongest when local job markets are shallower and where local income inequality is high, consistent with adverse shocks from fraud putting pressure on local communities. Combined, our study provides evidence that the societal ramifications of corporate accounting misconduct extend beyond adversely impacting a firm’s capital providers and industry peers to negatively influence the daily life of the residents in the firm’s local community.

• Guenther, D., Krull, L., and Williams, B. (2021). Identifying Different Types of Tax Avoidance: Implications for Empirical Research. Journal of the American Taxation Association, 43(1), 27–50.
• Guenther, D., Njoroge, K., and Williams, B. (2020). Allocation of Internal Cash Flow when Firms Pay Less Tax. The Accounting Review, 95(5), 185-210.
• Mason, P., Utke, S., and Williams, B. (2020). Why Pay Our Fair Share? How Perceived Influence Over Laws Affects Tax Evasion. Journal of the American Taxation Association, 42(1), 133-156.
• Guenther, D., Matsunaga, S., and Williams, B. (2017). Is Tax Avoidance Related to Firm Risk? The Accounting Review, 92(1), 115-136.
• Davis, A., Guenther, D., Krull, L., and Williams, B. (2016). Do Socially Responsible Firms Pay More Tax? The Accounting Review, 91(1), 47-68.

Edited on February 7, 2025