Wanli Zhao

Full Professor
Knowledge groupAccounting
Research domainsFinancial Accounting & Analysis
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Biography

Wanli Zhao is a Full Professor of Accounting at Università Bocconi University since 2021. Before joining Università Bocconi he was a financial economist at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, a Professor of finance at the Hanqing Advanced Institute of Economics and Finance of the Renmin University of China in Beijing, and an associate professor of finance in the College of Business at the Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Before that, he was an Assistant Professor of Finance at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in MA. 

His research concentrates on corporate governance related to topics in accounting and finance. Currently, his research focuses on innovation, political economy, financial reporting, behavioral finance, analysts, as well as big data analysis. His publications appear in Journal of Finance, Journal of Accounting & Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, the Accounting Review, Management Science, Journal of Law & Economics, among others. He has been presenting his research in conferences and universities in the US, Europe, and Asia and it has appeared in news media such as Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, Yahoo!Finance, and SEC.gov. He was awarded “Outstanding Researcher of the Year” by the College of Business of SIU in 2015. 

Wanli got a BS in Business Administration from Harbin Institute of Technology, a Master and a PhD in Business Administration from Temple University, 

 

Recent Publications

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  • 2025
    Limits to Political Capture: Evidence from Patent Grants, Disclosures, and Litigation
    CUNY, C., M. N. MEHTA, W. ZHAO, "Limits to Political Capture: Evidence from Patent Grants, Disclosures, and Litigation", Journal of Accounting Research, 2025, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 1453-1492
  • 2022
    Disregarding the Shoulders of Giants: Inferences from Innovation Research
    REEB, D. M., W. ZHAO, "Disregarding the Shoulders of Giants: Inferences from Innovation Research", The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, 2022, vol. 4, no. 11, pp. 923-964
  • 2021
    Shadow Trading
    MEHTA, M. N., D. M. REEB, W. ZHAO, "Shadow Trading", The Accounting Review, 2021, vol. 96, no. 4, pp. 367-404
  • 2020
    The Politics of M&A Antitrust
    MEHTA, M. N., S. SRINIVASAN, W. ZHAO, "The Politics of M&A Antitrust", Journal of Accounting Research, 2020, vol. 58, no. 1, pp. 5-53
  • 2020
    Politician Careers and SEC enforcement against financial misconduct
    MEHTA, M. N., W. ZHAO, "Politician Careers and SEC enforcement against financial misconduct", Journal of Accounting and Economics, 2020, vol. 69, no. 2-3, pp. 101302
  • 2020
    Patents Do Not Measure Innovation Success
    REEB, D. M., W. ZHAO, "Patents Do Not Measure Innovation Success", Critical Finance Review, 2020, vol. 9, no. 1-2, pp. 157-199
  • 2018
    Director Connectedness: Monitoring Efficacy and Career Prospects
    INTINTOLI, V. J., K. M. KAHLE, W. ZHAO, "Director Connectedness: Monitoring Efficacy and Career Prospects", Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 2018, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 65-108
  • 2018
    CEO Confidence and Unreported R&D
    KOH, P.-S., D. M. REEB, W. ZHAO, "CEO Confidence and Unreported R&D", Management Science, 2018, vol. 64, no. 12, pp. 5725-5747
  • 2017
    Audit Office Reputation Shocks from Gains and Losses of Major Industry Clients
    FRANCIS, J. R., M. N. MEHTA, W. ZHAO, "Audit Office Reputation Shocks from Gains and Losses of Major Industry Clients", Contemporary Accounting Research, 2017, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 1922-1974
  • 2014
    Insider Trading in Supervised Industries
    REEB, D. M., Y. ZHANG, W. ZHAO, "Insider Trading in Supervised Industries", The Journal of Law and Economics, 2014, vol. 57, no. 3, pp. 529-559

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Grants & Honors

  • Excellence in Research Award, Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, 2022