Gary Lind

216 Mervis Hall

3950 Roberto & Vera Clemente Drive

Pittsburgh, PA 15260

I research the intersection between accounting and macroeconomics, with a special interest in the macroeconomic information content of accounting information, decisions under uncertainty, the externalities of accounting standards, the aggregation of accounting information, and the interplay between monetary policy and accounting information.

I teach Managerial Accounting at the University of Pittsburgh.

Before taking my current position at Pitt, I completed my doctoral studies in accounting, and masters studies in management and economics all at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Selected Publications

TAR
Externalities of Accounting Disclosures: Evidence from the Federal Reserve

Edward X. Li, Gary Lind, K. Ramesh, and Min Shen

The Accounting Review, Sep 2023

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This study provides the first empirical evidence that the Federal Reserve (the Fed) systematically retrieves micro-level accounting reports to aid its understanding of the state of the macroeconomy. Using unique data identifying its direct access of corporate SEC filings, we show that the Fed tracks firms that are bellwethers and industry leaders, or that can engender systemic risk. The qualitative information in the Fed-accessed periodic reports explains the Fed’s GDP growth forecasts for up to four quarters, after controlling for contemporaneous aggregate earnings and other economic information. However, professional forecasts fail to incorporate such qualitative accounting information. In addition, this qualitative information is reflected in the tone of the ensuing FOMC meeting discussions as well as in Fed forecasts of key macro demand and supply factors. Overall, our evidence suggests important externalities of micro-level accounting reports, especially qualitative disclosures, on the central bank’s macroeconomic forecasts and, by extension, monetary policy.Data Availability: Data are available from public sources.
@article{li.lind.ramesh.shen_2023, author = {Li, Edward X. and Lind, Gary and Ramesh, K. and Shen, Min}, title = {{Externalities of Accounting Disclosures: Evidence from the Federal Reserve}}, journal = {The Accounting Review}, volume = {98}, number = {5}, pages = {401-427}, year = {2023}, month = sep, issn = {0001-4826}, doi = {10.2308/TAR-2022-0105}, eprint = {https://publications.aaahq.org/accounting-review/article-pdf/98/5/401/97856/i0001-4826-98-5-401.pdf}, published = {true}, }