Sean Cao

University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business

College Park, MD 20742-1815

United States

SCHOLARLY PAPERS

30

DOWNLOADS
Rank 2,086

SSRN RANKINGS

Top 2,086

in Total Papers Downloads

30,514

TOTAL CITATIONS
Rank 4,864

SSRN RANKINGS

Top 4,864

in Total Papers Citations

265

Ideas:
“  Dr. Cao holds a joint appointment in the Accounting and Finance Departments. His work includes the development of a research program focused on how unstructured big data and emerging AI technologies can help guide stock investment decisions as well as executives’ corporate decisions exploiting the fact that most corporate reporting and disclosure data are unstructured and high-dimensional such as text and images.Dr. Cao’s research has been featured in the Financial Times, CNBC, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and Quartz, and presented at major research universities including Harvard University and the University of Michigan. His research has also drawn attention and workshop invitations from leading financial and industrial AI firms such as State Street Boston, Grant Thornton, Wolfe Research, Ant Financial, Baidu, DataYes, JD.com and Founder Securities. He serves as an ad hoc associate editor at Management Science and closely works with PhD students. See more on personal webpages.  ”

Scholarly Papers (30)

From Man vs. Machine to Man + Machine: The Art and AI of Stock Analyses *

Journal of Financial Economics forthcoming; Columbia Business School Research Paper
Number of pages: 81 Posted: 06 May 2021 Last Revised: 29 Jun 2024
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Emory University Goizueta Business School, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge and Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business
Downloads 5,803 (2,951)
Citation 55

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Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, FinTech, Stock Analyst, Alternative Data, Disruptive Innovation

From Man vs. Machine to Man + Machine: The Art and Ai of Stock Analyses

NBER Working Paper No. w28800
Number of pages: 52 Posted: 17 May 2021 Last Revised: 12 Mar 2023
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Emory University Goizueta Business School, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge and Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business
Downloads 139 (434,980)
Citation 1

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How to Talk When a Machine is Listening: Corporate Disclosure in the Age of AI

Review of Financial Studies, Forthcoming
Number of pages: 84 Posted: 14 Sep 2020 Last Revised: 22 Mar 2023
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Emory University Goizueta Business School, Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business and Florida International University (FIU)
Downloads 4,167 (5,196)
Citation 28

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Machine Learning, AI, Corporate Disclosure, Textual Analysis, Speech Analysis, Feedback Effect

How to Talk When a Machine is Listening?: Corporate Disclosure in the Age of Ai

NBER Working Paper No. w27950
Number of pages: 59 Posted: 19 Oct 2020 Last Revised: 15 May 2023
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Emory University Goizueta Business School, Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business and Florida International University (FIU)
Downloads 160 (386,698)
Citation 25

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3.

Distributed Ledgers and Secure Multi-Party Computation for Financial Reporting and Auditing

Management Science, Forthcoming
Number of pages: 58 Posted: 25 Sep 2018 Last Revised: 12 Jul 2024
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Cornell University - Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management and Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business
Downloads 3,148 (8,357)
Citation 31

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Accounting, FinTech, Misreporting, Monitoring, Permissioned Blockchains, Privacy Preservation, Interoperability, Technology Adoption

4.

Expert Network Calls

Fisher College of Business Working Paper No. 2022-03-013, Charles A Dice Center Working Paper No. 2022-13
Number of pages: 62 Posted: 28 Nov 2022 Last Revised: 18 Jul 2024
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Emory University - Department of Finance, University of North Carolina at Greensboro and The Ohio State University
Downloads 1,191 (37,679)

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JEL: G11, G12, G14 Expert Networks, Price Efficiency, Hedge Funds

5.

Beyond the Lines: Uncovering Private Information from Fund Managers' Disclosures

Number of pages: 49 Posted: 02 Dec 2020 Last Revised: 06 Aug 2024
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business and Florida International University (FIU)
Downloads 1,129 (40,776)

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JEL Classification: C45, G11, G14, G23 Machine Learning, Large Language Models, Mutual Fund Performance, Disclosure, Textual Analysis, Shareholder Letters, Fund Flows

6.

Technological Peer Pressure and Product Disclosure

The Accounting Review, November 2018, 93 (6): 95-126
Number of pages: 62 Posted: 05 Mar 2016 Last Revised: 02 May 2022
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Rutgers Business School at Newark and New Brunswick, University of Florida - Warrington College of Business and University of Massachusetts Boston - Department of Accounting and Finance
Downloads 1,125 (40,946)
Citation 51

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competition, proprietary costs, voluntary disclosure, technology

7.

Visual Information and AI Divide: Evidence from Corporate Executive Presentations

Number of pages: 55 Posted: 26 Jun 2023 Last Revised: 18 Jul 2024
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Georgia State University, University of South Florida - Muma College of Business, Georgia State University - Robinson College of Business and Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business
Downloads 1,068 (44,481)
Citation 1

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JEL Classification: D83, G12, G14, G23, G30 Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, FinTech, Corporate Presentation, Image Analysis, Textual Analysis, Information and Market Efficiency, Institutional Investors, Investment

8.

Managerial Risk Assessment and Fund Performance: Evidence from Textual Disclosure

Number of pages: 59 Posted: 18 Apr 2022 Last Revised: 20 Jan 2025
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business and Florida International University (FIU)
Downloads 1,035 (46,134)
Citation 3

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Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Mutual Fund, Disclosure, Textual Analysis, Sentiment, Risk Assessment, Fund Performance, Fund Skill

9.

Earnings Volatility, Post-Earnings Announcement Drift and Trading Frictions

Journal of Accounting Research, Forthcoming
Number of pages: 45 Posted: 23 Mar 2010 Last Revised: 24 Jan 2015
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business and Tulane University - Accounting & Taxation
Downloads 1,035 (46,060)
Citation 26

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10.

Negative Peer Disclosure

Journal of Financial Economics (JFE), Vol. 140, No. 3, 2021
Number of pages: 54 Posted: 02 Jul 2019 Last Revised: 23 Nov 2021
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) and University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Downloads 1,010 (47,677)
Citation 3

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Peer Disclosure, Spillover, Product Market Rivalry, Technology Proximity, Social Media

11.

Applied AI for Finance and Accounting: Alternative Data and Opportunities

Number of pages: 45 Posted: 08 Apr 2024
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Emory University Goizueta Business School, University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Macquarie University
Downloads 993 (49,098)
Citation 1

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Artificial intelligence, data analytics, machine learning, finance, accounting

12.

Do Hedge Funds Strategically Misreport Their Holdings? Evidence from 13F Restatements

Number of pages: 52 Posted: 20 Aug 2021 Last Revised: 26 May 2023
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Notre Dame - Mendoza College of Business, University of Waterloo - School of Accounting and Finance and Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business
Downloads 886 (57,106)

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Strategic Disclosure, Hedge Funds, Ownership Disclosure, 13F Holdings, Restatement, Fund Skill

Copycat Skills and Disclosure Costs: Evidence from Peer Companies’ Digital Footprints

Journal of Accounting Research, Forthcoming
Number of pages: 54 Posted: 08 Nov 2018 Last Revised: 30 Apr 2021
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Pennsylvania State University, Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business and Florida International University (FIU)
Downloads 839 (60,658)
Citation 28

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Copycat, Disclosure, SEC EDGAR, Hedge Fund, Investment Company, Investment Research, Proprietary Cost, Big Data

Copycat Skills and Disclosure Costs: Evidence from Peer Companies’ Digital Footprints

Journal of Accounting Research, Volume 59, Issue 4
Posted: 20 Sep 2021
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Pennsylvania State University, Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business and Florida International University (FIU)

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copycat; disclosure; SEC EDGAR; hedge fund; investment company; investment research; proprietary cost; big data

14.

Skin in the Game: Operating Growth, Firm Performance, and Future Stock Returns

Forthcoming, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis
Number of pages: 47 Posted: 16 Feb 2021 Last Revised: 12 Sep 2021
Sean Cao, Zhe Wang and P. Eric Yeung
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill - Kenan-Flagler Business School and Cornell University - Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management
Downloads 764 (69,736)

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15.

Whitebox inside blackbox: Using interpretable language models to analyze financial narratives

Number of pages: 58 Posted: 25 Sep 2024 Last Revised: 01 Oct 2024
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Santa Clara University - Leavey School of Business, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University - School of Accounting and Finance and Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business
Downloads 753 (71,145)
Citation 1

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textual analysis, machine learning, neural networks, natural language processing, sentiment analysis, conference calls, technological advances, financial innovation

16.

Site Visits and Corporate Investment Efficiency

Management Science, Forthcoming
Number of pages: 60 Posted: 23 Oct 2023
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Connecticut, Santa Clara University - Leavey School of Business, Nanjing University and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University - School of Accounting and Finance
Downloads 732 (74,180)

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Site visits, corporate investment efficiency, monitoring, information acquisition

Auditor Litigation: Deterrence Implications for Non-sued Auditors

27th Annual Conference on Financial Economics and Accounting Paper
Number of pages: 39 Posted: 24 Feb 2016 Last Revised: 18 Dec 2019
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Pittsburgh - Katz Graduate School of Business, Tulane University - Accounting & Taxation and University of Arkansas
Downloads 547 (105,503)

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Auditor litigation, Restatements, Auditor learning, Audit fees

Auditor Litigation: Deterrence Implications for Non-Sued Auditors

Number of pages: 39 Posted: 29 Jun 2018
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Hong Kong Polytechnic University - School of Accounting and Finance, Tulane University - Accounting & Taxation and University of Arkansas
Downloads 147 (415,700)
Citation 1

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Securities, Financial Institutions

18.

The Implications of Firms’ Derivative Usage on the Frequency and Usefulness of Management Earnings Forecasts

Singapore Management University School of Accountancy Research Paper No. 2021-127, Contemporary Accounting Research, Forthcoming
Number of pages: 53 Posted: 21 Apr 2020 Last Revised: 26 Jun 2023
University of Georgia - J.M. Tull School of Accounting, University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Singapore Management University - School of Accountancy and Lehigh University - Department of Accounting
Downloads 593 (96,492)
Citation 1

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risk management, derivatives, management forecasts, analyst forecasts

19.

Can Machines Understand Human Skills? Insights from Analyst Selection

Number of pages: 61 Posted: 01 Apr 2024
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Saint Louis University - Department of Finance, Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business and Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business
Downloads 580 (99,485)

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FinTech, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Analyst Forecast, Analyst Skill

20.

Incentive Realignment: Mutual Funds’ Influence on Executive Compensation Contracts

Number of pages: 56 Posted: 16 Feb 2021 Last Revised: 21 Feb 2024
Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business, University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Arizona State University (ASU) - School of Accountancy and Sogang University
Downloads 404 (153,435)
Citation 2

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Mutual Funds, Corporate Governance, Executive Compensation, Pay Duration, Incentive Horizon

21.

Reexamining Growth Effects: Are All Types of Asset Growth the Same?

Contemporary Accounting Research
Number of pages: 48 Posted: 02 Nov 2011 Last Revised: 14 Sep 2021
Sean Cao
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business
Downloads 402 (154,314)
Citation 4

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Asset growth; Diminishing marginal returns; Future profitability; Market mispricing; Short-window test

Labor Market Benefit of Disaggregated Disclosure

Number of pages: 59 Posted: 14 Sep 2020 Last Revised: 11 Mar 2022
Sean Cao, Yinghua Li and Guang Ma
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Arizona State University (ASU) - School of Accountancy and Rutgers Business School at Newark and New Brunswick
Downloads 394 (156,346)

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asymmetric information, disclosure disaggregation, matching, labor market frictions, CEO hiring, executive labor market

Labor Market Benefit of Disaggregated Disclosure

Contemporary Accounting Research, Forthcoming
Posted: 12 Mar 2022
Sean Cao, Yinghua Li and Guang Ma
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Arizona State University (ASU) - School of Accountancy and Rutgers Business School at Newark and New Brunswick

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asymmetric information, disclosure disaggregation, matching, labor market frictions, CEO hiring, executive labor market

23.

Venture Labor: A Nonfinancial Signal for Start-up Success

Number of pages: 52 Posted: 22 Mar 2021 Last Revised: 11 Apr 2024
Sean Cao, Jie He, Zhilu Lin and Xiao Ren
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Georgia - Department of Finance, Clarkson University - Department of Economics and Finance and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen
Downloads 358 (175,538)
Citation 1

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Venture Labor, Serial Venture Employees, Start-up Performance, IPOs and Sell-outs, Information Environments about Private Firms, Innovation

24.

Machine Readership and Financial Reporting Decisions

Number of pages: 50 Posted: 08 Dec 2023
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business and Georgia State University, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, School of Accountancy
Downloads 335 (189,320)
Citation 1

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Artificial Intelligence, Financial Reporting, Machine Learning, Earnings Management.

25.

A Game of Disclosing "Other Events": Insights for Retail Investors

Number of pages: 61 Posted: 20 Sep 2023 Last Revised: 19 Jan 2025
Sean Cao, Zhongling Qin and Tao Shu
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Auburn University - Department of Finance and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) - CUHK Business School
Downloads 230 (277,669)

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Other News, 8-Ks, Strategic Disclosure, Sentiment Distortion, Retail Investors, LDA Modeling, ChatGPT

26.

Coordinated Innovation: The Role of Product Development Disclosures

Number of pages: 67 Posted: 26 Jun 2024
Sean Cao, Yongtae Kim and Guang Ma
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Santa Clara University - Leavey School of Business and Rutgers Business School at Newark and New Brunswick
Downloads 193 (327,476)

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innovation, patents, disclosure, product disclosure, supply chain, coordination

27.

Do Local Investors Always Know Better? Evidence from China’s Market Segmentation

Accounting Horizons: March 2019
Number of pages: 51 Posted: 01 Aug 2019
Sean Cao, Tao Ma and Chi Wan
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Texas Tech University - Area of Accounting and University of Massachusetts Boston - Department of Accounting and Finance
Downloads 142 (426,506)
Citation 1

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information advantage; domestic investors; foreign investors; Chinese stock market

28.

The Economics of Greenwashing Funds

Number of pages: 66 Posted: 18 Dec 2024 Last Revised: 25 Feb 2025
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Texas A&M University - Department of Finance, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Florida International University (FIU)
Downloads 104 (545,235)

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Mutual Funds, ESG, Greenwashing, Comment Letters, Fund Flows

29.

Processing Contract-Level Disclosures: The Role of Investors' Computational Resources

Singapore Management University School of Accountancy Research Paper Forthcoming
Number of pages: 52 Posted: 28 Oct 2024
Sean Cao, Hye Sun Chang and Yongtae Kim
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Singapore Management University - School of Accountancy and Santa Clara University - Leavey School of Business
Downloads 94 (583,496)

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Contracting parties, information spillover, disclosure, computational resource, 8-K disclosure Contracting parties, information spillover, disclosure, computational resource, 8-K disclosure

30.

Credibility of IT Disclosure Narratives: An Examination in the Context of Data Breaches

Number of pages: 1 Posted: 07 Feb 2025 Last Revised: 13 Feb 2025
Emory University - Goizueta Business School, University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Pennsylvania State University - Department of Supply Chain & Information Systems and University of Georgia - Department of Management Information Systems
Downloads 14 (1,178,444)

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Data breach, IT disclosure, IT governance, disclosure tone, voluntary disclosure