Sean Cao

University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business

College Park, MD 20742-1815

United States

SCHOLARLY PAPERS

24

DOWNLOADS
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Top 3,222

in Total Papers Downloads

19,441

SSRN CITATIONS
Rank 9,127

SSRN RANKINGS

Top 9,127

in Total Papers Citations

137

CROSSREF CITATIONS

31

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 (24)

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

Columbia Business School Research Paper
Number of pages: 64 Posted: 06 May 2021 Last Revised: 07 Jul 2022
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Emory University Goizueta Business School, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge and Georgia State University - Robinson College of Business
Downloads 3,301 (6,267)
Citation 2

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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 - Robinson College of Business
Downloads 75 (544,311)
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 - Robinson College of Business and Florida International University (FIU)
Downloads 3,177 (6,676)
Citation 16

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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 - Robinson College of Business and Florida International University (FIU)
Downloads 79 (527,511)
Citation 4

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3.

Financial Reporting and Blockchains: Misreporting, Auditing, and Regulation

Number of pages: 51 Posted: 25 Sep 2018 Last Revised: 26 Sep 2023
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Cornell University - Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management and Georgia State University - Robinson College of Business
Downloads 2,741 (8,510)
Citation 26

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Auditor Risk and Sampling, Collaborative Auditing, Distributed Ledger Technology, FinTech, PCAOB PCAOB, RegTech, Technology Adoption, Zero-Knowledge Proof.

4.

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 923 (44,408)
Citation 20

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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 868 (48,314)
Citation 3

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

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 852 (49,630)
Citation 37

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competition, proprietary costs, voluntary disclosure, technology

7.

Beyond the Lines: Deciphering Private Information from Fund Managers' Narratives

Number of pages: 44 Posted: 02 Dec 2020 Last Revised: 20 Jul 2023
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Georgia State University - Robinson College of Business and Florida International University (FIU)
Downloads 698 (65,097)

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Machine Learning, Large Language Models, Mutual Fund Performance, Disclosure, Textual Analysis, Shareholder Letters, Fund Flows

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 - Robinson College of Business and Florida International University (FIU)
Downloads 688 (65,026)
Citation 14

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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 - 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

9.

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 663 (69,268)

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10.

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: 56 Posted: 28 Nov 2022 Last Revised: 07 Sep 2023
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 648 (71,251)

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Expert Networks, Price Efficiency, Hedge Funds, Informed Trading

11.

Managerial Risk Assessment and Fund Performance: Evidence from Textual Disclosure

Number of pages: 52 Posted: 18 Apr 2022 Last Revised: 30 May 2023
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Georgia State University - Robinson College of Business and Florida International University (FIU)
Downloads 643 (72,097)
Citation 1

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

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 - Robinson College of Business
Downloads 623 (74,833)

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

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 470 (104,775)

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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 127 (379,991)
Citation 1

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Securities, Financial Institutions

14.

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 516 (94,608)
Citation 1

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risk management, derivatives, management forecasts, analyst forecasts

15.

From Words to Syntax: Identifying Context-specific Information in Textual Analysis

Number of pages: 59 Posted: 13 Apr 2020 Last Revised: 20 Oct 2022
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Santa Clara University - Leavey School of Business, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) - School of Accountancy and Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business
Downloads 432 (116,943)
Citation 1

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textual analysis, machine learning, neural networks, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, sentiment analysis, conference calls

16.

Visual Information in the Age of AI: Evidence from Corporate Executive Presentations

Number of pages: 51 Posted: 26 Jun 2023 Last Revised: 18 Jul 2023
University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Georgia State University, Georgia State University - Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University - Robinson College of Business and Georgia State University - Robinson College of Business
Downloads 410 (124,250)
Citation 1

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Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, FinTech, Corporate Presentation, Image Analysis, Textual Analysis, Information and Market Efficiency, Institutional Investors, Investment

17.

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 356 (145,578)
Citation 2

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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 327 (158,486)

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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

19.

Incentive Realignment: Mutual Funds’ Influence on Executive Compensation Contracts

Number of pages: 50 Posted: 16 Feb 2021 Last Revised: 30 Mar 2021
Georgia State University, University of Maryland - Robert H. Smith School of Business, Arizona State University (ASU) - School of Accountancy and Sogang University
Downloads 261 (201,329)
Citation 2

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

20.

Venture Labor: A Nonfinancial Signal for Start-up Success

Number of pages: 54 Posted: 22 Mar 2021 Last Revised: 01 Apr 2022
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 178 (287,738)

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Venture Labor, Serial Venture Employees, Start-up Performance, Information Environments about Private Firms, Innovation

21.

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 Chinese University of Hong Kong
Downloads 173 (295,054)

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Site visits, corporate investment efficiency, monitoring, information acquisition

22.

A Game of Disclosing 'Other Events': A Message to Retail Investors

Number of pages: 58 Posted: 20 Sep 2023
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 114 (410,164)

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Retail Investors, Disclosure Distortions, Disclosure Sentiment, 8-Ks, Other News, Strategic Disclosure.

23.

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, Rawls College of Business, Texas Tech University and University of Massachusetts Boston - Department of Accounting and Finance
Downloads 98 (456,416)
Citation 1

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

24.

Machine Readership and Financial Reporting Decisions

Number of pages: 50
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 0

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