Christopher Small

Assistant Professor

Christopher Small

Bio

Christopher Small is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at the University of Houston. His research examines information frictions in capital markets, focusing on how financial reporting, corporate disclosure, and analyst–management interactions shape the production and interpretation of firm information. He studies how institutional constraints and communication channels shape information acquisition, attention allocation, and asset prices in capital markets. His research is published in leading journals, including the Journal of Accounting and Economics, The Accounting Review, and Contemporary Accounting Research. Dr. Small serves as an ad hoc reviewer for various journals, including Contemporary Accounting Research, Management Science, the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, and the European Accounting Review. Prior to joining the University of Houston, he was an Assistant Professor of Accounting at the University of Toronto and served as co-editor of the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation. He received his PhD from the University of Iowa and his masters from Harvard Business School. Before entering academia, he worked as a manager at Deloitte.

Research Interests

  • Information frictions in capital markets
  • Financial reporting and corporate disclosure
  • Analyst-management interactions and information processing

Areas of Expertise

  • Financial accounting and capital markets
  • Corporate disclosure and earnings communications
  • Taxation

Selected Publications

  • "Analyst Rational Inattention: Evidence from CEO Turnover Events" with Thomas Godwin and Theodore Goodman. Forthcoming at The Accounting Review.
  • "Do Accruals Convey Information About Future Cash Flows? A Re-examination of Inferences Drawn" with Jacob Jaggi and Spencer Young. Forthcoming at the Journal of Business Finance & Accounting.
  • "Determinants of and Future Violations Following Deferred Prosecution and Non-Prosecution Agreements in Corporate Criminal Cases" with Gus De Franco and Aida Wahid. Contemporary Accounting Research (2025), 42(2), 1271-1270.
  • "Does Managerial Sentiment Affect Accrual Estimates? Evidence from the Banking Industry" with Paul Hribar, Sam Melessa, and Jaron Wilde, Journal of Accounting & Economics (2017), 63(1), 26-50.

Contact Info

Phone:
 713-743-0337 
Email:
  rcsmall@uh.edu
Room:
 390C MH
Website:
 No Web Site Currently

Education

Ph.D., University of Iowa, 2016