Costello Research SEC/PCAOB

What is the role of professional judgment and oversight in AI-assisted audits? How is private equity investment altering the management and strategic direction of accounting firms? Can regulators close the tax gap for cryptocurrencies and borderless digital assets and ensure enforcement? The 2026 Accounting Horizons Conference, hosted by the Costello College of Business at George Mason University, provided a platform to examine answers to questions shaping the accounting industry’s future.

The SEC’s communications with equity issuers are a potential treasure trove for info-hungry investors, according to research by accounting professor David Koo. But they are not always getting into the public eye early enough to make a difference.

How does the PCAOB, which oversees corporate audits, select targets for inspection? A George Mason University accounting professor built a model to help capture the process.

Managers’ attempts to distract investors from bad news have serious implications for market efficiency.

Taxing “book” income may result in worse information for shareholders and creditors.

Auditors with less common first names are more likely to deviate from auditing norms. But is their individualism an asset or a liability?

One accounting standard to rule them all might be a less desirable state of affairs than the ‘managed divergence’ that currently exists between U.S.-GAAP and IFRS.

Artificial intelligence can perform peer firm selection—a key task for investors—at least as accurately as well-established alternative algorithms and human experts, according to research by Costello profs Long Chen and Yi Cao.

The SEC’s unique treatment of companies that opt into public reporting shows that lighter-touch regulation can sometimes be just as effective. Associate professor of accounting Bret Johnson’s recent paper looks at how the SEC handles the added responsibility of reviewing voluntary filings.

Mason accounting professor, David Koo, goes back through history to trace how financial reporting requirements affect investors’ long- vs. short-term thinking.