
Titles and Organizations
Assistant Professor, Accounting
Contact Information
Email: bjohns37@gmu
Phone: (703) 993-8185
Office Location: Enterprise Hall 236
Office Hours: By appointment
Biography
Bret A. Johnson joined the accounting faculty at Mason in 2015 after completing his PhD at The Ohio State University. He also holds a master’s and bachelor’s degree in accounting from Brigham Young University.
His professional experience includes working as a senior auditor for Ernst & Young and as a staff accountant at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Johnson is a CPA licensed in Virginia. His research and teaching interests are in financial accounting, particularly focused on disclosure and regulation.
Research Interests
- SEC Reporting and Regulation
- Financial Accounting and Disclosure
Education
- PhD - Accounting, The Ohio State University
- MS - Accounting, Brigham Young University
- BS - Accounting, Brigham Young University
Research and Awards
Research:
- “SEC Comment Letters on Form S-4 and M&A Accounting Quality” Review of Accounting Studies, 2022.
- “Information Leakage Around SEC Comment Letters” Management Science, 2022.
- “Is There Information Content in Information Acquisition?” The Accounting Review, 2020.
- “The Switch Up: An Examination of Changes in Earnings Management after Receiving SEC Comment Letters” Contemporary Accounting Research, 2020.
- "SEC Comment Letters and Firm Disclosure" Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 2017.
Awards:
- MSA Faculty of the Year 2021
- SEC Academic Fellowship 2020-2021
- MSA Faculty of the Year and Online Faculty of the Year 2019
- Philip A. Blanchard Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Education 2018
- Outstanding Professor in Major 2016-2017
- Career Connections Faculty Award 2016