Bret Johnson

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

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