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Rick Mergenthaler

Color portrait of Rick Mergenthaler

Associate Professor in Accounting

Department Accounting

Phone Number 814-863-7055
Email Address rjm6979@psu.edu

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Education

Ph.D., Accounting, The University of Washington, 2008

Masters of Accountancy, Audit, Brigham Young University, 2002

Bachelors of Science, Accounting, Brigham Young University, 2002

Courses Taught

ACCTG 501 – Res Meth Acctg (3)

ACCTG 481 – Fin Anal Eval Dec (3)
An accounting based evaluation and decision making approach to analyzing financial statements by studying business and firm valuation.ACCTG 481 Financial Statement Analysis (3) The proposed course in financial statement analysis is structured to improve the student's ability to extract and interpret information from actual financial statements and to expose the student to how financial statement information is integrated into equity valuation and credit analysis. The course would not only rely upon textbook-based and lecture-based learning, but also emphasize case-based learning.The course will consist of two main sections. The first will deal with accounting and business analysis. This part will explore the types of financial information data typically available for publicly traded companies and introduce a model of the economic drivers of company performance. It would incorporate some technical accounting as well as some standards business economics/strategy concepts. Students will be forced to recast financial statements that they believe do not reflect the underlying economic state of the company. Financial reporting issues relating to revenue and expense recognition, leases and consolidations will be discussed.The other section of the course will deal with firm valuation. Students would be exposed to some standard approaches to equity valuation and the analysis activities underlying these approaches. Aspects of valuation that would be covered in this section of the course are financial ratio analysis, forecasting, pro-forma statements, cost of capital and valuation methods.The course will rely on lectures and extensive use of case studies.

Selected Publications

Hribar P., Mergenthaler R., Roeschley A., Young S., Zhao C., "Do Managers Issue More Voluntary Disclosure When GAAP Limits Their Reporting Discretion in Financial Statements?." Journal of Accounting Research, vol. 60, no. 1, 2021
16 Google Scholar citations
Chen C., Collins D., Mergenthaler R., "Financial Statement Comparability and the Efficiency of Acquisition Decisions." Contemporary Accounting Research, vol. 35, no. 1, 2018
309 Google Scholar citations
Acito A., Hogan C., Mergenthaler R., "The Effects of PCAOB Inspections on Auditor-Client Relationships." The Accounting Review, vol. 93, no. 2, 2018, pp. 1-35
96 Google Scholar citations
Hribar P., Folsom D., Peterson, Mergenthaler R., "Principles-Based Standards and Earnings Attributes." Management Science, vol. 63, no. 8, 2017
87 Google Scholar citations
Donelson D., McInnis J., Mergenthaler R., "Explaining Rules-Based Characteristics in U.S. GAAP: Theories and Evidence?." Journal of Accounting Research, vol. 54, no. 3, 2016
47 Google Scholar citations
Donelson D., McInnis J., Mergenthaler R., "The Effect of Corporate Governance Reform on Financial Reporting Fraud." Journal of Law, Finance, and Accounting, vol. 1, no. 2, 2016
23 Google Scholar citations
Donelson D., McInnis J., Mergenthaler R., "Discontinuities and Earnings Management: Evidence from Restatements Related to Securities Litigation." Contemporary Accounting Research, vol. 30, no. 1, 2013
91 Google Scholar citations
Brown N., Christensen T., Elliott B., Mergenthaler R., "Investor Sentiment and Pro Forma Earnings Disclosures." Journal of Accounting Research, vol. 50, no. 1, 2012
329 Google Scholar citations
Donelson D., McInnis J., Mergenthaler R., "Rules-Based Accounting Standards and Litigation." The Accounting Review, vol. 87, no. 4, 2012
188 Google Scholar citations
Donelson D., McInnis J., Mergenthaler R., Yu Y., "The Timeliness of Bad Earnings News and Litigation Risk." The Accounting Review, vol. 87, no. 6, 2012
174 Google Scholar citations
Bhattacharya N., Black E., Christensen T., Mergenthaler R., "Who Trades on Pro Forma Earnings Information?." The Accounting Review, vol. 82, no. 3, 2007
347 Google Scholar citations
Bhattacharya N., Black E., Christensen T., Mergenthaler R., "Empirical Evidence on Recent Trends in Pro Forma Reporting." Accounting Horizons, vol. 18, no. 1, 2004
250 Google Scholar citations

Honors and Awards