Christopher Yust
Deloitte Foundation Leadership Professorship
Andersen Students Professorship in Accounting
- cyust@mays.tamu.edu
- 979-845-3439
- Wehner 449H
Education
Ph.D. in Accounting from The University of Texas at AustinM.S. in Finance and B.B.A. in Accounting from Texas A&M University
Research Interest
Financial Accounting, financial accounting and reporting, banking, litigation, financial misconduct and earnings managementCourses Taught
ACCT 680, Accounting Information and Financial MarketsACCT 651, Development of Accounting Thought
ACCT 327, Intermediate Financial Accounting I
Biography
Dr. Yust is an associate accounting professor and holds both the Deloitte Foundation Leadership Professorship and the Andersen Students Professorship in Accounting. He received a Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Texas, and has a CPA license to practice accounting in Texas. He spends most of his days immersed in the world of accounting, teaching and creating exciting research.
His passion lies at the intersection of law and accounting, where he investigates complex issues related to litigation, fraud, misreporting, and corporate governance. Additionally, he is interested in banks’ behavior and financial reporting, such as fair value accounting, risk-taking, reporting quality; and accounting standard setting, such as due process, comment letters, and standard characteristics. His research is interdisciplinary by nature and has been published in several leading scholarly journals in accounting, finance, law, and economics.
As a teacher, he prioritizes critical thinking and real-world application in his classes. He has taught financial accounting to students at all levels, from introductory to advanced. He currently co-teaches accounting theory to master’s students and a capital markets seminar to doctoral students. He is the recipient of the Fred Moore Assistant Instructor Teaching Excellence award (2014), the Ernst & Young Faculty Excellence award (2018), the Montague-Center for Teaching Excellence Scholar award (2019), and the Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award (2022).
Before becoming a professor, he worked as a Senior Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers in their advisory and consulting practice in New York and as a postgraduate technical assistant at the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in Connecticut. He also has prior audit experience in Texas and New York. He primarily worked with clients in the financial service industry.
In his (limited) free time, he loves to hang out with his amazing wife and their sparkling (and spunky) daughter. He is very involved in multiple ministries at his church and likes to unwind with a good book.
Research Publications
"Do Public Health Policies Increase Corporate Innovation? Evidence from U.S. Nonsmoking Laws" with Brant Christensen and Adam Olson. Research Policy,Vol. 52 (1), pp. 1-22, December 2023.“The Merits of Securities Litigation and Corporate Reputation” with Dain Donelson and Antonis Kartapanis. Contemporary Accounting Research, Vol. 41 (1), pp. 424-458, Spring 2024.
“The Effect of Shareholder Scrutiny on Corporate Tax Behavior: Evidence from Shareholder Tax Litigation” with Dain Donelson, Jennifer Glenn, and Sean McGuire. Contemporary Accounting Research, Vol. 41 (1), pp. 424-458, Spring 2024.
“Getting Back to the Source: A New Approach to Measuring Ex Ante Litigation Risk using Plaintiff-Lawyer Views of SEC Filings” with Antonis Kartapanis. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, forthcoming.
“Spillover Effects in Disclosure-Related Securities Litigation” with Dain Donelson and Rachel Flam. The Accounting Review, Vol. 97 (5), pp. 275–299, September 2022.
“Litigation Risk and the Independent Director Labor Market” with Dain Donelson and Elizabeth Tori. Contemporary Accounting Research, Vol 39 (2), pp. 982–1022, Summer 2022.
“Is Tax Aggressiveness Associated with Tax Litigation Risk? Evidence from D&O Insurance” with Dain Donelson and Jennifer Glenn. Review of Accounting Studies, Vol 27, pp. 519–569, June 2022.
“Are All Activists Created Equal? The Effect of Interventions by Hedge Funds and Other Private Activists on Long-term Shareholder Value” with Edward P. Swanson and Glen M. Young. Journal of Corporate Finance, Vol 72, February 2022.
“U.S. Evidence from D&O Insurance on Agency Costs: Implications for Country-Specific Studies” with Dain Donelson and Brian Monsen. Journal of Financial Reporting, Vol 6 (2), pp. 63–87, Fall 2021.
“Measuring Accounting Fraud and Irregularities Using Public and Private Enforcement” with Dain Donelson, Antonis Kartapanis, and John McInnis. The Accounting Review, Vol 96 (6), pp. 183–213, November 2021.
“Does Media Coverage Cause Meritorious Shareholder Litigation? Evidence from the Stock Option Backdating Scandal” with Dain Donelson and Antonis Kartapanis. Journal of Law & Economics, Vol 64 (3), pp. 567–601, August 2021.
“Internal Control Quality and Bank Risk-Taking and Performance” with Matthew Baugh and Matthew Ege. AUDITING: A Journal of Practice & Theory, Vol. 40 (2), pp. 49–84, May 2021.
“Insurers and Lenders as Monitors during Securities Litigation: Evidence from D&O Insurance Premiums, Interest Rates and Litigation Costs” with Dain Donelson. Journal of Risk and Insurance, Vol. 86 (3), pp. 663–696, September 2019.
“Tainted Portfolios: How Impairment Accounting Rules Restrict Security Sales” with Brett Cantrell. Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, Vol. 46 (5-6), pp. 608–635, June 2019.
“Déjà vu: The Effect of Executives and Directors with Prior Banking Crisis Experience on Bank Outcomes around the Global Financial Crisis” with Anwer Ahmed, Brant Christensen, and Adam Olson. Contemporary Accounting Research, 36 (2), pp. 958–998, Summer 2019.
