John D. Kepler

Associate Professor of Accounting
Academic Area:
John D. Kepler

Bio

John Kepler joined Stanford Graduate School of Business as an assistant professor of accounting in July 2019. He studies the interrelated nature that firms’ explicit and implicit contracts play in shaping firms’ financial reporting and corporate governance practices. His recent work has examined the role of executive bonus plans in facilitating cooperation among management team members. Other work examines how corporate insiders exploit their private information advantage about corporate audit findings for personal gain.

Professor Kepler received his PhD in Accounting from the the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Accounting and Finance from the Foster School of Business of the University of Washington. Prior to his studies at Wharton, he worked in Financial Planning and Analysis for Nordstrom in Seattle, Washington.

Research Interests

  • Financial Reporting
  • Governance and Incentives
  • Law and Economics

Academic Degrees

  • PhD, Accounting, University of Pennsylvania, 2019
  • BA, Accounting and Finance, University of Washington, 2011

Academic Appointments

  • Associate Professor of Accounting, Stanford GSB, 2023–present
  • Assistant Professor of Accounting, Stanford GSB, 2019–23

Awards and Honors

  • Spence Faculty Scholar, 2023–24
  • Fletcher Jones Faculty Scholar for 2020–21

Professional Experience

  • Financial Analyst, Nordstrom, 2013–14
  • Project Engineer, Abbott Construction, 2011–13

Research Statement

Professor Kepler’s research relates to documenting and understanding the interrelated nature that firms’ contracts — both explicit and implicit — play in driving firms’ financial reporting and corporate governance practices.

Journal Articles

Thomas Bourveau, John D. Kepler, Guoman She, Lynn Linghuan Wang
The Accounting Review
July 2024 Vol. 99 Issue 4 Pages 111–141
Christopher S. Armstrong, John D. Kepler, David F. Larcker, Shawn X. Shi
Journal of Accounting and Economics
January 2024
John D. Kepler, Vic Naiker, Christopher R. Stewart
The Journal of Finance
October 2023 Vol. 78 Issue 5 Pages 2837–2900
Christopher S. Armstrong, John D. Kepler, Delphine Samuels, Daniel Taylor
Journal of Accounting & Economics
November 2022 Vol. 74 Issue 2–3
Salman Arif, John D. Kepler, Joseph Schroeder, Daniel Taylor
Review of Accounting Studies
July 2022
Matthew Bloomfield, Brandon Gipper, John D. Kepler, David Tsui
Journal of Accounting and Economics
November 2021 Vol. 72 Issue 2–3
Terrence Blackburne, John D. Kepler, Phillip Quinn, Daniel Taylor
Management Science
June 2021 Vol. 67 Issue 6
John D. Kepler
Journal of Accounting and Economics
April 2021 Vol. 71 Issue 2–3
Christopher S. Armstrong, Stephen Glaeser, John D. Kepler
Journal of Accounting and Economics
August 24, 2019
Wayne Guay, John D. Kepler, David Tsui
Journal of Financial Economics
August 2019 Vol. 133 Issue 2 Pages 441-471
Christopher S. Armstrong, Stephen Glaeser, John D. Kepler
Journal of Accounting and Economics
March 9, 2019
Christopher S. Armstrong, John D. Kepler
Journal of Accounting and Economics
November 2018 Vol. 66 Issue 2–3 Pages 366–373

Working Papers

Christopher S. Armstrong, John D. Kepler, David F. Larcker, Shawn Shi May 8, 2022
Christopher S. Armstrong, John D. Kepler, Chongho Kim, David Tsui December 1, 2021
John D. Kepler, Valeri V. Nikolaev, Nicholas Scott-Hearn, Christopher R. Stewart November 14, 2021
John D. Kepler, Christopher S. Armstrong, Shawn Shi, David Tsui November 12, 2018

Teaching Statement

Professor Kepler teaches the first year MBA Managerial Accounting course (Strategic Performance Management). The objective of this course is to learn how performance management practices can be strategically applied across the various functions of a business organization to improve organizational performance.

Insights by Stanford Business

March 23, 2023
Paying corporate accountants more removes incentives for financial misreporting.
November 10, 2022
Younger investors are more willing to put money behind environmental and social goals — even if it’s costlier.
February 08, 2021
Cash and equity incentives promote individual and collective performance benefits, new research finds.
March 23, 2020
Two ways company insiders are taking advantage of privileged information and going undetected.