Associate Professor, Accounting 
Additional Roles: Kearney & Company Corporate Partner Faculty Fellow; Academic Director, Master's in Accounting
Contact Information
Email: bjohns37@gmu.edu
Phone: (703) 993-8185
Office Hours: By appointment
Office Location: Enterprise Hall, 236
Personal Websites
Biography
Bret A. Johnson joined the accounting faculty at George 麻豆视频 in 2015 after completing his PhD at The Ohio State University. He also holds a master鈥檚 and bachelor鈥檚 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:
- "The Regulatory Observer Effect: Evidence from SEC Investigations鈥 Review of Accounting Studies, 2025, forthcoming.
 - "Protecting Wall Street or Main Street: SEC Monitoring and Enforcement of Retail-Owned Firms鈥 Review of Accounting Studies, 2022.
 - 鈥淪EC Comment Letters on Form S-4 and M&A Accounting Quality鈥 Review of Accounting Studies, 2022.
 - 鈥淚nformation Leakage Around SEC Comment Letters鈥 Management Science, 2022.
 - 鈥淚s There Information Content in Information Acquisition?鈥 The Accounting Review, 2020.
 - 鈥淭he Switch Up: An Examination of Changes in Earnings Management after Receiving SEC Comment Letters鈥 Contemporary Accounting Research, 2020.
 
Awards:
- 2022 MSA Outstanding Faculty Award
 - 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