Dr. Pfeiffer has spent the past 30 years in higher education. Prior to arriving at Simmons University, he was Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Professor of Accounting in the Neeley School of Business at TCU. He began his academic career at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst in 1994 and served one year as Research Fellow at the Financial Accounting Standards Board in Norwalk, Connecticut. Prior to his academic career, he was a CPA, working as an auditor for Deloitte, Haskins and Sells (now Deloitte) for 3 years.
Dr. Pfeiffer's area of specialty is financial reporting. Over his career, he has taught at all levels, from freshmen to seniors, Master's students, and doctoral students.
Dr. Pfeiffer was born and raised in eastern Pennsylvania. Outside of work, Dr. Pfeiffer enjoys time with family; playing jazz piano and upright bass; composing, arranging, and listening to music — especially jazz; traveling; cooking; distance running; and playing tennis. He lives in West Roxbury with his spouse and tries to keep tabs on two wonderful and adventurous daughters.
Education
- Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- B.A. Moravian College
What I Teach
- ACCT 110 Financial Accounting
- ACCT 120 Managerial Accounting
- ACCT 200 Intermediate Accounting I
- ACCT 201 Intermediate Accounting II
- ACCT 300 Advanced Financial Reporting
- ACCT 301 Accounting Information Systems
- ACCT 308 Auditing and Assurance
- ACCT 325 Accounting and Business Ethics
Research/Creative Activities
Dr. Pfeiffer conducts research dealing with issues of financial communication between organizations and their stakeholders. His scholarship has appeared in numerous outlets including the three most prestigious journals in the field. He served as senior editor of Accounting Horizons from 2019-2021.
Publications
Refereed Journal Articles
Pfeiffer, R., K. Teitel, S. Wahab, and M. Wahab. 2021. “Identifying the News in Analysts' Earnings Forecasts Revisions: An Alternative to the Random Walk Expectation.” Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies 24(4).
Desir, R., R. Pfeiffer, and F. Roberts. 2020. “Should Government Assistance be Reflected in Financial Reports?” Accounting Horizons 34(1): 93-110.
Desir, R., R. Cazier, R. Pfeiffer, and L. Albert. 2020. "Intra-Industry Information Transfer Effects of Leading Firms' Earnings Narratives." Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting.
Cazier, R., and R. Pfeiffer. 2017. "10-k Disclosure Repetition and Managerial Reporting Incentives," Journal of Financial Reporting 2(1): 107-131.
Desir, R., R. Pfeiffer, J. Casterella, and J. Kokina. 2017. "Causes and Consequences of ‘Discretionary' Goodwill Impairments" Advances in Quantitative Analysis of Finance and Accounting 15: 1-29.
Cazier, R., and R. Pfeiffer. 2016. "Why are 10-K Filings So Long?" Accounting Horizons, 30(1): 1-21.
Bradshaw, M., D. Bens (principal co-author), C. A. Frost (principal co-author), E. Gordon, S. McVay, R. Pfeiffer (principal co-author), M. Plumlee (principal co-author), C. Shakespeare, W. Thomas, F. Wong (principal co-author). 2014. "Accounting Standard Setting for Private Companies." Accounting Horizons 28(1): 175-192.
Cho, S.-Y., C. Lee, and R. Pfeiffer. 2013. "Corporate Social Responsibility Performance Information and Information Asymmetry." Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 32(1): 71-83.
Machuga, S., K. Teitel, R. Pfeiffer, and E. Wu. 2011. "Explaining the Surprising Performance of Whisper Forecasts of Earnings." Advances in Quantitative Analysis in Finance and Accounting 9, pp. 1-29.
Desir, R., K. Fanning, and R. Pfeiffer. 2010. "Are Revisions to SFAS No. 5 Needed?" Accounting Horizons 24(4): 525-545.
Akisik, O., and R. Pfeiffer, Jr. 2009. "Globalization, U.S. Foreign Investments, and Accounting Standards." Review of Accounting and Finance 8(1): 5-37.
Moore, E., and R. Pfeiffer, Jr. 2009. "Do Managers Change Their Financial Reporting Strategies in Response to an Earnings Restatement?" Journal of Accounting Ethics and Public Policy 9(1): 39-70.
Brown, Jr., W., and R. Pfeiffer, Jr. 2008. "Do Investors Under-React to Information in Analysts' Earnings Forecasts?" Journal of Business Finance and Accounting 35(7) & (8): 889-911.
Brown, W., E. Moore, and R. Pfeiffer, Jr. 2008. "Evaluating the Robustness of Market Anomaly Evidence." Advances in Quantitative Analysis of Finance and Accounting 6 (March): 27-48.
Brown, W., and R. Pfeiffer, Jr. 2007. "Causes and Consequences of the Relation between Split-Adjusted Share Prices and Subsequent Stock Returns." Journal of Business Finance and Accounting 34(1) & (2), January/March: 292-312.
Elgers, P., M. Lo, and R. Pfeiffer, Jr. 2003. "Analysts' vs. Investors' Weightings of Accruals in Forecasting Annual Earnings." Journal of Accounting and Public Policy 22(3), May-June: 255-280.
Elgers, P., R. Pfeiffer, Jr., and S. Porter. 2003. "Anticipatory Income Smoothing: A Re-examination." Journal of Accounting and Economics 35(3), August: 405-422.
Christophe, S., and R. Pfeiffer, Jr. 2002. "The Valuation of MNC International Operations during the 1990s." Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting 18(2) (March):119-138.
Machuga, S., R. Pfeiffer, Jr., and K. Verma. 2002. "EVA, Future Accounting Earnings, and Financial Analysts' Earnings Forecasts." Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting 18(1) (January): 59-73.
Elgers, P., M. Lo, and R. Pfeiffer, Jr. 2001. "Delayed Security Price Adjustments to Financial Analysts' Forecasts of Annual Earnings." The Accounting Review 76 (October): 613-632.
Machuga, S. and R. Pfeiffer, Jr. 2000. "A Comparison of Financial-Statement-Analysis-Based and Price-Based Earnings Forecasts." Journal of Business and Economic Studies 6(1) Spring: 21-41.
Machuga, S., R. Pfeiffer, Jr., and B. Morzuch. 2000. "Measurement Error and Simultaneity in the Returns/Earnings Relation." Advances in Quantitative Analysis in Finance and Accounting 8: 139-160.
Pfeiffer, Jr., R., and P. Elgers. 1999. "Controlling for Lagged Stock Price Responses in Pricing Regressions: An Application to the Pricing of Cash Flows and Accruals." Journal of Accounting Research 37(1) Spring: 239-247.
Pfeiffer, Jr., R. 1998. "The Implications of Accounting Research for Accounting-Based Investment Strategies." Journal of Alternative Investments 1(3) Winter: 68-77.
Pfeiffer, Jr., R. 1998. "Market Value and Accounting Implications of Off-Balance-Sheet Items." Journal of Accounting and Public Policy 17(3) Autumn: 185-207.
Pfeiffer, Jr., R., P. Elgers, M. Lo, and L. Rees. 1998. "Additional Evidence on the Incremental Information Content of Cash Flows and Accruals: The Impact of Errors in Measuring Market Expectations." The Accounting Review 73(3) July: 373-385.
Other Publications
Bens, D., C. A. Frost, T. Harris, S. McVay (chair); R. Pfeiffer (principal co-author) M. Plumlee, E. Riedl (principal co-author), C. Shakespeare, W. Thomas (principal co-author), and F. Wong). 2013. "Response to the FASB Exposure Draft: Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) – Reporting Discontinued Operations." (Comment letter to the Financial Accounting Standards Board).
Bens, D., M. Bradshaw (Chair), C. Callahan; J. Ciesielski, E. Gordon, L. Hodder, B. Laux, S. McVay, G. Miller, R. Pfeiffer (Principal Co-author), M. Plumlee, C. Shakespeare, P. Stocken (Principal Co-author), W. Thomas (Principal Co-author), F. Wong. 2010. "Response to the Exposure Draft on Revenue Recognition (Topic 605)." (Comment letter to the Financial Accounting Standards Board and International Accounting Standards Board).
Machuga, S., K. Teitel, R. Pfeiffer, Jr., and B. Boyer. 2008. "Hearing the Whispers." Financial Adviser.
Pfeiffer, Jr., R. 1999. "Do Investors Price Off-Balance-Sheet Assets? Some Evidence From Mortgage Bank Share Prices" Financial Accounting Series Status Report.