Education
- PhD Accounting, University of South Carolina
- Master of Philosophy, City University of Hong Kong, China
- BSBA Finance, Peking University, China
Industry & Academic Experience
- Senior Economic Research Fellow – Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
- Expert – Accounting, Office of Corporate Finance, Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Associate Professor – Accounting Group, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 2014-present
- Visiting Financial Economist – Securities Exchange Commission, Washington, DC 2019-2020
- Assistant Professor – Accounting Group, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 2008-2014
Selected Publications
- Joanna Golden and Xiaotao Liu. 2025. ASC 842 and Cost of Loans. Journal of Corporate Finance, 92. 102773.
- Xiaotao Liu, and Mathijs van Peteghem. 2022. Management Faultlines and Management Forecasts. Contemporary Accounting Research 39(4): 2517 – 2559.
- Xiaotao Liu, and Biyu Wu. 2021. Do IPO Firms Misclassify Expenses? Implications for IPO Price Formation and Post-IPO Stock Performance. Management Science 67(7): 3985-4642
- Lan Guo, Theresa Libby, and Xiaotao Liu, and Yu Tian. 2020. Vertical Pay Dispersion, Peer Observability and Misreporting. Contemporary Accounting Research 37(1): 575-602.
- Xiaotao Liu, Xiaoxia Liu and Colin Reid. 2019. Stakeholder Orientation and Cost Stickiness. Contemporary Accounting Research 36 (1): 486–512.
- Lan Guo, Theresa Libby, and Xiaotao Liu. 2017. The Effects of Vertical Pay Dispersion: Experimental Evidence in a Budget Setting. Contemporary Accounting Research 34 (1): 555-576.
- Yun Fan and Xiaotao Liu. 2017. Reclassifying Core Expenses as Special Items: COGS or SG&A? Contemporary Accounting Research 34 (1): 400-426.
- Mark Cecchini, Scott Jackson and Xiaotao Liu. 2012. Do Initial Public Offering Firms Manage Accruals? Evidence from Individual Accounts. Review of Accounting Studies 17 (1): 22–40.
- Scott Jackson and Xiaotao Liu. 2010. The Allowance for Uncollectible Accounts, Conservatism, and Earnings Management.” Journal of Accounting Research 48 (3): 565–601.
- Scott Jackson, Xiaotao Liu, and Mark Cecchini. 2009. Economic Consequences of Firms' Depreciation Method Choice: Evidence from Capital Investments. Journal of Accounting and Economics 48 (1): 54–68.
Selected Presentations
- 2026 MAS Midyear Conference, EAA Annual Conference, University of International Business and Economics
- 2025 MAS Midyear Conference, Auditing Midyear Conference, EAA Annual Conference
- 2024 Nanjing University, AAA Annual Meeting, MAS Midyear Conference
- 2023 MAS Midyear Conference, Kent State University Workshop, Fudan University Workshop, Bentley University Workshop
- 2022 Haskayne Accounting Conference, AAA Annual Meeting, USC China Workshop
Research & Teaching Interests
His primary areas of research interest include earnings management, management accounting and corporate governance.
Services to the Profession
Liu serves as an Ad-Hoc reviewer for The Accounting Review, Management Science, Contemporary Accounting Research, Review of Accounting Studies, Accounting Horizons, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Management Accounting Research, and Journal of Accounting and Public Policy.
Liu previously served as a financial economist at the Securities Exchange Commission. He was involved in making multiple SEC rules, XBRL standardization and disclosure compliance, and economic risk analysis.
Awards & Recognition
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Research Grant, Canada, 2024-2026.
- CAR Outstanding Reviewer Award, 2004 – 2025
- IMA Research Funding, 2024 – 2025
- Walsh Research Professorship, 2023 – 2024
- PCAOB Economic Research Fellowship, 2023 – 2024
- JMAR Outstanding Reviewer Award, 2023
- U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission Fellowship, 2019 – 2020
- Harold A. Mock Professorship, 2015 – 2017
