Charles M.C. Lee Receives FARS Lifetime Achievement Award
American Accounting Association recognizes Charles M.C. Lee for research and thought leadership
Congratulations to Professor Charles M.C. Lee on being honored with the Financial Accounting and Reporting Section (FARS) Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Accounting Association (AAA). Charles M.C. Lee is the Kermit O. Hanson Professor in Accounting at the Foster School of Business Department of Accounting.
The award recognizes individuals who are trailblazers in accounting research—those whose work opens new avenues of study and has fundamentally reshaped the academic landscape over the course of their careers. This honor recognizes Lee’s thought leadership and significant contributions to financial accounting research.
His research bridges accounting and finance, exploring topics such as company valuation, how market prices reflect accounting information, and the role of human behavior in market dynamics. He also examines the impact of security regulations on market performance, particularly in developing economies.
“Professor Charles M.C. Lee’s impact on the field of accounting cannot be overstated,” says Dawn Matsumoto, Marion B. Ingersoll Professor of Accounting and Chair of the Accounting Department, Foster School of Business. “In addition to pioneering the idea that markets may not always be efficient—a controversial stance at the time—he deepened our understanding of market function. This recognition of his contributions is long overdue.”
From asset management to Alphanomics
Originally from Taiwan, Charles M.C. Lee immigrated to Canada at the age of nine and later earned degrees from the University of Waterloo and Cornell University. His academic career includes faculty roles at the University of Michigan, Cornell, and Stanford. He spent five years in asset management as a Managing Director at Barclays Global Investors (now Blackrock), where he was named the Global Head of Active Equity Research, leading the research team and co-managing a substantial portfolio of actively managed equity assets. He later returned to academia as a Chaired professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business before joining the Foster School of Business in 2022.
“Beyond his research, Charles has had a tremendous impact in the classroom. The course he developed—Alphanomics—has inspired countless students to leverage accounting insights to identify mispriced stocks,” Matsumoto says.
In Lee’s Alphanomics course on active equity investing, MBA students are exposed to multiple research studies as they learn to evaluate company value, identify investment opportunities, and manage stock portfolios. Lee’s research, closely aligned with the Alphanomics curriculum, continues to advance the field of quantitative investing.
Investing in the future of finance
Along with his classroom instruction and research, Charles M.C. Lee is dedicated to mentoring doctoral students and junior faculty. He has chaired or served on 18 dissertation committees, and his regular participation in the American Accounting Association Doctoral Consortium and New Faculty Consortium has given him the opportunity to shape the professional development of thousands of doctoral students and new faculty members. Lee finds this aspect of his career deeply meaningful.
“The best things in life cannot be earned; they are given to us as gifts, through grace. My wife, Lily, and I are deeply grateful to our Foster School students and colleagues, who have embraced us with their friendship and blessed us with their love of learning,” Lee says. “It is a high honor to be a part of this family.”
Matsumoto shares her gratitude for all that Lee does: “He is also a wonderful human being whom I am so fortunate to have as a colleague. The Foster School is truly blessed to have him on faculty.”
Learn more about Foster School of Business accounting programs here.
