Research Agenda:
I am a strong believer in the overall mission of the nonprofit sector - to make the world a better place. I strive to conduct research that will have a positive impact on the sector. My research agenda covers a broad range of topics:
Donor giving decisions: How does donor sophistication affect giving behavior? Do donors exhibit a gender bias against nonprofit CEOs? How can we motivate nonprofit donors to make more effective giving decisions?
Organization management and decision making: Do nonprofit mergers have a net-positive impact on organizations? What is reasonable compensation for nonprofit executives?
Private foundations: How do private foundations use accounting and effectiveness information in their grantmaking? Who do grantmakers feel accountable to in their grantmaking? Why do some corporations choose to create private foundations and some choose public charities?
Publications:
Balsam, S., C. Hall, E. E. Harris, and K. A. Smith. 2025. The Impact of Section 4960 Excise Tax on Nonprofit Executive Compensation and Turnover. Contemporary Accounting Research (Conditional Acceptance).
Mercado, J. M., L. M. Parsons, and K. A. Smith. 2022. The Growing Field of Nonprofit Accounting Research: 21st Century Data Sources, Topics, and Opportunities. Journal of Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting 11 (1): 119-135
Other Research:
"Foundations Should Invest More into Staff" With Bob Fischer, Stanford Social Innovation Review (print), Forthcoming Spring 2025
Research Handbook in Nonprofit Accounting (Edward Elgar Publishing) – Book Chapter titled “Examining Nonprofit Accounting Using Behavioral Research Methods” With Steve Buchheit and Linda M. Parsons (In Press)
Working Papers:
“The Role of Grantmakers and Accounting Information in the Private Foundation Grantmaking Process” With Leah Diehl and Linda M. Parsons
· Preparing for submission to Contemporary Accounting Research
· Presented at 2025 American Accounting Association Annual Conference, 2025 Hawaii Accounting Research Conference, 2024 AAA Government and Nonprofit (GNP) Midyear Meeting, 2022 Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) Annual Meeting, and 2022 University of Alabama Alumni Conference
“Nonprofit CEO Compensation and Gender: Extending the Implied Communality Deficit” With Davidson B. Gillette, Scott C. Jackson, and Linda M. Parsons
· Preparing for submission to Accounting, Organizations and Society
· Presented at 2024 Accounting Behavior and Organizations Conference (coauthor) and University of Nevada at Las Vegas (coauthor)
“Atomic Wines: An Advanced Data Analytics Case Incorporating Regression and Random Forest in both R and Python” With Matthew Holt and Bradley Lang
· Under review at Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting
· Presented at 2024 AAA Intensive Data Analytics Workshop (coauthor)
“What if Fundraising Expenditures are Investments in Intangible Capital?” With Michael P. Carniol
· Preparing for submission to Management Science
· Presented at 2024 University of California at Davis Research Conference (coauthor), 2023 AAA Government and Nonprofit (GNP) Midyear Meeting (coauthor), 2023 Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) Conference (coauthor), 2023 Baruch-Fordham-Rutgers Conference (coauthor), 2023 Pacific Basin Finance, Economics, Accounting and Management Conference (coauthor), 2023 Science of Philanthropy Initiative Conference (coauthor)
“The Impact of Performance and Compensation on Nonprofit CEO Turnover” With Steve Balsam, Curtis Hall, and Erica Harris
· Presented at 2024 Fox and Haskayne Accounting Conference (Coauthor)
“Private Foundation Investment Management Agency Costs and Charitable Distribution Rates” With Paul Wong
“Beyond the NTEE Taxonomy: Classifying Nonprofit Programs Using Large Language Models” With Jesse Lecy