Chengwei Wang 王诚炜
Assistant Professor of Finance
SKK GSB, SungkyunKwan University
Research Interest
Information in Financial Markets. Segment Disclosure.
Mutual Funds. Short Selling. Financial Analysts.
Personal Interest
Writing poems about animals
Publications
[1] Investing in Low Trust Countries: On the Role of Social Trust in the Global Mutual Fund Industry (with Massimo Massa, Hong Zhang, and Jian Zhang)
Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 57(1), 240-290, 2022. Download Paper
[2] Health Gradient and Urban-Rural Difference: An Empirical Analysis Based on Micro-Data from 9 Provinces of China (with Liangshu Qi)
Chinese Health Economics, 30(1), 11-13, 2011. (in Chinese)
[3] Health and Socioeconomic Status: A Research Based on Multiple Indicators (with Liangshu Qi)
Chinese Health Economics, 29(8), 47-50, 2011. (in Chinese)
Selected Working Papers
[4] Hidden Figures: The Impact of Omission of SFAS 131-Mandated Segment Line Items on Stock Price Update (with C.S. Agnes Cheng)
Currently under review
Conference & Seminar: 2022CICF, 2022AsianFA, 2022FMA Asia, 2022CAFM, 2023 Egyptian Online Seminars in Business, Accounting and Economics, 2024CAAA, 2024 International Conference of the JIAR, 2024AAA, 2025 Columbia Business School Accounting Design Project Virtual Events, 2025 Paris Business School Finance Area Seminar
SFAS 131 mandates the disclosure of financial line items that top management regularly reviews or receives internally for each business segment (the management approach), aiming to provide investors with the most value-relevant segment information. However, we find that multi-segment firms frequently omit key mandated items in their segment reporting—on average, about half the time—raising concerns that managers might ostensibly comply with the standards while actually concealing critical information. We show that multi-segment firms with more extensive omissions experience greater delays in price updates than their single-segment industry peers when responding to common industry news. Notably, omissions by firms with superior managerial ability, strong corporate governance, and low competitive harm concerns do not exhibit significant pricing inefficiencies. This suggests that when properly applied, the management approach can furnish investors with the data necessary for timely analysis of multi-segment firms. Overall, our findings underscore the critical role of segment item disclosures in enhancing pricing efficiency and highlight a potential shortfall in SFAS 131’s effectiveness: it hinges on managerial ability to identify the relevant segment information and on managerial constraints and incentives to comply with mandated disclosure requirements.
[5] In Comparison, We Short: The "Enhancing" Role of Accounting Comparability in Short Selling (with C.S. Agnes Cheng and Hawfeng Shyu)
Currently under review
Conference & Seminar: 2018MIT Asian Accounting, 2018JAAF, 2018JIAR, 2019FMA, 2019AsiaFA, 2020AAA, 2021 Taiwan FinAssc; 2019 University of Sydney, University of Manchester, KAIST
This study investigates how cross-firm accounting comparability affects short interest. Based on the FASB conceptual framework, we posit that comparability enhances the perceived reliability of financial information when a firm’s accounting quality appears high. We find that short sellers target firms with low accruals quality, regardless of the level of comparability. However, when accruals quality appears high, short interest significantly increases for firms with less comparable financial statements. This result is consistent with the suggestion that low comparability raises concerns for short sellers about the authenticity of seemingly high accounting quality, prompting closer scrutiny. Further analysis shows that the residual comparability adjusted for accruals quality does not independently affect short interest. These findings align with the FASB’s view that comparability is not a standalone indicator of accounting quality but rather an enhancing attribute. Our study sheds light on how comparability complements accounting quality in sophisticated investors’ decision-making, especially for firms presenting superficially strong financials.
[6] Co-Collateral and the Shadow Cost of Margin Constraints (with Massimo Massa, Hong Zhang, and Jian Zhang)
Conference & Seminar: 2016CICF, 2016ABFER
We propose a novel stock-level measure of the tightness of margin constraints by decomposing a stock’s cash collateral requests in the short-selling market into two components: comovements with the market (co-collateral) and idiosyncratic movements. Consistent with the notion that co-collateral tightens margin requests, we find that co-collateral reduces short-selling activities and is associated with a positive return premium. Moreover, this premium peaked during the crisis (especially the Lehman bankruptcy) and is unexplained by traditional asset pricing factors or mispricing. Our results highlight the importance of collateral requests and the associated shadow costs in influencing asset prices.
Teaching
Teaching Experience
MBA Program
[1] Managerial Economics, SKK GSB, 2016 - present
[2] Emerging Markets Finance, SKK GSB, 2016 - present
[3] International Financial Decision Making, SKK GSB, 2020 - present
[4] Financial Management, SKK GSB, 2021 - present
[5] Bond Markets & Strategies, SKK GSB, 2023 - present
Undergraduate Program
[6] International Finance, Global Business Administration, Sungkyunkwan University, 2017 - 2019
Executive Education Program (for Samsung Securities)
[7] Managerial Economics, SKK GSB, 2018 - 2020
Teaching Awards
2024 SKK GSB Professional MBA Program Teaching Excellence Award
2023 SKK GSB Full-Time MBA Program Teaching Excellence Award
2021 SKK GSB Professional MBA Program Teaching Excellence Award
2019 SKK GSB Full-Time MBA Program Teaching Excellence Award
2018 SKK GSB Full-Time MBA Program Teaching Excellence Award
2017 SKK GSB Full-Time MBA Program Teaching Excellence Award