Erik Olson

Professor Erik Olson is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at Vanderbilt University. His research focuses on the real effects of accounting, corporate finance, agency theory, financial reporting, institutional investors, and taxation. He teaches Financial Accounting and Reporting with an emphasis on valuation.

Education includes a PhD in Management (focus in Accounting) from Yale University (2020), MPhil and MAcc from Yale (2019), and a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Florida (2012), along with an MAcc from the same institution in 2013.

His research explores how investor types influence firm payout policies (e.g., share repurchases and dividends), with a focus on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. He also investigates the impact of disclosure on firm capital allocation decisions.

• Awards:
• "Thanks Teach" Vanderbilt-OGSM Award for Teaching Excellence (2020-2021)
• Yale Graduate School Fellowship (2015-2020)
• American Accounting Association FARS Excellence in Reviewing Award (2019)

Prior to academia, he worked at KPMG (2014-2015) in corporate tax, partnership tax, international tax, and transfer pricing. Beyond academia, he is a 2nd-degree black belt and placed 3rd at the ICMAC Kickboxing World Championships (2006).