Gies Faculty Profile – Justin Leiby

Justin Leiby, an associate professor of accountancy at Gies College of Business, is keenly interested in what makes people tick.

He has studied the psychology of accounting professionals, their motivations, and their incentives. But he also has delved deeply into the world of cannabis and how cannabis policy affects people, organizations, and society. 

“Each,” he says, “is a convenient setting for me to examine interesting questions about people and what makes us tick.” 

His academic journey began when an accounting faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh encouraged him to pursue the life of a professor. At the time, he was earning his bachelor’s degree in both accounting and German. Leiby went on to the University of Illinois for his PhD in accountancy. After earning the degree in 2011, he began teaching and researching at the University of Florida and then the University of Georgia before joining Gies in 2018.

It’s a job he loves. “It’s one of the best jobs you can have, as long as you let yourself enjoy it,” he says.

Title:  Associate Professor of Accountancy 

I’m not sure how many of the other titles to include, professors tend to have too many but I’m also …

• Disruption & Innovation Scholar
• Faculty in Residence, Discovery Partners Institute / Cannabis Research Institute
• Professor Ken Perry Fellow
• Academic Director, Bachelor’s and Master’s of Accounting Science Programs

At current institution since what year? 2018

Education: BSBA in Accounting & BA in German, University of Pittsburgh (2004); PhD in Accountancy, University of Illinois (2011)

Professional bio, highlighted awards/achievements: I research the motivations and incentives of accounting professionals, which I’ve presented to scholars, practitioners, and regulators in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. In the past few years, I used my expertise in survey design and organizational research to take an advisory role supporting the State of Illinois’ cannabis regulators – specifically, we support data-driven activities to promote equity in the cannabis industry and reduce barriers to entry. 

List of courses you currently teach: ACCY574 – Risk Management & Innovation (residential Masters and iMBA)

TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR

I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when… A wonderful accounting professor at the University of Pittsburgh, named Vicky Hoffman, suggested I should pursue this path. I didn’t even realize it was an option.

What are your major research interests? The psychology of accounting professionals, their motivations, and their incentives. Also, how cannabis and cannabis policy affects people, organizations, and society. Each is a convenient setting for me to examine interesting questions about people and what makes us tick. 

What are you currently studying?

• how auditors confuse a specialist’s social status (think fancy school and elite club memberships) for competence and how this affects auditors’ willingness to challenge clients
• the different types of social support audit committees provide to auditors, including “softer” dimensions like respect and appreciation, and how this support increases auditor willingness to be skeptical
• operational distortions like reduced investment in R&D, lower compensation, and worse treatment of employees, etc. that are caused by the law (280E) that cannabis companies cannot deduct selling, general, and administrative expenses (SG&A) when computing their tax liability (yes, these companies have to pay taxes to the feds even though the feds say the business is illegal)
• the effects of cannabis legalization or cannabis consumption in a given location (e.g., ZIP code, measured as legal cannabis sales) on public safety and public health outcomes in those locations like crime, emergency room visits, drug treatment enrollments, traffic offenses, and fatalities
• Fundamental differences in the compensation preferences of people who attend universities, as opposed to people who attend vocational schools. 
• Lots lots more … 

What is the most significant discovery you’ve made from your research? As a field, accounting disproportionately attracts people from lower socioeconomic status backgrounds, because it offers high average wages and safety (i.e., little variance and high security when the job market is bad), and entry into a recognized profession that doesn’t require three to four years of post-graduate work like law and medicine. In the present day, accounting salaries are stagnant relative to other fields, and this could jeopardize this important societal function that accounting serves.

If I weren’t a business school professor… I’d either be back in the consulting world or a professor in another area.

What do you think makes you stand out as a professor?  I’d like to say it’s creativity and open-mindedness. Students and colleagues say I’m enthusiastic, supportive, and positive. Maybe it’s all the above.

One word that describes my first time teaching: Overpreparation

Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: It’s one of the best jobs you can have, as long as you let yourself enjoy it. 

Professor I most admire and why: Close call, as I’ve been lucky to have several good mentors. Robert Knechel and Mark Peecher – Robert was my colleague when I worked at the University of Florida and Mark is currently my colleague in Gies but was also my dissertation chair. Both are among the most prolific researchers in our field, both tackle tough service roles at their universities, both travel extensively, and both are renowned across the world for their expertise in auditing. More importantly, both are 100% devoted to family, structure their days to maximize interactions with their kids and wives, and generally seem to always get things done.