Picture headshot

Professor Anup Srivastava

Pronouns: He, Him

Positions

Professor and Canada Research Chair

Haskayne School of Business, Accounting [ACCT]

Canada Research Chair in Accounting - Decision-Making and Capital Markets

Haskayne School of Business

Contact information

Email

anup.srivastava@ucalgary.ca

Web presence

Google Scholar

SSRN

LinkedIn

Harvard Business Review articles written by Anup

Personal Homepage

Phone number

Office: 403.220.2459

Location

Office: SH218

For media enquiries, contact

Janice Hillmer
Senior Communications Strategist
Email: janice.hillmer@ucalgary.ca

 

Preferred method of communication

Email

Background

Educational Background

Doctor of Philosophy , Texas A & M University, 2008

M.B.A. , University of Delhi, 1990

Bach of Technology , Indian Inst of Tech (Delhi), 1988

CV

Biography

Anup is one of the world’s leading scholar, writer, and speaker on the financial, valuation, strategy, governance, and executive compensation issues of modern technology companies.

Anup joined the Haskayne School of Business in July 2018. Previously, he was a professor at Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern University) and Tuck School of Business (Dartmouth College).

In October 2018, Anup became Haskayne's first awardee of Canada Research Chair, a highly prestigious Chair awarded by the Government of Canada. This Chair was renewed in 2024. In May, 2024, he was honored as an Influential thought leader by AACSB.

Anup is an Editor for Contemporary Accounting Research (FT-50, AJG 4) and Accounting Horizons (AJG 3). He is an Associate Editor for Management Science (FT-50, AJG 4*). He is a deputy editor-in-chief for Management and Business Review , a new journal at the intersection of scholarship and practice.

Anup is the "Main Faculty Advisor" to The Haskayne Report, a journal started by the Haskayne students. He is a Member of the Academic Advisory Committee of AcSB (Accounting Standards Board of Canada). He is an economist and mentor at Creative Destruction Lab, an advisory body for startups. 

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Context:

The corporate story of 21st century is that of technology giants. The combined value of Google (Alphabet), Microsoft, Facebook (Meta), Nvidia, Apple, and Amazon exceeds GDPs of all nations except two. Each of them is worth more than numerous 20th century giants put together (Walmart, General Motors, and Exxon-Mobil, Ford, GE). 

The key assets of a 21st century company are intangibles. Something that cannot be touched by hand: Business Idea; Innovation, patents; Brands; Organizational strategy; Peer and supplier networks; Customer and social relationships; Computerized data and software; Human capital; Growth options. In contrast, 20th century giants mainly relied on physical assets: land, building, factories, warehouses, inventory, trucks.....

Research:

Anup examines how modern technology companies replace asset-intensive companies in value creation, society's progress, and employment generation. His research highlights key elements disrupted by this progression: accelerating corporate demise and emerging hyper-competition; changing role of the board of directors; shifts in executive incentive plans; new auditing and financial reporting requirements; and a growing need for highly skilled human capital.

Anup brings vast corporate experience of almost fourteen years. He has worked as a banker, consultant, and corporate executive in the East and West Coast cities of the United States and India. He has worked at billion-dollar conglomerates as well as cash-strapped startups. Most importantly, he has has held senior executive positions with asset intensive companies as well as knowledge-based start ups. And seen the difference between the two types of companies.

Anup has published numerous articles in elite scholarly journals, such as Management Science, Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Financial Economics, and Review of Accounting Studies. Two of his papers are typically included in the curricula of top PhD programs in accounting. One of them is listed in the Hall of Fame of the Journal of Financial Economics, and is one of the most cited papers in the field of accounting and finance.  

In addition he has published in Critical Finance Review, European Accounting Review, Management and Business Review, Business Horizons, International Review of Financial Analysis, Journal of Financial Reporting, PLOS ONE, and European Financial Management.

Anup has published over 50 articles in Harvard Business Review and California Management Review  on the underlying economics, valuation, and financial reporting issues of digital companies.  

Anup has been interviewed or quoted by leading media outlets, such as BBC, Bloomberg, Financial Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Economist Intelligence Unit, National Public Radio, Forbes, Chicago Tribune, Barrons, and Reuters.

Anup has presented his work in seminar format at 50 of the world’s top universities, in 11 different countries.

Research

Areas of Research

Intangibles, Knowledge economy, Valuation, Digital firms, Financial reporting, ESG Executive compensation, Immigration, Financial Statements Analysis

Courses

Course number Course title Semester
ACCT 642 Financial Statement Analysis Fall 2023

Awards

  • Best paper award, European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management . 2018
  • Dean’s Award for Research Innovation , Haskayne Business School. 2020
  • Best Paper award , European Financial Management. 2017
  • Best Paper- Audit mid-year Meeting, American Accounting Association. 2016

Publications

In the News

More Information

TOP TIER ACADEMIC JOURNALS

  1. Iqbal, A., Rajgopal, A. Srivastava, and R. Zhao. 2023. Value of Internally Generated Intangible Capital. Forthcoming, Management Science.
  2. Srivastava, A. 2023. Trivialization of the Bottom Line and Losing Relevance of Losses. Review of Accounting Studies. 28: 1190–1208
  3. Rajgopal, S., A. Srivastava, and R. Zhao. 2023. Do digital technology firms earn excess profits? The Accounting Review. 98 (4): 1–25.
  4. Baker, K. H., S. Kumar, N. Pandey, and A. Srivastava. 2022. The Review of Accounting Studies at age 25: A retrospective using bibliometric analysis. Forthcoming, The Review of Accounting Studies.
  5. Hong, H., J. W. Ryou, and A. Srivastava. 2021. Lender monitoring and the efficacy of managerial risk-taking incentives. Accounting Review. 96 (4): 315–339.
  6. Srivastava, A. 2019. Improving the measures of real earnings management. Review of Accounting Studies. 24 (4): 1277–1316.
  7. Enache, L., and A. Srivastava. 2018. Should intangible investments be reported separately or commingled with operating expenses? New evidence. Management Science 64(7): 3446–3468.
  8. Aobdia, D., A. Srivastava, and E. Wang. 2017. Are immigrants complements or substitutes? Evidence from the audit industry. Management Science 64(5): 1997–2012.
  9. Srivastava, A. 2014. Why have measures of earnings quality changed over time? Journal of Accounting and Economics. 57:196–217.
  10. Srivastava, A. 2014. Selling-price estimates in revenue recognition and earnings informativeness. Review of Accounting Studies. 19:661–697.
  11. McAnally, M. L., A. Srivastava, and C. Weaver. 2008. Executive stock options, missed earnings targets and earnings management. The Accounting Review. 83(1): 185–216.
  12. Efendi, J, A. Srivastava, and E. P. Swanson. 2007. Why do corporate managers misstate financial statements? The role of in-the-money options and other incentives. Journalof Financial Economics. 85(3): 667–708.

Top journal articles at the intersection of scholarship and practice:

  1. Govindarajan, V., Rajgopal S., A. Srivastava, Iqbal, A., and E. Basirianmahabadi. 2024. Why Are Companies That Lose Money Still So Successful? Harvard Business Review (June).   
  2. Rajgopal, S., A. Srivastava, and R. Zhao. 2024. Do Red and Blue States Walk Their Politicians’ ESG Talk? California Management Review (May) 
  3. Srivastava, A, F. B. G. Silva, L. Enache, and M. M. Dantas. 2024. 10 reasons why Canadians are still dissatisfied with the economy, despite the upswing. The Conversation (March) 
  4. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, and C. Chatterjee. 2024. Why Are Companies Sitting on Cash Right Now? Harvard Business Review (February).   
  5. Govindarajan, V. and A. Srivastava, 2024. The Value of Sam Altman’s Human Capital: An Event Study. California Management Review (February).   
  6. Srivastava, A., V. Govindarajan, R. Srivastava, A. R. Kulkarni, A. Bardiya. 2023. Leveraging Engineering and Research Talent in India with Global Capability Centers. California Management Review (December).   
  7. Srivastava, A., V. Govindarajan, A. Shah, and L. Enache. 2023. Hiding in Plain Sight, or Sticking Out Like A Sore Thumb? The Wealth of Intangibles. California Management Review (October). 
  8. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, F. B. G. Silva, and M. M. Dantas. 2023. How Companies Should Prepare for Repeated Debt-Ceiling Standoffs. Harvard Business Review (August).   
  9. Srivastava, A. 2023. When losses mean growth. Dialogue. (June).   
  10. Govindarajan, V., R. Srivastava, A Srivastava, and A. R. Kulkarni. 2023. Does Your Company Have an India Strategy? Harvard Business Review (June).   
  11. Mohanram, P., A. Srivastava, and E. Basirianmahabadi. 2023. Activist Short Sellers Bring Many a Mighty Down California Management Review (June). 
  12. Srivastava, A., V. Govindarajan, and A. Iqbal. 2023. Has Technology Sector Lost its Dominance? California Management Review (April). 
  13. Srivastava, A., V. Govindarajan, S. Rajgopal. and J. Tanone 2023. Are Tech Layoffs a Major Disruption or a Just Minor Course Correction from Past Excesses? California Management Review(March). 
  14. Srivastava, A., and S. Rajgopal. 2023. The case for reinventing financial reporting in the 21st century. Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, 1–8. 
  15. Govindarajan, V., and A Srivastava. 2022. Tech talent is flooding the job market. Harvard Business Review (November).   
  16. Srivastava, A., H. Ilyas, F. B. G. Silva, and L. Enache. 2022. Reassessing the boundaries of government. California Management Review (November). 
  17. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, H. Ilyas, F. B. G. Silva, and L. Enache. 2022. Restoring shareholder confidence when your stock is down. Harvard Business Review (August).   
  18. Govindarajan V., and A. Srivastava. 2022. How companies should invest in a downturn. Harvard Business Review (June). 
  19. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, H. Ilyas, F. B. G. Silva, and L. Enache. 2022. How companies can prepare for a long run of high inflation. Harvard Business Review (May). 
  20. Srivastava, A. 2022. Is Elon Musk getting cold feet? Why the entrepreneur may be trying to pull out of buying Twitter. The Conversation (May) 
  21. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, and L. Enache. 2022. The growing imperative to build leadership in fourth industrial revolution. California Management Review (May). 
  22. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, H. Ilyas, F. B. G. Silva, and L. Enache. 2022. The rapid rise and fall of biotech sector, slowdown in innovation affects society. California Management Review (March). 
  23. Govindarajan, V., and A. Srivastava. 2021. How working with competitors made Jio a telecom giant. Harvard Business Review (December). 
  24. Govindarajan, V., and A. Srivastava. 2021. MBA programs need an update for the digital era. Harvard Business Review (November).) 
  25. Govindarajan, V., and A. Srivastava. 2021. What Zomato’s $12 billion IPO says about tech companies today. Harvard Business Review (August). 
  26. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, and L. Enache. 2021. What the edX acquisition means for the future of higher education. Harvard Business Review (July). 
  27. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, T. Grisold, and A. Klammer. 2021. Resist old routines when returning to campus. Harvard Business Publishing (June) 
  28. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, and R. Zhao. 2021. Mind the GAAP. Harvard Business Review (May). 
  29. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, and A. Iqbal. 2021. Should midsize companies play offense or defense in a downturn? Harvard Business Review (March). 
  30. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, and L. Enache. 2021. The U.S. economy is leaving midsize companies behind. Harvard Business Review (February). 
  31. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, and N. Sikka. 2021. The uncertainty of middle management jobs—And how to stay relevant. California Management Review (January). 
  32. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, S. Rajgopal, and L. Enache. 2020. U.S. financial reporting is stuck in the 20th century. Harvard Business Review (December). 
  33. Rajgopal, S., A. Srivastava, and R. Zhao. 2020. Do digital technology firms earn excess profits? California Management Review (November) 
  34. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, T. Grisold, and A. Klammer. 2020. COVID-imposed opportunity to selectively unlearn past practices. California Management Review (October) 
  35. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, H. Warsame, and L. Enache. 2020. Tech giants, taxes, and a looming global trade war. Harvard Business Review (August). 
  36. Danos, P., A. Srivastava, and V. Govindarajan. 2020. Private sector. Don’t just stand there, do something BIG! California Management Review(August)   
  37. Govindarajan, V., and A. Srivastava. 2020. A post-pandemic strategy for U.S. higher ed. Harvard Business Review (June). 
  38. Srivastava, A., H. Warsame, and L. Enache. 2020. Doubling down on double sandwich tax schemes. California Management Review (March).   
  39. Govindarajan, V., andA. Srivastava. 2020. What the shift to virtual learning could mean for the future of higher ed. Harvard Business Review (March).   ) 
  40. Rajgopal, S., and A. Srivastava. 2020. Is technology subsuming marketing? Harvard Business Review (February). 
  41. Govindarajan, V.,and A. Srivastava. 2020. We are nowhere near stakeholder capitalism. Harvard Business Review (January). 
  42. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, and L. Enache. 2020. Understanding India’s chilly reception of Jeff Bezos. Harvard Business Review(January).   
  43. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, and L. Enache. 2019. How India plans to protect consumer data. Harvard Business Review (December).   
  44. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, and L. Enache. 2019. Midsize companies are growing, but struggling to earn profits. Harvard Business Review (November).   
  45. Govindarajan, V., and A. Srivastava. 2019. No, WeWork isn’t a tech company. Here’s why that matters. Harvard Business Review (August). 
  46. Govindarajan, V., B. Lev, A. Srivastava, and L. Enache. 2019. The gap between large and small companies is growing. Why? Harvard Business Review (August). 
  47. Govindarajan, V., A. Srivastava, H. Warsame, and L. Enache. 2019. The problem with France’s plan to tax digital companies. Harvard Business Review (July). 
  48. Govindarajan, V., S. Rajgopal, A. Srivastava, and Y. Wang. 2019. R&D spending has dramatically surpassed advertising spending. Harvard Business Review (January). 
  49. Govindarajan, V., S. Rajgopal, A. Srivastava, and L. Enache. 2019. It’s time to stop treating R&D as a discretionary expenditure. Harvard Business Review (January). 
  50. Govindarajan, V., S. Rajgopal, A. Srivastava, and L. Enache. 2018. Should dual-class shares be banned? Harvard Business Review (December).  
  51.  Govindarajan, V., S. Rajgopal, A. Srivastava, and L. Enache. 2018. Should everyone be allowed to invest in private tech companies? Harvard Business Review (October).  
  52. Govindarajan, V., S. Rajgopal, A. Srivastava, and L. Enache. 2018. Why we shouldn’t worry about the declining number of public companies. Harvard Business Review (August). 
  53. Govindarajan, V., S. Rajgopal, and A. Srivastava. 2018. A blueprint for digital companies’ financial reporting. Harvard Business Review (August).  
  54. Govindarajan, V., S. Rajgopal, and A. Srivastava. 2018. Why we need to update financial reporting for the digital era. Harvard Business Review (June). 
  55. Govindarajan, V., S. Rajgopal, and A. Srivastava. 2018. Why financial statements don’t work for digital companies. Harvard Business Review (February).
  56. The scary truth about corporate survival. Harvard Business Review (December 2016): 24−25. Based on work by V. Govindarajan and A. Srivastava.

Working Papers

  1. Rajgopal, S., A. Srivastava, and R. Zhao. 2024.  Do Political Anti-ESG Sanctions Have Any Economic Substance? The Case of Texas Law Mandating Divestment from ESG Asset Management Companies. 
  2. Iqbal, A. and A. Srivastava. 2024.  How Do Accruals Differ for Physical versus Knowledge Firms?
    • R&R from The Accounting Review 
  3. David, A., A. Hosseini, and A. Srivastava. 2024. Is intangibles talk informative about future returns? Evidence from 10-K filings.
  4. Chatterjee, C., and A. Srivastava. 2024. Precautionary Cash Holdings as An Operating Asset and Implications for Financial Statement Analysis  
  5. Chintha, B. R. and A. Srivastava. 2024. Scalability of intangible investments.
  6. Rajgopal, S., E. Basirian, A. Iqbal, and A. Srivastava. 2024. Reassessed Earnings with Capitalized Intangibles.

 

Videos, TV, Presentations

  • CTV News (January 2023): Economic Recovery
  • StratNewsGlobal: India Shining for MNCs
  • MarketPlace Tech (NPR) (January 2023): “It’s in Big Tech’s DNA to overhire in the boom and deflate in the downturn”
  • CTV News (January 2023): Tech layoffs
  • All losses are not alike ( Dec 2022): Review of Accounting Studies Conference, Stanford University
  • LumiQ (October 2022): Three-chapter Continued Professional Development podcast, “How financial reporting is failing digital companies, challenges for accountants in the world of intangibles”
  • CTV News (April 2022): Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter
  • “Haskayne Hour” (February 2022): “Are tech firms making excess profits?”
  • “Global Insight” (February 2022): “Global finance ministers to discuss vaccine equity, rising interest rates, pandemic recovery”
  • “Global Insight” (November 2021): “U.S. cornering foreign tech giants to divulge computer chip information”
  • Community Engagement Series, University of Calgary, with Chancellor Deborah Yedlin (October 2021): “Why is young talent leaving Alberta?”
  •  Egyptian Accounting Series (June 2021): “Value of internally generated intangible capital”
  • “Global Insight” (June 2021): “G7 nations reach historic deal on global tax reform”
  • “Global Insight” (March 2021): “World running out of game consoles, cars amid semiconductor shortage”
  • “Global Insight” (November 2020): “Is Korean Air turning into a monopoly?”
  • “Haskayne Hour” (June 2020): “COVID-19’s impact on workforce: What to think about now”
  • “Global Insight” (June 2020): “Digital tax war amid COVID-19 pandemic?”

Invited Keynotes and Industry Presentations

  • LumiQ (December 2023): Continued Professional Development podcast, “Why Every Company Needs an India Strategy”
  • Presentation Conduct a workshop on “Capitalizing on the Unseen: Intangibles in Focus” at Maple Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. For senior corporate leaders organized by PlugIn Alliance and Indian School of Business. (December 2023)
  • Presentation, University of Toronto Annual Conference of Professional Accounting Centre (November 2023, presented by coauthor): “Activist Short Sellers’ Role in Identifying Corporate Fraud & Failure Risk.”
  • Panel Discussion: Intangibles - The Brave New World, organized by Indian School of Business, Center for Business Innovation (July 2023)
  • Keynote Speech, University of Toronto Annual Conference of Professional Accounting Centre (December 2022): “Preparing for long-run inflation and investing during downturns”
  • LumiQ (October 2022): Three-chapter Continued Professional Development podcast, “How financial reporting is failing digital companies, challenges for accountants in the world of intangibles”
  • Accountability in a Sustainable World (September 2022): University of Notre Dame Center for Accounting Research and Education conference 2022
  • Presentation, BlackRock worldwide webinar (November 2021): “Explaining the demise of value investing”
  •  Presentation, Canadian Performance Reporting Board (CPRB) of CPA Canada (October 2021): “Intangibles and deficiencies of financial reporting”
  • Chartered Association of Business Schools (UK) (September 2021): “Post-pandemic strategy for higher education”
  • Egyptian Accounting Series (June 2021): “Value of internally generated intangible capital”
  • Panel Discussion (May 2021): CPA Ontario Centre for Public Policy & Innovation in Accounting webinar
  • Calgary Immigration Society (July 2020): “The knowledge economy and employability”
  • Keynote Speech, Columbia Business School Columbia Student Investment Management Association Value Investing Conference (January 2020)
  • Presentation, University of Toronto Annual Conference of Professional Accounting Centre (October 2019): “The evolution of knowledge economy and declining relevance of financial statements”
  • Keynote Speech at Society of Quantitative Analysts (2023): Conference speech on Correcting Earnings and Book Values for Accounting Deficiencies
  • Panel discussant and speaker on “Global Example of Innovation for Growth, Resilience and Competitive Advantage” to over 250 industry leaders at the 2022 flagship event Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) held in Mumbai

OTHER PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS

  1. Srivastava, A. 2024. Natural Capital Accounting: Miles to Go Before Accountants Sleep? Forthcoming, Accountability in a Sustainable World Quarterly.
  2. Enache, L., Huang,Z., Moldovan, R. and Srivastava, A. 2024. Labor Costs of Implementing New Accounting Standards. Forthcoming at Accounting Horizons
  3. Govindarajan, V, and A. Srivastava. 2024. What is a modern tech company? How does it differ from a 20th century industrial giant? Forthcoming, Management and Business Review. 3(4): 39‒46.
  4. Gupta, J., B. Alzugaiby, and A. Srivastava. 2024. Schumpeterian Creative Destruction and Temporal Changes in Business Models of US Banks. International Review of Financial Analysis. 91: 102951
  5. Liu, H., Srivastava, A., and J. Yin. 2023. Alignment between Compensation-Contracting and Value-Relevance Roles of Revenues. Journal of Financial Reporting 8 (1): 63–96.
  6. Ge, B. S. Rajgopal, A. Srivastava, and R. Zhao. 2022. Profitability and risk-return comparison across health care industries, evidence from publicly traded companies 2010–2019. PLOS ONE 17(11): e0275245.
  7. Lev, B, and A. Srivastava. 2022. Explaining the Recent Failure of Value Investing. Critical Finance Review 11(2): 333-360.
  8. Srivastava, A. 2023. Rushing Headlong into Creating an Integrated ESG Reporting System: Is It Harmless or Harmful to Society? Accountability in a Sustainable World Quarterly (2): 155‒162
  9. Hong, H., J. W. Ryou, and A. Srivastava. 2022. Financial Statement Comparability and Corporate Tax Strategy. Published online early European Accounting Review.
  10. Aobdia, D., L. Enache, and A. Srivastava. 2021. Changes in Big N auditors’ client selection and retention strategies over Time: a reexamination. Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting 56(2): 715-754.
  11. Govindarajan, V., V., Sood, A. Srivastava, L. Enache, and B. K. Mishra. 2020. Harvest now or invest further—the dilemma reexamined. Management and Business Review. 1(1): 79‒83.
  12. Enache, L., A. Parbonetti, and A. Srivastava. 2019. Are all outside directors created equal with respect to firm disclosure policy? Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting 55:541–577(2020)
  13. Govindarajan, V.and A. Srivastava. 2018. Reexamining dual-class stock.  Business Horizons 61: 461–466. Also, a Harvard case study (BH903-PDF-ENG).
  14. Srivastava, A. and S. Tse. 2016. Why are successive cohorts of listed firms persistently riskier? European Financial Management Journal 22(5): 957–1000.
  15. Srivastava, A., S. V. Sunder, and S. Tse. 2015. Timely loss recognition and the early termination of loss making projects. China Journal of Accounting Research 8(3): 147–167.
  16. Rees, L., A. Srivastava, and S. Tse. 2014. Seemingly opportunistic management earnings guidance before stock option grants: does it misrepresent firms’ underlying performance? Asia-Pacific Journal ofAccounting & Economics 21(2): 107–133.
  17. Srivastava, A. 2013. Do CEOs possess any extraordinary ability? Can those abilities justify large CEO pay? Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics 20(4): 349–384.