Benjamin C. Ayers

Ben Ayers is Dean of the University of Georgia Terry College of Business and holds the Earl Davis Chair in Taxation. He came to UGA in 1996 and served as Director of the highly regarded J.M. Tull School of Accounting for nine years prior to his appointment as the college’s 12th Dean in 2014.

Under his leadership, the Terry College completed a successful Commit to Georgia campaign, raised $275 million to support faculty, programs, and facilities, and dedicated the new home of the Terry College of Business on the UGA campus, known as the Business Learning Community.

Terry’s undergraduate and graduate programs are ranked among the nation’s best, with nine of the college’s programs ranking among the top 10 public business schools in 2024. The college also dedicated the naming of the John Munro Godfrey, Sr. Department of Economics and the M. Douglas and V. Kay Ivester Institute for Business Analytics and Insights, following transformational gifts to endow the units.

Over the past 10 years of Dean Ayers’ tenure, the college has launched a new Online MBA, a master’s in business analytics, a campus-wide Entrepreneurship Program, sought-after executive and dual degree programs, an academic minor in business, and market-driven certificates, all while growing enrollment and achieving the highest percentage employment rates for graduating students in the college’s history.

Dean Ayers serves on the Board of Synovus Bank’s Northeast Georgia Division and the CFO Roundtable. He earned his Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin and has received many teaching awards at the school, college, and university levels and national research awards from the American Taxation Association and American Accounting Association. Prior to pursuing his Ph.D., he worked for KPMG in Atlanta and Tampa and Complete Health Inc. in Birmingham.

• PhD, Accounting, University of Texas at Austin, 1996
• MTA, Tax Accounting, University of Alabama, 1987
• BS, Accounting, University of Alabama, 1986

• Empirical Research in Tax and Financial Accounting

Journal Articles

• Ayers, B.C., J. K. Seidman, and E. M. Towery. 2018. Taxpayer Behavior under Audit Certainty. Contemporary Accounting Research, Forthcoming.
• Ayers, B.C., A. Call, and C. Schwab. 2018. Do Analysts’ Cash Flow Forecasts Encourage Managers to Enhance Real Cash Flows? Evidence from Tax Planning. Contemporary Accounting Research:767-793.
• Ayers, B.C., C. Schwab, and S. Utke. 2015. Noncompliance with Mandatory Disclosure Requirments: The Magnitude and Determinants of Undisclosed Permanently Reinvested Earnings. The Accounting Review:59-93.
• Ayers, B. C., O. Z. Li, and P. E. Yeung. 2011. Investor Trading and the Post Earnings Announcement Drift. The Accounting Review, Forthcoming.
• Ayers, B. C., S. Laplnate, and S. McGuire. 2010. Credit Ratings and Taxes: The Effect of Book/Tax Differences on Ratings Changes.Contemporary Accounting Research, (forthcoming).
• Ayers, B. C., X. Jiang, and S. Laplante. Spring 2009. Taxable Income as a Performance Measure: The Effects of Tax Planning and Earnings Quality. Contemporary Accounting Research:15-54.
• Ayers, B. C., O. Z. Li, and J. R. Robinson. Spring 2008. Tax-induced trading around the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. Journal Of The American Taxation Association:77-100.
• Ayers, B. C., C. E. Lefanowicz, and J. R. Robinson. Vol. 24 (2): 2007.Capital Gains Taxes and Acquisition Activity: Evidence of the Lock-In Effect . Contemporary Accounting Research.
• Ayers, B. C., X. Jiang, and P. E. Yeung. May 2006. Discretionary Accruals and Earnings Management: An Analysis of Pseudo Earnings Targets . The Accounting Review:617-652.
• Ayers, B. C. April 1998. Deferred Tax Accounting under SFAS No. 109: An Empirical Investigation of its Incremental Value-Relevance Relative to APB No. 11.. The Accounting Review:203-220.
• Ayers, B. C., C. B. Cloyd and J. R. Robinson. April 2005. Read My Lips …: Does the Market Believe the Tax Rhetoric of Presidential Candidates?. Journal Of Law And Economics:125-148.
• Ayers, B. C., C. E. Lefanowicz , and J. R. Robinson. October 2004.The Effect of Shareholder-Level Capital Gains Taxes on Acquisition Structure. The Accounting Review:859-887.
• Omer, T. C., S. Porter, B. Yetman, A. Magro, L. Mills, R. Sansing, and B. Ayers. Supplement 2004. A Discussion with Reviewers: Insights from the Mid-Year ATA Meetings. Journal Of The American Taxation Association:135-141.
• Ayers, B. C., C. E. Lefanowicz , and J. R. Robinson. December 2003. Shareholder Taxes in Acquisition Premiums: The Effect of Capital Gains Taxation. Journal Of Finance:2785-2803.
• Ayers, B. C., and R. N. Freeman. March 2003. Evidence that Analyst Following and Institutional Ownership Accelerate the Pricing of Future Earnings. Review Of Accounting Studies, (8):47-67.
• Ayers, B. C., C. B. Cloyd, and J. R. Robinson. October 2002. The Effect of Shareholder-Level Dividend Taxes on Stock Prices: Evidence from the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993. The Accounting Review:933-947.
• Ayers, B. C. Supplement 2002. Discussion of CEO Bonus Pay, Tax Policy, and Earnings Management. Journal Of The American Taxation Association:24-26.
• Ayers, B. C., C. E. Lefanowicz , and J. R. Robinson. March 2002. Do Firms Purchase the Pooling Method?. Review Of Accounting Studies, (7):5-32.
• Ayers, B. C., C. B. Cloyd, and J. R. Robinson. March 2001. The Influence of Income Taxes on Use of Inside and Outside Debt by Small Businesses. The National Tax Journal:27-55.
• Ayers, B. C., C. E. Lefanowicz , and J. R. Robinson. Supplement 2000. The Effects of Goodwill Tax Deductions on the Market for Corporate Acquisitions. Journal Of The American Taxation Association:34-50.
• Ayers, B. C., and R. N. Freeman. Summer 2000. Why Do Large Firms’ Prices Anticipate Earnings Earlier Than Small Firms’ Prices?. Contemporary Accounting Research, (17):191-212.
• Ayers, B. C., C. E. Lefanowicz , and J. R. Robinson. March 2000. The Financial Statement Effects of Eliminating the Pooling-of-Interests Method of Acquisition Accounting. Accounting Horizons:1-19.
• Ayers, B. C., C. B. Cloyd, and J. R. Robinson. Supplement 1996.Organizational Form and Taxes: An Empirical Analysis of Small Businesses. Journal Of The American Taxation Association:49-67.
• Ayers, B. C., S. Kachelmeier, and J. R. Robinson. Fall 1999. Why Do People Give Interest-Free Loans to the Government? An Experimental Study of Interim Tax Payments. Journal Of The American Taxation Association:55-74.
• Ayers, B. C., and R. N. Freeman. 1997. Market Assessment of Industry and Firm Earnings Information. Journal Of Accounting And Economics, (v. 24 no. 2):205-218.

• Editorial Board, Accounting Horizons, 2009–2011
• Editorial Board, The Accounting Review, 2008–2011
• Editorial Board, American Accounting Association, American Taxation Association, Journal of the American Taxation Association, 2000–2002

• Ray Sommerfeld Outstanding Tax Educator Award, American Accounting Association, American Taxation Association, 2016
• Outstanding Manuscript Award, American Accounting Association, American Taxation Association, 2008
• Beta Alpha Psi Outstanding Teacher Award, University of Georgia, Terry College of Business, J.M. Tull School of Accounting, 2005
• Outstanding Teaching Award in Accounting, Alpha Kappa Psi, 2002
• Richard B. Russell Undergraduate Teaching Award, University of Georgia, 2001
• Tax Research Grant, Ernst & Young, 1998
• Lily Teaching Fellow, University of Georgia, 1997
• Competitive Manuscript Award, American Accounting Association, 1997

• University of Georgia, Co-chair, Provost Search Committee, 2018-2019, University
• University of Georgia Foundation, Member, CFO Search Committee, 2015-2016, University
• University of Georgia, Member, Provost Advisory Council, 2014-ongoing, University
• University of Georgia, Member, University Council, 2009-ongoing, University
• University of Georgia, Member, University Council, Benefits Committee, 2011-2013, University
• University of Georgia, Terry College of Business, J.M. Tull School of Accounting, Chairperson, Admissions Committee, 2013-2014, University
• University of Georgia, Terry College of Business, J.M. Tull School of Accounting, Chairperson, Faculty Recruitment Committee, 2001 – 2010, University
• University of Georgia, Terry College of Business, Faculty Mentor, Undergraduate Leadership Scholars Program, 2001 – 2007, University
• University of Georgia, Graduate Faculty Review Committee, 2004 – 2005, University
• University of Georgia, Terry College of Business, Chairperson, Undergraduate Admissions Committee, 2001 – 2005, University
• University of Georgia, Lily Fellows Selection Committee, 2001 – 2002, University
• University of Georgia, Faculty Advisor, Mortar Board, 1998 – 2002, University
• American Accounting Association, Publications Committee, 2004 – 2007, Professional
• American Accounting Association, American Taxation Association Chairperson, Tax Doctoral Consortium Committee, 2005 – 2006, Professional
• American Accounting Association, American Taxation Association, Nominations Committee, 2004 – 2005, Professional
• American Accounting Association, American Taxation Association, Dissertation Award Committee, 2004 – 2005, Professional
• American Accounting Association, American Taxation Association, Doctoral Consortium Committee, 2004 – 2005, Professional
• American Accounting Association, American Taxation Association, Board of Trustees, 2003 – 2005, Professional
• American Accounting Association, American Taxation Association, Publications Committee, 2002 – 2004, Professional
• American Accounting Association, American Taxation Association, Tax Manuscript Award Committee, 2001 – 2002, Professional
• American Accounting Association, Notable Contributions to Accounting Literature Award Screening Committee, 1999 – 2000, Professional
• American Accounting Association, American Taxation Association, Membership Committee, 1999 – 2000, Professional
• American Accounting Association, American Taxation Association, Teaching Innovations Award Committee, 1998 – 1999, Professional
• American Accounting Association, American Taxation Association, New Faculty Concerns Committee, 1997 – 1998, Professional