Karen K. Nelson is Professor of Accounting at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University. She graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in accounting from the University of Colorado and earned her Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Michigan. Professor Nelson is a Certified Public Accountant in Colorado, and was an auditor prior to returning to school for her Ph.D.
Professor Nelson has been a member of the Rice University faculty since 2003 where she teaches financial accounting in the MBA and Executive MBA programs as well as several Executive Education courses. Prior to her appointment at Rice, Professor Nelson was on the faculty of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and was a visiting professor at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on financial reporting quality and earnings management, including the role of regulators, auditors, and private securities litigation in monitoring financial reporting quality. Professor Nelson has published her research in a number of top academic journals, and has been invited to speak at more than thirty leading business schools in the U.S. and abroad. Her research has also been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and Forbes, among other leading financial press publications. Professor Nelson is on the Editorial Board of The Accounting Review and is an active member of the American Accounting Association.