Abstract

The chief executive officer (CEO) is the highest-ranking executive in the company and can have a profound effect on the operations and performance of the organization [1]. Thus, stakeholders need to understand how CEOs make business decisions and what CEO characteristics materially influence corporate outcomes. The power and influence of the CEO vary across organizations [2]. In this review article, we discuss the lessons we can learn from the accounting literature about how the power and influence of the CEO matter for corporate outcomes. In preparing our review, we focus on academic studies published in the premier journals in accounting (e.g., The Accounting Review (TAR), Journal of Accounting and Economics (JAE), and Journal of Accounting Research (JAR)).