Smith Research
Blockchain Technology Could Bring Benefits to the Auditing Industry
Student
Charting New Waters
Risk Management Academy Forthcoming from Smith Enterprise Risk Consortium
February 05, 2025
After 13 years in the U.S. Navy, Takesha Brown, DBA ’26, transitioned to consulting within the Department of Defense. Now Director of Branding and Digital Strategy at ITC, she’s leveraging AI and analytics through Smith’s DBA program, aiming to drive innovation and impact.
Alumni
January 24, 2025
Alumna’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Helps Generations of Smith Entrepreneurs
Elana Fine ’97, CEO of VWG Wealth Management, exemplifies an entrepreneurial mindset through her career and leadership. As a former director and current board member of the Dingman-Lamone Center, she champions student entrepreneurship and supports next-generation business leaders.
Becoming a Risk Taker
Jitin “Miki” Ahuja credits the University of Maryland for shaping his outlook on risk-taking and success. As founder of SpaceJet Media and London Lane Capital, he champions alumni engagement and entrepreneurial exploration.
February 04, 2025
Registration is open for the SERC Risk Academy, a three-day workshop on risk management fundamentals, led by UMD professors and industry leaders. Presented by SERC and coordinated by Smith Executive Education, the program features expert instruction, including insights from SERC Director Cliff Rossi.
January 31, 2025
Smith Research Uses AI to Showcase the Role of Pivots in Startup Performance
Startups must pivot strategically to succeed, not just reactively. New research by Smith’s Rajshree Agarwal uses AI to show how theorization and experimentation drive purposeful pivots, offering insights for entrepreneurs, incubators, and policymakers.
January 30, 2025
Supply Chain Masters Students Place Third in Global Competition
A Smith School graduate student team placed third globally and second in the Americas in the Global Sustainability Supply Chain Student Competition. Their Project MapleGuard tackled inventory waste in fresh produce. They’ll present in Geneva, advancing sustainable supply chain solutions.
Faculty Insights On Latest News
Marketing
October 04, 2024
Small Businesses Take Big Hit from Apple’s Privacy Regulation
Smith marketing professor Daniel McCarthy's research found that Apple's 2021 App Tracking Transparency (ATT) significantly impacted small direct-to-consumer businesses. ATT caused a 37% drop in ad click-through rates and up to a 60% revenue decline for smaller firms reliant on Facebook ads.
Decision, Operations and Information Technologies, Finance, Marketing
September 11, 2024
Smith Experts Explain Google Antitrust Implications
Google faces major antitrust cases for monopolizing digital advertising and search. Research Professor Kislaya Prasad suggests that ending exclusive agreements could increase competition, while Associate Professor Bobby Zhou emphasizes breaking up business units like Google’s search could benefit competitors, advertisers, and consumers.
September 10, 2024
Smith Experts Discuss how Apple’s AI-enhanced iPhones will Affect Users, Market Position
Smith School marketing professor P.K. Kannan says Apple's iPhone 16, powered by “Apple Intelligence,” marks a significant upgrade, particularly in privacy-focused AI and computational photography, aiding both user experience and market competitiveness.
Accounting and Information Assurance
February 07, 2025
Sean Cao, director of the Smith AI Initiative, has researched blockchain’s role in financial auditing for six years. His study, published in Management Science (2024), explores how permissioned blockchains enhance reporting integrity, reduce costs by 70%, and improve data privacy.
January 27, 2025
A New Model for Investors to Evaluate Equity Terms
Smith finance professor Serhiy Kozak and co-authors Stefano Giglio and Bryan Kelly developed a new asset pricing model to evaluate risky investments by predicting term structures of discount rates. Their model, validated with 45 years of data, excludes reliance on dividend strip data while accurately pricing S&P 500 and equity portfolios.
Finance
January 17, 2025
For Professional Investment Fund Managers, “Going Long” is a Winning Strategy
Russ Wermers, Smith professor and director of Smith’s Center for Financial Policy, introduces the Holding Horizon (H-H) measure, linking mutual fund managers' long-term stock holdings to superior risk-adjusted returns. The research highlights that skilled long-horizon managers outperform, offering insights for individual investors and retirement plans.