Category Archives: Learning Resources

My thoughts on Python for accounting research

There is a temptation for accounting PhD students to invest in learning Python. However, I would recommend that accounting PhD students focus more on SAS + Stata than on Python in their first year for a few practical and technical … Continue reading

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TAR-Style Word Template

I create a Word template that complies with The Accounting Review editorial style. My design philosophy is “simple but sufficient”. I do not like those templates that are heavy and fancy (e.g., macros everywhere). This is just version 1. It … Continue reading

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The impact of WRDS transition to the new WRDS Cloud server

WRDS has quietly started the transition from the old server to the new Cloud server. This move makes a lot of support documentation on the WRDS website outdated and misleading. That is why I think WRDS should direct its resources on continuously … Continue reading

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Rolling-window computation in SAS and Stata

SASers often find proc expand plus transformout very useful for rolling-window (or moving-window) computation. Stataers may wonder if there is a counter party in Stata. The answer is “yes”. The command in Stata is rolling. See the manual below: http://www.stata.com/manuals13/tsrolling.pdf The … Continue reading

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Calculate market value of equity: use CRSP or Compustat?

I encountered a problem today: I had to calculate market value of equity. On Compustat Quarterly I found three variables that seemed to be what I need: PRCCQ, CSHOQ, and MKVALTQ. On CRSP, I found two variables: PRC and SHROUT. So … Continue reading

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Look into CRSP/Compustat link table

The link history table (CCMXPF_LNKHIST) is the primary table used for WRDS CCM web queries. In this post, I explain this table in detail. Background We know that a company may issue multiple securities, one of which is considered primary … Continue reading

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Errors in CRSP, Compustat and other popular data source

I find a web page providing references for articles that study specific aspects of CRSP, Compustat and other popular sources of data used in academic research. https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/researchcomputing/crsp-cstat-references.htm Some interesting topics include: error rates in CRSP and COMPUSTAT, differences between COMPUSTAT and CRSP … Continue reading

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My favorite econometrics textbook

The website http://www.econometricsbooks.com discusses popular econometrics textbooks. I find the information very useful. My favorite textbook is Introductory Econometrics: A Modern Approach. I would call it an intermediate level textbook. It discusses almost every topic that we will use in accounting research. I … Continue reading

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Which is better for archival accounting research, SAS or Stata?

The short answer is: we need both. When we do archival accounting research, we often need to merge data across various databases, such as COMPUSTAT, CRSP, and EXECUCOMP. Stata can by no means beat SAS in this regard. SAS supports … Continue reading

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