Professor Fischer’s research spans two areas of interest: the acquisition and dissemination of information in capital markets, and the design of incentive systems within and between firms. His capital market research has considered the impact of accounting disclosures on security prices, manager disclosure behavior, investor information gathering strategies, pricing bubbles, and the economic determinants and consequences of heuristic behaviors. His research on the design of incentive systems has examined the roles played by insider trading restrictions, risk management activities, peer evaluation systems, monitoring systems, and social norms. His research has appeared in The Accounting Review, Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, Review of Accounting Studies, Journal of Finance, Management Science, and The American Economic Review.

Professor Fischer is currently serving as an editor for Review of Accounting Studies, where he previously was the managing editor. He has also served as a special editor for The Accounting Review, an associate editor for Management Science, and been a member of the editorial boards of The Accounting Review and the Journal of Accounting and Economics.

Professor Fischer teaches Financial Accounting and Financial Analysis. He is currently a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. Previously, he was a Professor and Department Chair at Penn State University. He has also previously taught at the University of British Columbia, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Stanford University. He received his PhD from the University of Rochester and his BS degree from Duke University.

Fischer briefed National Press Foundation fellows in September 2025: A Primer for Business Journalists, From Bookkeeping to Deciphering Financial Statements.