AI Symposium in Finance & Accounting
Inaugural event welcomes students, academics and practitioners.
The Johnson Investment Institute is proud to host its first-ever AI Symposium in Finance & Accounting on Friday, May 8 at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
Under the theme “AI in Practice: The Future of Investment Management and Accounting,” this symposium brings together students, practitioners and academics to explore how AI is transforming the investment landscape.
The full-day event, produced in coordination with Lindner’s Accounting Department, features distinguished speakers from leading universities and investment firms nationwide, bridging the gap between cutting-edge academic research and real-world investment practice.
Academics and practitioners will have the ability to connect with Lindner undergraduate and graduate students, the next generation of finance and accounting professionals.
Registration
The cost to attend is $15 for students and $100 for non-students.
Agenda
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 8:15-8:50 a.m. | Breakfast and Networking |
| 8:50-9 a.m. | Opening Remarks |
| 9-9:35 a.m. | Distinguished Academic Lecture: Dacheng Xiu, University of Chicago |
| 9:35 a.m.-10:10 a.m. | Practitioner Presentation: Chris Sparenberg, S&P Global |
| 10:10-10:30 a.m. | Break |
| 10:30-11:05 a.m. | Practitioner Presentation: Frank Neugebauer, The Cincinnati Insurance Companies |
| 11:05-11:40 a.m. | Academic Presentation: Alejandro Lopez-Lira, University of Florida |
| 11:40 a.m.-12:15 p.m. | Practitioner Presentation: John Dillon, Clarivate |
| 12:15-2:15 p.m. | Luncheon + "How is AI Rewriting Accounting?" Panel Discussion at Nippert Stadium West Pavilion. Welcome Remarks: Lindner Dean Marianne Lewis. Moderator: Joe Waller, University of Cincinnati. Panelists: Ryan Kean, Total Quality Logistics; Rob Moeddel, Fifth Third Bank; Doug Torline, PwC. |
| 2:15-2:50 p.m. | Distinguished Academic Lecture: Clifton Green, Emory University |
| 2:50-3:25 p.m. | Academic Presentation: Winston Dou, University of Pennsylvania |
| 3:25-3:45 p.m. | Break |
| 3:45-4:20 p.m. | Practitioner Presentation: Andrew Robinson, BlackRock |
| 4:20-4:55 p.m. | Keynote address: Lori Beer, JP Morgan |
| 4:55-5 p.m. | Closing Remarks |
| 5-6 p.m. | Networking Reception |
| 6-8 p.m. | Dinner at Nippert Stadium West Pavilion. |
Presenters & Speakers
Keynote Speaker
Lori Beer
Global Chief Information Officer, JPMorgan Chase
As Global CIO of JPMorgan Chase, Lori Beer oversees one of the world's most sophisticated financial technology infrastructures. Beer leads AI strategy and digital transformation across the firm's global operations — making her uniquely positioned to speak on how AI is reshaping the future of finance at enterprise scale.
Academic & Practitioner Presenters
Dacheng Xiu
Joseph Sondheimer Professor of Econometrics and Statistics, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
Talk: AI/ML for Investment: Myths, Limits, and the Road Ahead. Expertise: Xiu develops and analyzes statistical and machine-learning methods, applying them to financial data to investigate economic implications.
Chris Sparenberg
Managing Director, Head of Alternatives & Private Markets, S&P Global
As Head of Private Markets Strategy for S&P Global Market Intelligence, Sparenberg leads the commercial strategy for S&P's suite of software, data, and managed services offerings.
Frank Neugebauer
Director, Generative AI, The Cincinnati Insurance Companies
Talk: How Cincinnati Insurance Companies is Using AI. Abstract: Cincinnati Insurance has been on the machine learning and generative AI journey for over six years. In this presentation, CIC's approach, successes, and words of caution are all covered, leaving audience members with at least one way to succeed with generative AI.
Alejandro Lopez-Lira
Assistant Professor of Finance, Warrington College of Business, University of Flroida
Alejandro Lopez-Lira's research sits at the intersection of AI and finance, examining how language models and machine learning methods can be applied to financial markets and decision-making.
John Dillon
TDM Studio Senior Product Manager, Building Text Mining / NLP Products, Clarivate
John's expertise spans natural language processing, machine learning, sentiment analysis, geographic information systems, topic modeling, and network analysis, with over a decade of experience applying these techniques across research and product development.
Clifton Green
John W. McIntyre Professor of Finance, Goizueta Business School, Emory University
Talk: How Do AI Models Extrapolate Stock Returns? Abstract: We examine how large language models (LLMs) interpret historical stock returns and price charts when prompted to forecast short-horizon returns. While individual stock returns tend to reverse, LLM forecasts overextrapolate trends.
Winston Dou
Associate Professor of Finance and the Golub Faculty Scholar, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Talk: AI in Financial Markets: Collusion, Planning, and Systemic Risk. Abstract: AI-powered trading is transforming financial markets, bringing opportunities and new risks. We examine how AI agents sustain collusive, supra-competitive profits undermining market competition and price efficiency.
Andrew Robinson
Director, Systematic Active Equities, BlackRock
Talk: AI in Practice: Advancing Systematic Investing at Scale. Abstract: Robinson present several recent examples of how BlackRock is deploying AI and ML to enhance data evaluation, accelerate signal discovery, and improve model development and management across a large-scale investment platform.
"How is AI Rewriting Accounting?" Panel
Joe Waller
Moderator, Executive Adjunct Professor, Lindner College of Business
Ryan Kean
Panelist, Chief Information Officer, TQL
Rob Moeddel
Panelist, Head of Regulatory Reporting, Fifth Third Bank
Doug Torline
Panelist, Partner, PwC
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