Pownall holds a BS in Accounting from the University of Illinois, an MBA from the University of Chicago, and a PhD in Accounting and Economics also from the University of Chicago. She joined the GBS faculty in 1993 and served Associate Dean and Director of Doctoral Studies from 2004-2011. Her research interests include corporate disclosure incentives and practices, and information in global capital markets. Her research has been published in Journal of Accounting Research, The Accounting Review, Contemporary Accounting Research, Review of Accounting Studies, and Management Science, among other journals. She served as Associate Editor (1999-2002) and on the editorial board (2005-2008) of The Accounting Review, and as associate editor, on the editorial board, and/or as ad hoc reviewer for over a dozen other journals.
