Jacob Jaggi
Joins the Department of Accounting

By Sue McMurray

Carson College students planning future careers in the accounting field will be learning from Jacob Jaggi, a new faculty member with extensive industry experience, as fall classes get underway. Prior to earning his doctorate from the University of Arizona, he worked in several accounting capacities as an internal auditor, controller, and SEC reporting analyst, and across industries, including agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and nonprofit.

Jaggi loves the challenge of using both sides of his brain to tackle accounting issues. Exercising his left brain through logic, methodology, and analytics, as well as his right brain through intuition, unstructured problem solving, and creativity, is a robust workout, he says.

“I am excited to join the WSU community,” Jaggi says. “I am looking forward to collaborating with colleagues, working with and mentoring students, and becoming a part of the fabric of the Department of Accounting and the Carson College of Business.”

A composite of scholarly and interpersonal skills sets him apart

Jaggi is a recognized scholar in the American Accounting Association (AAA), having recently won an AAA best doctoral student paper award and presented scholarly research in numerous international meetings. He also participates regularly in other professional service activities. Throughout his graduate education, he earned two additional doctoral research awards and two MBA scholar awards.

His colleagues say he possesses an innate ability to turn a complex subject into something comprehensible and relatable, and his interpersonal skills are of the highest caliber, especially when coaching and working with inter-ethnic groups.

“Jacob is an excellent addition to our department,” says Bernard Wong-on-Wing, department chair. “His multiple research and teaching awards attest to his ability to contribute to the goals of our department and the Carson College.”

Intentional path to WSU

Jaggi visited the WSU campus and the accounting department after earning his MBA in global management at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. Impressed by the collegiality in the department, supportive culture, impressive research agenda, and overall “good feeling,” in the Carson College, he chose a doctoral program that would give him the best chance at joining the WSU accounting faculty when he finished his degree.

As an assistant professor, Jaggi teaches intermediate undergraduate accounting courses and splits his time between conducting research, teaching, and serving the department in other ways. His research interests include corporate governance, monitoring mechanisms—including audit committees and internal/external auditing—and debt contracting.

Aspirations to build WSU’s momentum in academic community

Jaggi plans to help build on the momentum of the accounting department and raise the department’s profile in the broader academic community.

“The path toward accomplishing this will involve hiring excellent faculty, supporting top-notch research, placing students into top jobs in the region and beyond, and cultivating a Ph.D. program that produces sought-after scholars,” he says.