Chase Potter: Empowering Students’ Business Acumen
By Sue McMurray
His research investigates how politics affect the financial reporting environment, and he has a working paper on how political corruption affects how aggressive managers are when determining their firm’s tax strategy. He also provides guidance for the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Security and Exchange Commission on the costs and benefits of including non-financial information in mandated financial statements.
“The accounting faculty at WSU has a lot of bright scholars who do interesting work,” he says. “I knew that by coming to WSU, I’d have a chance to do eclectic research that touches on a lot of different areas.”
Potter joined the Department of Accounting this fall after completing his doctorate from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis and spending a year as a visiting scholar at Indiana University.
“I’m excited to be a part of a college that has great leadership and such strong buy-in from faculty,” he says. “Everyone is committed to making the Carson College of Business the best place to get a business degree in the Pacific Northwest.”
“We are excited to have Chase join us,” says Bernard Wong-On-Wing, chair of the accounting department. “His accomplishments to date indicate he will contribute in many ways to the mission of the department and the CCB.”
Improving students’ business acumen across WSU
Potter teaches managerial accounting, a subject he’s loved since owning and operating a snow cone shack after earning his bachelor’s in accounting at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business.
While in school, he worked as a teller at Deseret First Credit Union and as an account relationship specialist at Zions Bank. This industry experience, along with his master’s in accounting and doctorate focusing on the financial reporting environment, positioned him to teach Carson students to understand the language of business and increase their own market value.
“I would like to see the accounting program work with across other colleges’ disciplines,” he says—an aspiration that aligns with the Carson College’s strategic goals. “Even a single accounting course can dramatically increase the marketability and business acumen for a non-business major.”