John C. Corless
California State University, Sacramento
Department of Accountancy
College of Business Administration

Courses for Fall 2012:

Accy 131

Courses for Spring 2013:

Accy 132

Professional Activity and History

Professor Emeritis John Corless, Ph.D., CPA (Certified Public Accountant), CIA (Certified Internal Auditor), CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner)  

I did my undergraduate work at Brigham Young University and my graduate work at the university of Minnesota.

My primary area of interest is auditing and fraud examination. I have published articles in several journals, including: The Accounting Review, Accounting Horizons, The Internal Auditor, The CPA Journal, and The Journal of Accountancy. 

I worked as a faculty resident with a large international CPA firm and on the professional staff of a small CPA firm in Las Vegas.  I did sales tax audits out of the Hollywood office of the Board of Equalization, and worked as an internal auditor to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. I have studied the reports and audit working papers of the Bureau of State Audits.

I was a member of the American Institute of CPAs, and a charter member of the Audit section of the American Accounting Association . I served on the executive committee of the Western Region of the American Accounting Association from 2002 to 2006, and was as president of the Western Region in 2004-2005. I was active in the Sacramento Chapter of the
Institute of Internal Auditors, serving on its board of governors for several years; I was president in 1993-94. I am now a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

I am an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). My wife Ronda and I are the parents of five sons, and we have fourteen grandchildren--5 boys and 9 girls.  I do historical re-enactments with the Mormon Battalion (1846-1848), and am a volunteer docent at the Marshall Gold Discovery Stake Park in Coloma.

Research Projects/Interests

Auditor Independence: The Impossible Dream

Internal Auditor Experience with Fraud

Use of Computer Assisted Audit Tools and Techniques

Accounting Internships

Use of Bayesian Statistics in Auditing

User Reaction to Auditor Reports

Impact of Recent Reforms on Small CPA Firms

Enterprise Risk management

Tax Fraud

Professional Associations

Association of Certified Fraud Examiners