Gordon Ford College of Business Staff

Dr. Fessler is an Associate Professor of Accounting.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Portland.  After four years of professional experience and passing both the CPA and CMA exams, he began doctoral studies in accounting at Indiana University, which he completed in 1998.

Since then Dr. Fessler has served on the faculty of the University of Memphis, Abilene Christian University, the University of Central Missouri, and most recently The University of Texas at Tyler, bringing more than twenty years of academic experience to WKU.  He has specialized in teaching all courses in the managerial and cost accounting sequence at both graduate and undergraduate levels. 

Dr. Fessler’s research efforts have spanned the areas of discovery, applied, and pedagogical research, informing theory, practice, and education in accounting.  He has published in prestigious journals such as the Journal of Management Accounting Research (JMAR) and Issues in Accounting Education (IAE).  Additionally, he currently serves on the Editorial Board of Behavioral Research in Accounting (BRIA) and Issues in Accounting Education (IAE), both published by the American Accounting Association (AAA).

At different times in his life Dr. Fessler has enjoyed bicycling, creating and recording music, ballroom dancing, playing golf, hiking, and eating his wife’s cooking. 

"Travel-Space Trailers: A Budgeting Experience" (with C.A. Denison), IMA Educational Case Journal, 2021, 12(1).

"The Effect of Management Style on Risky Reporting Choices: The Motivational Focus Perspective" (with P. Rusli and R. Williamson), Management Accounting Quarterly, 2020, 22(1), 1-10.

"A Tale of Missing… Parts", IMA Educational Case Journal, 2019, 12(3).

"Performance-Based Pay, Performance Monitoring, and Dishonest Behavior: The Plot Thickens" (with C.D. Bailey and B.K. Baird), Advances in Management Accounting, 2019, 31, 91-112.

"Texas Products, Inc.", IMA Educational Case Journal, 2018, 11(3).