Mongold excited to join “The Room Where It Happens”

Ask any incoming professor why they chose to join Gies College of Business, and they’ll give you a lot of great answers — from the amazing collaborative opportunities available at the school to the vast resources of the university it proudly calls home. But Cassie Mongold’s answer to that question is a little different than most. 

“I feel like Illinois is the room where it happens,” said Mongold, in a nod to one of her favorite Broadway productions.

In the smash hit Hamilton, “The Room Where It Happens” is the show-stopping number sung by Aaron Burr, who longs to be one of those shaping history instead of watching it pass by. For Burr, the room is the place where great influencers gather, and small conversations become the big ideas that drive the world forward. And for Mongold, it’s the perfect metaphor for a college on the cutting edge.

“I feel like the best of everything is going on at Gies — the best research and the best teaching,” said Mongold, who sees that unfolding in a dynamic program that’s making an impact. Research at Gies is practical and accessible, said Mongold. And that research translates into the classroom, preparing students for exciting careers. “So, it’s sort of a no-brainer that any young professional would want to start their career here.”

Mongold knows what it’s like to be in the room where it happens. After wrapping up a PhD in accounting last year at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, she enjoyed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which sets the accounting guidelines for all public US firms.

“That really shaped my focus, because I saw the issues that standard setters grapple with,” said Mongold. “So, the type of research I like to do is really focused on things that are topical and relevant to the accounting practitioner community.”

That means exploring a wide range of topics, from how firms recognize loan losses to what conceptually creates a liability. One of the big challenges for companies today is dealing with cryptocurrency. In one recent study, she looked at this emerging asset and how it’s seen in the investment world.

“Basically, we looked at how classifying cryptocurrencies on the balance sheet of a company could influence the way people perceive those crypto assets as being more or less risky,” said Mongold.

Working with Kim Mendoza, a colleague at Gies, and Spencer Anderson, who was at Gies but now works at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, she found that categorization could have a big impact on perceptions. When cryptocurrencies are listed as intangible assets, for example, people tend to see them as less risky, because they’re grouped with patents, trademarks, and similar assets that aren’t typically perceived as carrying a lot of risk.

“But if you include cryptocurrency in investments, people tend to start thinking about them in terms of stocks, which can be inherently riskier,” said Mongold. “It’s the same cryptocurrency, but the risk profile increases, depending on where you put it, which means just changing the label on the balance sheet can have a big impact on investors.”

These are the types of insights that she’ll soon be sharing with her class. Mongold, who will be teaching Intermediate Accounting 1 at Gies, said her interest in teaching began several years ago when she worked as a senior audit associate at Ernst & Young. “I was teaching night classes at the University of Oklahoma and just loved being around students and inspiring them to pursue their career. So, I began wondering how can I make my night job my fulltime gig.”

Gies is the fulfillment of that vision. As an assistant professor at one of the world’s leading business schools, she’ll be teaching the next generation of students the nuances of modern accounting, while doing research that could shape the very career they’re entering, which is the best of both worlds. “I want the work that I’m doing to be impactful, and I feel like this is a good place to do that,” said Mongold, who’s joining a large group of incoming faculty at Gies. Finding their place at the front of the class. And a seat at the table. In the room where everything happens.