Christie L. Comunale, Ph.D., CPA

Christie L. Comunale, Ph.D., CPA, is a Professor of Practice in the College of Business at Stony Brook University, where she has taught since 2013. Prior to joining Stony Brook, she spent 14 years at LIU Post’s School of Professional Accountancy as a Professor of Accounting. Dr. Comunale is a licensed CPA in New York State and began her professional career in audit at Coopers & Lybrand in Baltimore, Maryland. She earned her Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of South Florida, along with an MBA and a BS in Accounting from Loyola University Maryland.

Dr. Comunale’s research focuses on auditor and taxpayer judgment and decision-making, audit process effectiveness, and accounting education. Her work has been presented at numerous American Accounting Association conferences and published in leading peer-reviewed journals. Her scholarship has earned more than 1,700 Google Scholar citations.

At Stony Brook University, Dr. Comunale teaches Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting I and II, and Advanced Accounting. She has received numerous teaching honors, including Stony Brook University’s Outstanding MBA Professor Award (2014) and Outstanding Undergraduate Professor Award (2024 and 2025). She also received Long Island University’s David Newton Award for Excellence in Teaching (2005).

Dr. Comunale has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to academic leadership, student engagement, and professional development. She previously served as Accounting Area Head and Director of the MS Accounting Program at Stony Brook University. Upon joining the university, she founded the Accounting Society and served as its advisor for 10 years. She later established the university’s Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) Chapter and currently serves as faculty advisor for the Kappa Omicron Chapter. Under her leadership, the chapter has achieved award-winning status every year since its inception, including during the petitioning process, bringing significant recognition to the university, the College of Business, and its students.

In recognition of her service and mentorship, Dr. Comunale received Stony Brook University’s Faculty Partnership Award (2017), the inaugural Dean’s Award for Excellence in Service (2024), and the Faculty Honoree Award from the Office of Military & Veteran Student Services (2026).

Research: Auditor and taxpayer judgment and decision making, and the efficiency and effectiveness of the audit process.

Teaching: Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting I and II, Advanced Accounting.