Rate My Professor Alyssa Ong

Dr. Alyssa Ong is an Associate Professor of Accounting in the Business Administration Division at Seaver College, Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. She has served on the faculty since 2018, when she joined after completing her PhD, and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2024. Ong earned her PhD in Accounting from West Virginia University in 2018 and a Bachelor of Science in Business (BSB) in Accounting and Finance from the University of Kansas in 2014. A Certified Fraud Examiner, she specializes in forensic accounting and teaches a variety of undergraduate accounting courses. In recognition of her outstanding teaching, she received the Howard A. White Teaching Excellence Award in 2023.

Ong's research focuses on fraud, whistleblowing, judgment, and decision making in accounting and auditing. Her publications appear in prominent journals including the Journal of Forensic Accounting Research and the Journal of Forensic and Investigative Accounting. Key works include 'Mattel, Inc.: A Case Study of the Fall of Barbie's Co-Founder' (co-authored with Andrea M. Scheetz, Journal of Forensic and Investigative Accounting, 2024), 'Expert Witness Qualifications (Ph.D., CPA, Teaching Experience)' (Journal of Forensic Accounting Research, 2024), 'Confronting Bias in Auditing Judgments: The Role of Mood' (co-authored with Andrea Scheetz and Ruwan Adikaram, 2023), 'Are Breaks Always Helpful? The Interaction of Work Breaks, Peer Influence, and Affect on Performance' (co-authored with D. Aizenberg, 2025), and contributions such as an article in Journal of Forensic and Investigative Accounting 14(1), 11-38 (2022). Beyond research, Ong advises the Seaver College DECA team, which earned honors at the 2023 DECA International Career Development Conference, mentors students in the Summer Undergraduate Research Initiative and Academic Year Undergraduate Research Initiative, and participates in the Keck Institute for Data Science. Her multifaceted contributions enhance accounting education and forensic research at Pepperdine.