Joseph Duggan ’86CBA Reflects on Unexpected Path That Launched a Global Career

“My dad was (and still is) an electrical contractor and wanted me to become an electrician, but I wanted to go to college,” he explained. “His shop was in Middle Village, so I knew the area around St. John’s pretty well—plus, it had a great reputation, so it was an easy decision to make.”  

As much as location played a role in his choice, so did the influence of people around him. 

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to study, but my dad’s accountant used to come by the house to do the books for the family business and said, ‘So, you’re going to St. John’s? That’s a great school for accounting—why not study accounting?’”  

He followed that advice and soon settled into a balancing act of school and work. “St. John’s was a commuter school, and I worked full time at an Italian restaurant near Belmont Racetrack,” he explained. “I took classes in the morning—a few as early as 7:30 a.m.—so I could go back to the restaurant to work.”  

Mr. Duggan fondly remembers his time at the University, and he is particularly grateful to Patrick A. Casabona, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Accountancy. “He’s the reason I became an accountant,” he recalled. “I was struggling early on, and he gave me an extra credit assignment that helped improve my grade. After that, I got my act together and graduated with excellent grades. But, if not for his guidance, I think I would have dropped out of the accounting program.”  

St. John’s provided him with more than just a solid academic foundation—it also offered the practical support he needed to launch his career. “One of the things that was great about St. John’s was that through the career development office (now, University Career Services), I got interviews with every single ‘Big Eight’ accounting firm.”  

After landing an internship with Deloitte, he was offered a position there, but joined KPMG instead. “There were so many St. John’s people at KPMG when I went to their events,” he said. “I had a real ‘these are my people’ feeling there.”  

Mr. Duggan worked in KPMG’s New York offices for the entirety of his 30-plus-year career, with the exception of four years he spent as an Audit Partner at KPMG Deutschland in Munich, Germany. He made the trip with his family and considers it the best experience of his life, personally and professionally. 

“You see people with very different perspectives, but you realize that we’re all the same,” he said. “I still have very close friends from Germany, and several came over for my daughter’s wedding.” 

He retired from KPMG in March 2025 after serving as Head of Global Risk Monitoring for KPMG International since 2019. Still connected to the St. John’s community, he has been a member of St. John’s Accounting Advisory Board since 2020, and has been Chair since 2023.