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John Petosa

John Petosa

Professor of Practice

Room: 616
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View Curriculum Vitae

JD, Syracuse University College of Law (Law)
BS, Boston College (Dual major in Accounting and Economics)

John J. Petosa ’95 JD is a licensed CPA and attorney who currently serves as the CFO and general counsel of a food distributor in Syracuse. He has a private accounting and legal practice that focusses on tax preparation, tax representation before the IRS and New York state, real estate law, business law and estates and trusts. Petosa is also a member of the board of directors of Solvay Bank, a publicly traded local bank. He has served a town justice in Camillus for 9 years.


Petosa’s emphasis is on teaching law and accounting however he also instructs various entrepreneurial classes which leverage his diverse and varied professional experiences. He is a member of numerous local and national professional associations and has been active on various local community boards. Petosa graduated with bachelor’s degrees in both accounting and economics from Boston College in 1987 and Law School from Syracuse University in 1995.

Research Topics

  • Taxation
  • Choice of Entity
  • Business Law
  • Criminal Law
  • Accounting
  • Banking

Law, Entrepreneurship, accounting, and taxation

Awards and Honors

  • Masters Student Teacher of the Year - GSO (2019)
  • Masters Student Teacher of the Year - WGSO (2018)
  • Oberwager Award - Whitman Dean (2016)
  • Masters Student Teacher of the Year - WGSO (2016)
  • Undergraduate Teacher of the Year - Undergraduate Students (2016)
  • Defense Comptrollers Program Teacher of the Year - DCP graduating class 2015 (2015)
  • Masters Students Teacher of the Year - Masters Student Body (2015)
  • Oberwager Award - Whitman Dean (2015)
  • Masters Students Teacher of the Year - Masters Student Body (2014)
  • Undergraduate Teacher of the Year - Undergraduate Student Body (2013)