Jake L. Netterville
J
ake L. Netterville, Chairman of the Board Emeritus of Postlethwaite & Netterville, earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from LSU in 1960. He was commissioned through LSU ROTC and served eight years in the U.S. Army on active and reserve duty. Netterville was managing partner of P&N for more than twenty years, during which time the firm became one of the top 100 leading accounting firms in the country. He has held leadership roles in numerous professional organizations, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants, and the Baton Rouge Chapter of Certified Public Accountants. He served as Chairman of the Board of the AICPA, the highest office that can be attained in the accounting profession. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times and authored articles in many accounting journals and magazines. He has served as president of the following organizations: the Louisiana Art & Science Museum, Downtown Kiwanis Club of Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Council for a Better Louisiana, Baton Rouge Area Chamber, CHAMPAC, The City Club of Baton Rouge, and the Baton Rouge Country Club. He currently serves on the boards of Baton Rouge Water Company and Amedisys. Netterville, the current chair of Tiger Athletic Foundation, is a member of the LSU Accounting Advisory Board, the E.J. Ourso College of Business Administration Dean’s Advisory Council, and the LSU Alumni Association. Among the many professional and civic honors Netterville has received during his career are the Society of Louisiana CPAs Establishment of Free Enterprise Award, Baton Rouge Volunteer Activist Award, Louisiana CPA Distinguished Service Award, AICPA Gold Medal Award – the organization’s highest award, and the Association of Government Accountants National Private Sector Financial Excellence Award. He was inducted into the E.J. Ourso College of Business Hall of Distinction in 2000. Netterville and his wife, May Nell, have been married for fifty-five years. They have two children and five grandchildren.
AS A SOPHOMORE AT BATON ROUGE HIGH SCHOOL, I COMPLETED A KUDDER PREFERENCE TEST AND WAS TOLD IT SHOWED I SHOULD BE A CPA. I ASKED, “WHAT’S A CPA?” LSU PROVIDED ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPETE AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL WITH PROFESSIONALS WHO GRADUATED FROM “MORE PRESTIGIOUS” UNIVERSITIES.” 24 LSU Alumni Magazine | Summer 2017