The CPA behind How Much Does It Cost to Make a Donut? will teach the next generation of business owners to read their own numbers, while retaining his leadership role at his Charlotte-based accounting practice
CHARLOTTE, N.C., August 20, 2026. Nexagy®, Inc. today announced that Cassmer Ward, CPA, and Nexagy’s founder, has been appointed Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Entrepreneurship Program at Wake Forest University, beginning in the fall 2026 semester. While Ward will reduce his day-to-day time at Nexagy, he will retain his leadership position at the firm.
The appointment adds a classroom to Ward’s existing work rather than replacing it. He founded Nexagy in 2008 and has spent nearly two decades as a fractional chief financial officer for growing and transitioning companies across healthcare, construction, engineering, real estate, manufacturing and professional services. The firm has built a full accounting staff behind that work, so clients will see no change in their service due to Ward’s Wake Forest appointment. In the classroom, Ward will teach the same material he has spent that career delivering in boardrooms, drawn largely from his book, How Much Does It Cost to Make a Donut? And Other Questions That Make Us Hate Accounting.
“Most entrepreneurs I work with are absolute experts at making their products and finding their customers,” Ward said. “But then somebody slides a financial statement across the table, and they lose all confidence, creating a potential stumbling block that can cost them their business. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Entrepreneurs from any (non-accounting) background can learn to understand, interpret, and act confidently based on their financials.”
How Much Does It Cost to Make a Donut? Teaches accounting without equations, debits or credits. The narrative follows Ward and a business partner as they open a donut shop and spend five years chasing a question that turns out to be far harder than it sounds. Every decision they make becomes a lesson in cost, margin, breaking even, and cash flow. What to charge. How many to sell before the business stops losing money. Whether to lease a shop or buy a truck.
“My goal is simple – to make the numbers easy to digest so owners can stop worrying about them and get back to running their businesses,” Ward said. “Entrepreneurs don’t need to be accountants; they just need enough financial knowledge to make good business decisions.”
Ward brings an unusually operational background to the classroom. He co-founded the firm IDE Structural Engineers and serves as its chief financial officer; was chief executive of a medical device start-up where he raised $2 million from angel investors, investment bankers and venture capital groups; and was chief financial officer on a $45 million condominium development. He has taught entrepreneurship and managerial accounting at the graduate level at Queens University of Charlotte since 2013.
The Charlotte Business Journal named Ward a 2025 Most Admired CEO and has named him a CFO of the Year finalist three times, in 2014, 2018 and 2025. He was named to the publication’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2012 and is an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year honoree. He is a North Carolina Certified Public Accountant and holds an MBA from Queens University of Charlotte’s McColl School of Business, along with bachelor’s degrees in accounting, management information systems, and English from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
How Much Does It Cost to Make a Donut? And Other Questions That Make Us Hate Accounting is available at Amazon, Apple Books, and other retailers. More about Nexagy at nexagy.com.
ABOUT NEXAGY
Founded in 2008 and based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Nexagy® provides fractional CFO, controller, and financial advisory services to growing and transitioning companies. The firm assists companies in defining expectations, assessing operations, and developing strategy while creating confidence and collaboration throughout the organization, through three practices: CFO Advantage, Controller+, and Numbers to Knowledge. nexagy.com
ABOUT WAKE FOREST’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM
At Wake Forest, we believe that the best teachers for aspiring entrepreneurs are those who have lived the entrepreneurial journey themselves. That’s why our faculty are not just teachers; they’re seasoned entrepreneurs, innovators, and thought leaders in their respective fields. Their courses are crafted based on real-world experience and cutting-edge research, offering students unparalleled insights into the world of entrepreneurship.
ABOUT WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
Wake Forest University’s motto, Pro Humanitate, reflects a commitment to academic excellence and to using ideas, knowledge, and talents on behalf of humanity. Founded in 1834, Wake Forest embraces a university-wide approach to developing leaders of character and integrity. Learn more at www.wfu.edu.