Report of the President

Greetings from beautiful Provo, Utah where fall is in the air and the Wasatch Mountains are getting their first dusting of snow. Whether you are in higher education, government, industry, or the broader assurance profession, I trust the fall has you and those you are working with actively engaged in a host of exciting activities. I hope we all take the time to consider just how fortunate we are to be associated with the next generation of bright and talented professionals. In this, my first President's Message, I would like to express an opinion regarding our section. Before doing so, I want to assure you that I have applied independent, objective thinking in my efforts to gather sufficient appropriate evidence. Through inquiry, observation and a host of other procedures, it is the unbiased view of this professional skeptic that the Auditing Section is the finest of sections—jammed packed with truly outstanding and dedicated individuals. Over the last several months I have had the opportunity to extend invitations to a number of members to step up and serve in various capacities and I have a renewed appreciation for the quality and goodness of the individuals in our section. It is an honor and privilege to associate with you and to be able to give back in some small way to an organization that has done so much to enhance our collective professional experience.

As you have heard in prior messages, our Auditing Section Executive Committee has formed a task force to embark on a strategic planning process. As we refine our strategic initiatives there will be additional opportunities for members to serve and participate. We will be sharing more information about the current status of the strategic initiative in a series of emails this fall and at the mid-year meeting in January. I want to thank members of the Executive Committee and the Strategic Planning Task Force for their effort and contribution.

Audit Educator Bootcamp
In June the Education Committee organized the second bootcamp. The bootcamp was a three-day program held on the campus of DePaul University. We would like to thank Ray Whittington and DePaul for being such gracious hosts. The bootcamp provided audit educators with an overview of current practice issues and contemporary audit methodologies of a number of large auditing firms. Jay Thibodeau, Bentley College, and Frank Buckless, North Carolina State University, served as the primary instructors and were joined by leading audit professionals from various firms who helped lead the discussion. The program was a great success. Here is an excerpt from participant feedback:

"This is without a doubt the BEST workshop I have ever attended. It is an incredible learning experience and will add substantial richness to my audit course. Jay and Frank do an awesome job and are so willing to share their expertise. Thanks to the Auditing Section for sponsoring this event!"

Thanks to the Jay Rich, Chair of the Education Committee, Ray Whittington, Frank Buckless, Jay Thibodeau, and all those who had a hand in making the bootcamp a success.

2010 AAA Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA
Kenny Reynolds and Karla Johnstone did a terrific job coordinating the Auditing Section's program at the Annual Meeting. This year the Section received nearly 170 submissions and had around 110 papers presented in concurrent sessions. The Section also sponsored a number of panel sessions. In addition to the panelists and paper presenters, the Section's part of the program involved the work of many moderators and discussants, as well as several hundred reviewers. Thanks to all for the excellent service.

In conjunction with the annual meeting, for the second year The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) held a half-day symposium to facilitate dialogue and collaboration between leading practitioners and audit scholars. Over 75 participants attended; approximately half academics and half leading professionals from practice, including 3 CEOs and other representatives from the IIA and IFAC. The symposium featured two panels, one on professional skepticism and one on fraud risk. We appreciate the CAQ's efforts in fostering productive collaboration between the academy and practice on issues important to delivering high quality assurance services.

The Annual Meeting also marked the completion of service of the following members on the Auditing Section Executive Committee:

• Shaun Budnick, Vice President Practice
• Audrey Gramling, Past President (and before that VP Academic and President)
• Linda McDaniel, Historian
• Jay Thibodeau, Secretary

The section owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to these talented individuals for their significant contribution and countless hours of dedicated service.

We are pleased that the following individuals joined the Executive Committee in August:

• Walt Conn, Vice President Practice
• Jennifer Joe, Secretary
• Larry Rittenberg, Historian
• Scott Showalter, Vice President Academic, President Elect

Webinars
The CPE and Research Committees of the Section continued providing continuing professional education through a webinar series. In March, Kathy Hurtt and Charles Davis, Baylor University, presented materials on professional skepticism, which was the subject of Kathy's doctoral dissertation. The webinar featured immediate feedback to polling questions and other inquiries from the audience.

In November, the Auditing Section is teaming up with the CAQ and Wiley to provide a webinar on fraud risk. Information on the webinar will sent to members via email. If you have an interest in conducting a webinar contact Rick Lillie, chair of the CPE committee, rlillie@csusb.edu or Jeffrey Cohen, chair of the Research Committee, cohen@bc.edu.

KPMG Continued Generous Support
We are grateful to the KPMG Foundation for its continued support of Section's Mid-Year Meeting and Auditing Doctorial Consortium. The Foundation provides critical financial support for the Section's efforts to promote excellence in the teaching, research, and the practice of auditing and assurance services. Our sincere thanks to KPMG LLP, the KPMG Foundation Trustees, and Bernie Milano, President of The Foundation, for this important and generous support.

Albuquerque January 2011
The 2011 Auditing Section Mid-Year Conference will be held January 13-15 at the Albuquerque Marriott Hotel in Albuquerque, NM. Mike Wilkins and Scott Vandervelde, conference co-chairs, are arranging an outstanding event. You should have received information on conference dates and registration. Plenary speakers include Roderick Winters, General Manager, Finance Operations of Microsoft Corporation and Past Chairman of the IIA Global Board of Directors, and Bill Gradison who was appointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission as a founding member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Bill was unanimously reappointed to a full five-year term in August 2004, and served as Acting Chairman from December 2005 to July 2006.

This year's pre-conference workshop continues the Excellence in Auditing Education theme of our past three pre-conference workshops. This year the workshop is being coordinated by Jack Krogstad and Gerald Smith and will focus on the positive influence integrity has on business and professionals. In addition to in addition to providing participants with actionable steps to enhance their personal integrity, a key goal of the workshop is to provide the means for educators to improve the level of integrity in the next generation of entrants to the auditing profession. The workshop begins at 1:00 Thursday January 13.

Doctoral Consortium
We continue our tradition of holding a Doctoral Consortium prior to the conference. Kathryn Kadous, the Consortium Coordinator, has an exciting program planned for January 13. The purpose of the Consortium is to stimulate students' research by exposing them to the latest ideas from leading researchers in auditing, and by providing opportunities for networking with other Ph.D. students, established auditing researchers, and journal editors. The Consortium is open to all Ph.D. students who have an interest in auditing research.

I hope to see you in Albuquerque in January.