For members interested in auditing education, the Auditing Section offers a variety of paper sessions and CPE sessions on educational topics at its Midyear, Annual and Regional meetings. It offers publications such as the recent monograph, Curriculum Innovation: Excellence in Audit Education. The Section’s Education Committee is constantly working on projects that usually produce informative reports that are distributed in some fashion, such as on the Section’s web page. In addition, the web page provides links to a wide variety of educational resources.

For members interested in auditing research, the Auditing Section publishes Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory. Research-oriented monographs such as Research Opportunities in Auditing: The Second Decade are also published on occasion. The Section offers numerous research paper sessions at its Midyear, Annual and Regional meetings. It occasionally co-sponsors auditing research conferences and sometimes publishes their proceedings in supplemental issues of Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory. Through these activities, the Section provides valuable opportunities for peer review of its members’ research. The Section also offers a useful research review service in the “Have You Seen?” column that appears in The Auditor’s Report.

For members interested in auditing practice and standard setting, the Section has a Practice Advisory Council that reports to members on emerging issues in practice and attempts to team practitioners and academics on projects to improve the delivery of services in both areas. Watch for a major presentation by the PAC at this year’s Annual Meeting. The Section also has an Auditing Standards Committee that monitors auditing standard setting activities and reports to members on these activities and their research implications. Members are also regularly updated on Auditing Standards Board activities through the “ASB Update” column in The Auditor’s Report. In addition, the Section has recently initiated a column in The Auditor’s Report, beginning in this issue, on the practice implications of auditing research findings. A current project of the Auditing Section, sponsored by the Institute of Internal Auditors and headed by Jane Mutchler, involves an analysis of standards of independence and objectivity around the world, and will result in the publication of a monograph summarizing the findings.

The Auditing Section frequently engages in projects that have joint implications for education, research and practice. One example is the recent monograph Auditing Practice, Research and Education: A Productive Collaboration. Another example is the recent special task force report on “Future Audit, Attest, and Assurance Services.”

For members interested in Continuing Professional Education, the Auditing Section offers various CPE sessions at its midyear, annual and regional meetings. For members interested in networking with other people with similar interests, the Section’s meetings, web page and newsletter provide ample opportunities. Finally, for members interested in serving their fellow members and taking a leadership role in the field of auditing, the Auditing Section has numerous ongoing activities, committees, and so forth, most of which will be looking for volunteers in the near future. If you would like to volunteer, contact me or another member of the Executive Committee at the annual meeting and let us know where your interests lie.

All this for annual dues of $15! And no, we’re not planning to ask you for a dues increase in the foreseeable future. The Auditing Section is quite a bargain, don’t you agree?