WE WELCOME RICHARD CHAMBERS pg. 3 Audit Scope Fall 2017 Florida West Coast Chapter IIA Scholarship Recipient: Jordan Ghaemmaghami Seminar Packages Available Now Jobs in Your Area! Providing dynamic leadership for the global profession of internal auditing
President s Message Dear Chapter Members: The 2016-2017 Chapter Year was another successful year. We again achieved Platinum Chapter Status and therefore remain a Sapphire Chapter. In recent years the IIA established designations to recognize chapters that have achieved Platinum Status for over 10 years. We have achieved Platinum Status for at least 15 years, and therefore retain the Sapphire Chapter Designation. We could not achieve this milestone without the hard work of our Leadership Team, and are fortunate to have all of our officers returning; Monica Sanchez (Vice President of Education), Paul Jerome (Treasurer), Sarah Reekstin (Vice President of Communication), and Kristina Simmons (Secretary). We also have retained almost all of our Board Members and welcome our newest Board Member, Heidi Pinner. At the IIA Leadership Conference in April, our chapter newsletter, the Audit Scope, was recognized as the top newsletter of all IIA Chapters in North America. Sarah Reekstin serves as our editor-in-chief and a big applause to Sarah for her continued work on the Audit Scope. The 2016-2017 Chapter Year was full of excellent seminars that provided 32 hours of educational training. We had an average of 145 attendees at each event, with our December Fraud and Security Seminar drawing 246 attendees. A special thanks to Monica Sanchez and Rose-ann Mondy for their continued involvement in planning our educational seminars. Speaking of educational training, the 2017-2018 Seminar Series has been developed. Our first event, Pillars of the Profession, kicks off the chapter year on Wednesday, October 25 th at the Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon Park. We are fortune to have the President and CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors, Richard Chambers, discuss the traits of great internal audit leadership. We will have a guest panel of local internal audit leaders that will share their views on today s internal auditors and how they are seen more as advisers, strategic partners, and consultants. We are also excited to have Raven Catlin visit our chapter to discuss Branding and Marketing the Internal Audit Activity and Risk Assessment Done Right! This is a can t-miss seminar and I look forward to seeing you all there. Visit the Chapter s website to learn more and purchase your Seminar Package. I look forward to the upcoming Chapter Year and continuing to serve as your President. Sincerely, Mark Smith AUDIT SCOPE INSIDE THIS ISSUE Upcoming Events...3 Join us for our first seminar this IIA year featuring IIA CEO, Richard Chambers on page 3 Chapter News...4 We congratulate the recipient of the John Harmon Scholarship, Jordan Ghaemmaghami, on page 5 Resources... 5 Other upcoming events and career resources on page 6 Contact Us For questions, comments, or submissions: Sarah Reekstin, VP of Communications VP-Comm@tampabayiia.org www.theiia.org 2 www.tampabayiia.org
UPCOMING EVENTS The Pillars of the Profession Wednesday, October 25, 2017 8:30am 4:30pm 7:45 8:30 Registration, Breakfast and Networking Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon Park/950 Lake Carillon Drive, St. Petersburg 33716 This training qualifies for up to 8 hours of CPE credit Featuring: RICHARD CHAMBERS, President and CEO of The Institute of Internal Auditors: Internal Auditors as Trusted Advisors Leveraging Trust to Foster Organizational Success Includes complimentary copies of Mr. Chamber s most recent publication Trusted Advisors: Key Attributes of Outstanding Internal Auditors Book signing to follow! LEADER PANEL: Strategic Positioning of the Internal Audit Activity Guest Panelists include: Hector Collazo Jr., Inspector General/Chief Audit Executive, Pinellas County, Florida Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Jim Saylor, Director, Internal Audit, Welbilt Karen Robillard, Vice President of Internal Audit, MetLife Steve LaBarbera, Chief Audit Executive, Raymond James Financial RAVEN CATLIN, Raven Consulting Group: Branding and Marketing the Internal Audit Activity & Risk Assessments Done Right 2017-2018 Seminar Plans Available Now! The cost per member for the four seats will be $495 for members, $600 for non-members, which is an exceptional CPE value. The price of $495 includes admission to each of the Chapter s four 8-hour CPE seminars, including lunch, continental breakfast, and two refreshment breaks. At $15.47 per CPE-hour, it s still the best deal in town. Click here to Register Today! www.theiia.org 3 www.tampabayiia.org
CHAPTER NEWS Scholarship Spotlight: Jordan Ghaemmaghami During the Spring 2017 semester at the University of South Florida (USF), the IIA Florida West Coast Chapter sponsored a competitive scholarship to support deserving students and to promote the internal audit profession. After a review of all the applicants, Jordan Ghaemmaghami was awarded the John Harmon Competitive Scholarship Award and received a package covering the expenses associated with the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Examination. Subsequently, Jordan passed all three parts of the exam in the span of two months. Congratulations Jordan! Provide some background on how you chose accounting and any relevant experience you have had. In High School every morning my dad would have fox business on the television before he would drop me off to school. My dad s interests in stocks and investing really inspired me to get into business, so I knew coming in to college I wanted to be a business major. I started USF as a finance major and I remember being worried about my first principles of financial accounting class with Professor Cainas. I was never good at math and wanted nothing to do with accounting. However once I started the class I realized that it clicked for me. I took managerial accounting in the summer in a much smaller class with Professor Cainas. This allowed me to interact more with her and she really inspired me to change my major from finance to accounting. I haven t looked back since and have had the opportunity to be an active member of the Beta Alpha Psi chapter at USF, a financial accounting Teacher s assistant, and received a full time offer with Deloitte, which I started on September 25 th. What was the topic of your project that lead to you receiving the John Harmon scholarship? What were some interesting aspects of internal audit you learned during this project? The project was an essay focused on how the Internal Auditors could add value to the Governance function of a company. It was interesting to me because I was able to see just how much the Internal Auditing function can contribute to an organization in a consulting capacity. Before taking the Internal Audit course with Dr. Engle I had no idea that Internal Auditors were able to do more than just audit. This essay, along with the course showed me the ability that accountants have to improve their organization. What are some tips you have for successfully passing your CIA exam? How long did it take you to pass all 3 sections? Well first I must say that Dr. Engle s Internal Auditing Course covered a good deal of the material on the exam so that gave me a good basis to begin with prior to studying with the review materials. I was able to finish all three sections in two months. I highly recommend anyone attempting this exam to complete as many multiple choice practice questions as possible. This is a great way to sharpen your skills to answer the very similar questions on the exam. Another piece of advice I would give is to stay diligent, continue working through the material at a steady pace to prevent yourself from falling behind. I also want to thank the IIA West Coast chapter, and Darren Cassels for the help provided to me through the CIA examination process. What are you plans for the future in the field of accounting? As I mentioned above I just started my career in the Audit and Assurance function of Deloitte. I completed my CPA and I plan to be in public accounting for the coming years. As far as how long I am going to stay in public accounting, I cannot say, however I would like to get some management experience and stay in the auditing field. www.theiia.org 4 www.tampabayiia.org
Are you ready to make a job change? Are you seeking opportunities to broaden your career? Do you just think the time is right to make a move? Featured in each Audit Scope newsletter, you ll find industry-leading organizations searching for top talent, just like you. All you need to do is go to our Career Page, click on the employment links that most appeal to you and you re well on your way toward beginning that new position. RESOURCES Career Page: Time for a Change Take advantage of the opportunities available to you, knowing each opening has been carefully researched by your West Coast chapter leadership to ensure it is accurate. This is a fantastic way for you to often view job postings before they are announced to the public, giving you a leg up on the competition. This is just another benefit you receive through membership with the Institute of Internal Auditor s West Coast chapter. If you have a success story using our Career Page, let us know! You re Invited! Advanced Interviewing Skills Workshop Trainer Mark A. Anderson Retired Special Agent with U.S. Department of Justice, DOJ/OIG, FBI, and NRC Embassy Suites, 661 NW 53rd Street Boca Raton, Florida 33487 October 19 & 20 7:30am-5:00pm Hosted by Palm Beach County IIA Chapter Earn 16 CPE Credits with topics including: Interviewing Skills Rapid Rapport Building Behavioral Baselines and Detecting Deception Question Types Designed to Maximize Information and Elicit Admissions Presenting Information/Evidence and Theming to obtain the Best Information Click Here to Register! Gleim CIA Review Discount Program The Florida West Coast Chapter has partnered with Gleim CIA Review to ensure your success on the CIA exam! Gleim CIA Review is the most widely used CIA prep course. More CIAs have used Gleim to pass the CIA Exam than all other prep courses combined. The exceptional content now includes over 40 hours of in-depth video lectures and comprehensive question test banks that cover all of the topics tested and are presented in a format that replicates your exam-day experience. In addition, CIA candidates enjoy a no-hassle Access Until You Pass Guarantee and customized support from a team of CIA exam prep experts. As a member of the chapter, you are eligible for a 10-20% discount on Gleim CIA Review Systems. Don t wait...click here now! www.theiia.org 5 www.tampabayiia.org
The Institute of Internal Auditors Florida West Coast Chapter Fall 2017 BACK PAGE Florida West Coast Chapters Lands 1st Place Announced at the 2017 Leadership Academy in Orlando, Florida, the IIA s Tampa West Coast Chapter received first place in the Chapter Publications Contest. Thank you to all members that have contributed to our publications and for continuing our success together as a chapter. Connect & Contribute E-mail your favorite classic comics to VP-Comm@tampabayiia.org Follow us on Facebook and Twitter Submit an Audit-orial of your own (200 words) to VP-Comm@tampabayiia.org and we may publish it www.theiia.org 6 www.tampabayiia.org