Letter from the President

November 1, 2017

Dear ACUA Friends and Colleagues,

I am sincerely honored and excited to have the opportunity to serve you as ACUA’s President this year! ACUA is the greatest organization that I’ve had the privilege to be involved with and that is because of its members and commitment of its volunteers.

I enjoyed seeing many of you at the 2017 ACUA Annual Conference in Phoenix.
The energy at the conference always serves to refuel me when I return to campus as I know that I have the support of a vast network of professional peers within ACUA! As discussed at the Annual Business Meeting, the ACUA Family can (and should) play an important role in the lives of higher education internal auditors.

We have a truly unique organization that is committed to sharing knowledge, building friendships, and raising awareness of our profession within higher education. The Board and committees are committed to focusing our efforts on these historical strengths.
We have heard member feedback from a recent survey requesting practical guidance to better equip members with higher education specific content. In response, we are
going to work holistically across ACUA’s committees and volunteers to assist ACUA in delivering on its goal of being the “indispensable resource for professional knowledge exchange and education content for internal auditing in higher education.” This endeavor will focus on content for the ACUA resource library, risk dictionary, webinars, journal articles, Connect ACUA, etc.

The second area of focus this year is to continue to build on prior initiatives for ACUA to collaborate with other organizations to advance internal auditing and be a recognized resource to higher education leaders. Our Partnerships Committee will continue to build on ACUA’s partnerships and collaborations to raise awareness of our profession and the value our members can offer their organizations. The more people who understand our purpose – the greater success we all can achieve.

I would like to thank Pam Doran for her leadership as President over the past year, as she reorganized the committee structure for improved coordination, enhanced Board engagement through its meeting structure, and motivated volunteers through her own commitment to service. Thanks to everyone involved with making the Annual Conference a successful event, including the Annual Conference Director, the entire Professional Education Committee, the track coordinators, speakers, proctors, and staff at ACUA's headquarters.

The people that comprise ACUA is what makes this organization so special! I look forward to working alongside of my fellow board members, committee chairs, and all the hundreds of volunteers that accomplish the work of ACUA. In the words of ACUA’s own, and the IIA Global Chairman J. Michael Peppers, I hope that you are encouraged to embark on your journey with a clear sense of purpose and commitment to service.
And what better place to focus on making an impact than with ACUA?

Please get involved, volunteer, and help ACUA to move forward!

All the Best,

Sharon Kurek, CPA, CFE
ACUA President
Director of Internal Audit
Virginia Tech

About the Author

Sharon Kurek

Sharon is the Executive Director of Audit, Risk, and Compliance at Virginia Tech, serving as the university’s chief audit executive for the university and reporting to the Compliance, Audit, and Risk Committee of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. In addition to leading the internal audit function, Sharon has institutional responsibility for facilitating and coordinating the university’s enterprise risk management (ERM) and institutional compliance programs.

Sharon is an experienced leader with proven ability to promote a culture of accountability and ethical decision-making, facilitate identification and mitigation of risks to an acceptable level, and foster continuous improvement in the areas of risk management, internal control, efficiency, policy, and procedure. She strives to be a collaborative leader with an expectation of excellence and is dedicated to advancing the risk management, compliance, and auditing professions.

Sharon has actively volunteered with ACUA since 2012, serving at the board and committee level. She holds an appointment to the ACUA Faculty Program and has presented sessions for several professional organizations including ACUA and College and University Auditors of Virginia (CUAV). Sharon has participated in a number of QAR peer review teams at several ACUA member institutions, including serving in a leadership capacity.

Prior to Virginia Tech, she worked at University of California, Berkeley, serving in a number of roles including Manager of Controls and Accountability, Senior Auditor, and Principal Auditor. She began her professional career at the Georgia Department of Audits conducting external audits of state entities, including colleges and universities for the State of Georgia.

Sharon received her MBA from Virginia Tech, bachelor’s degree in business administration (accounting) from Mercer University, and is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and the University Risk Management and Insurance Association. In addition to her formal educational training, she is also a graduate of the Commonwealth Management Institute sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University and the Senior Leadership Seminar program sponsored by the American Council on Education Women’s Network.

kurek@vt.edu

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Letter From The President
Letter From The President
Letter from the President