Letter From The President

June 24, 2019

Dear ACUA Friends and Colleagues,

Summer is upon us! For many of us that means wrapping up a fiscal year (and audit plan), but hopefully it also means that you are looking forward to our annual conference in New Orleans! Our amazing volunteers have been so productive and busy developing new resources, partnership programs, and content for our members.

The Communications Committee has focused on bringing synergy across all committees and providing enhanced communications for the membership. Earlier this year, volunteers on this committee developed clarifying statements regarding ACUA’s Core Values. These well-articulated statements further define ACUA and what we are all about. After reflecting on these values, I hope you will be motivated to volunteer for ACUA to ensure we will be an indispensable resource for our members!

Integrity – We uphold the highest ethical standards to maintain trust and credibility with colleagues, members, and the institutions we serve.
Open sharing of knowledge – We openly collaborate and share experiences to be an indispensable resource for higher education knowledge exchange, best practices, and networking.
Mutual trust and friendship – We create a strong support network built on mutual trust and friendships that last a lifetime.
Respect – We foster a culture of respect where everyone feels welcomed, included, and valued.
Commitment to excellence – We are committed to being the ultimate resource for higher education internal audit training and resources.
Innovation – We embrace new ideas and creative approaches that drive positive change.

The Kick Starters Taskforce has been exceptionally busy issuing new tools for our members, including topics related to safety, international activities, IT system access controls, student billing and A/R, and donor gift disbursements! These short guides on higher education audit topics are developed by subject matter experts to help you plan and perform your next audit. I hope you have enjoyed reading these new tools and gained ideas for kick starting some upcoming projects! This work will be trainsitioning to the Standards and Best Practices Committee and we need volunteers to assist us with guiding this effort, so please reach out and get involved!

The External Relations sub-committee has been working with ACUA volunteers to reach out to other organizations to advance internal auditing and position ACUA to be a recognized resource to higher education leaders. Our goal is to advocate for how internal audit organizations partner with higher education leaders to build stronger governance systems that allow organizations to better achieve their goals and objectives. Additionally, we are very fortunate to have a Strategic Partnership Taskforce developing a more intentional and structured approach to market ACUA to external stakeholders and strengthen our existing partnerships.

I hope you were able to take advantage of the tools developed by the Recognition Committee in support of Internal Audit Awareness Month in May! Internal auditors add tremendous value to their institutions and an internal audit awareness campaignadvocates for the value of internal audit and helps build relationships across your campus. This committee has also focused on recognizing ACUA members and volunteers for all of their committments to ACUA and the internal audit industry. I hope you enjoyed seeing the posts on social media during Volunteer Appreciation Week in April of our volunteers sharing why they love being involved with ACUA! I have always known that ACUA has highly committed and active volunteers, and I greatly appreciate each of you!

The 2018 conference marks the 60th Anniversary of the first ACUA meeting and is ACUA’s first Annual Conference in the Big Easy since 1967! The Professional and Education Committee has been busy planning for our upcoming conference and has some exciting changes planned. Mark your calendars and plan early to attend another great networking and educational event. I look forward to seeing you there!

Without the continued assistance of volunteers and their dedicated service, ACUA would not be able to maintain the quality professional programs, events, and resources currently available. I would like to thank the many volunteers who dedicate their precious time to keep these values alive and move ACUA forward! I am sincerely honored to serve alongside of you.

Regards,
Sharon M. Kurek, CPA, CFE, MBA
ACUA President
Executive Director of Audit, Risk, and Compliance, 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