From the Editor
June 21, 2019
Hello and happy summer!
This time of year can be quiet on college campuses, but big changes are happening with this summer edition of College & University Auditor. In addition to being housed on ACUA’s reimagined and refreshed website, I am very pleased to introduce you to the journal’s new online format. We hope that this more dynamic version will provide even more value to our readers. I am especially excited about the search function, which will allow you to access more easily the excellent content provided by our contributing authors.
In this issue, we focus primarily on issues unique to auditing in higher education. Jana Clark provides practical advice for the perennial challenge of auditing university athletic ticket operations. Michael Bowers and Vesna Zaccheo explore for the new challenge of auditing “makerspaces” on college campuses (they also provide an excellent explanation of what, exactly, makerspaces are).
For a different perspective on auditing in higher education, Mary Fischer and Gus Gordon present their research about the relationship between internal auditors and university administrators. Spoiler alert–some of their findings may surprise you! To help navigate these complicated relationships, in this issue’s “Connect Further” article Marilyn Carnevale presents ACUA members’ helpful advice for auditors who are new to higher education.
We also continue to explore relevant audit strategies for now and for the future. Using grant expenditures as a case study, Trent Russell offers step-by-step guidance for building a data analytics program that you can start using today. Chula King, Barbara White, and Jon Holliday look to the future to consider assessing risks when adopting blockchain technology.
Like College & University Auditor and the ACUA website, ACUA’s midyear conference was also reimagined and refreshed in 2019 with an eye to the future, and Nichole Pittman has contributed a summary of this spring’s “Audit Interactive.” I recommend reading this article to learn more about Audit Interactive and to get excited about attending ACUA’s AuditCon: A Higher Education Summit this September in Baltimore.
I would like to encourage you to provide any, and all, feedback about the journal’s new format. Your suggestions and ideas will help us to shape College & University Auditor to meet our members’ needs now and in the future. Also, please consider contributing an article to the fall 2019 issue! I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Sonja Erickson, CIA, CGAP
Editor, College & University Auditor
Lead Auditor, Office of Internal Audit & Consulting Services
University of Missouri System
About the Author
Sonja Erickson
Sonja Erickson, CIA, CGAP, is a Lead Auditor with the Office of Internal Audit and Consulting Services for the University of Missouri System. In addition to her work with ACUA, Sonja volunteers as the Vice President for Membership for the...
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