Resources

Today the ACUA College and University Journal is graduating from an issue-based format to a rolling publication. I have to admit, initially I was a bit resistant. It’s easier to stay the course, and I was concerned about the impact. Would the articles still get noticed? Would members like the change? Will we have enough submissions to keep it rolling?

I soon found my fears were unfounded, thanks to such a great team who helped make this transition. My deputy editor, Tyler Morgan, advocated for rolling articles from the start as he knows people appreciate a quick read. The Communications committee enthusiastically adopted the change, and Bostrom was on board too. A huge thanks goes out to the Communication Committee’s social media expert Jocelyn Edge for enhancing the website, posting articles, and bringing this concept to life.

The extra push for this change came from the Auditing and Accounting Principles subcommittee, who wanted to publish an article about their IIA Standards Roundtable quickly to help our members with their implementations. Our inaugural rolling article contains member tips on adopting the new reporting requirements, updating charters, defining performance metrics, the new strategic planning element, and quality assessments.

New articles will be announced in three ways: 1) on a Connect ACUA post, 2) on ACUA’s social media platforms, and 3) in Bostrom’s bimonthly email newsletters. If you haven’t already selected your preference, you can choose to receive a daily summary of Connect ACUA posts to your email each morning.

The Communications Committee and I are very excited to offer this rolling format. Watch for upcoming articles on research, athletics safety, and mitigating bias coming soon. We would love to help you get published and earn CPE credits for writing – and now you can submit articles anytime. Please reach out to editor@acua.org for more information.in.

Sincerely,

Kara Hefner, Editor

Hello ACUA Members!
It’s April and spring is here! The flowers are blooming, the Carolina pine pollen is dropping, and we are enjoying the mild weather outdoors before the cicadas hatch en masse. April is also national volunteer month. It’s a great reminder to give back to your communities, whether on a professional or personal level. Volunteering has been on the decline, especially since the pandemic. The top reasons people are not volunteering is because they feel they do not have the time or cannot find meaningful assignments, but those fears can be eased by finding the right opportunities.

Our ACUA community has many volunteer committee openings right now, from historian to nominating committee, DEI leadership to standards and best practices. I’ve read that the number one reason people volunteer is because they’re asked, so let this be your invitation to try an ACUA committee. Complete the call for volunteers form in our new Committee Updates feature.

This is a great time to recognize the contributions of volunteers, like our fantastic C&U Journal team. I would like to thank Olga Polikarpova (University of Alaska) for serving as Deputy Editor before her departure from higher education. Former copy editor Tyler Morgan (Mississippi State University) volunteered to move into the Deputy Editor role and even penned his first article on improving workpaper documentation. I also wish to thank our copy editors for proofreading submitted articles, often on very short notice, sharing their writing talents: Susan Edinger (University of Toledo), Erica Smith and Amy Wilegus (both University of Tennessee), and newcomer Julee Otter (Oregon State University). If you would like to join our team, email editor@acua.org.

Every article this issue was written by an ACUA member volunteering their time to share their insight on emerging topics with their peers. Natalie Harrison (Rutgers) is a double volunteer this issue, contributing two must-read articles on DEI and tips for new internal auditors. From Qatar University, Saumy Thomas shares critical emerging risks in higher education and Carl Canlas (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) defines the agile auditing process. Beth Harry (Johns Hopkins) provides an in-depth look at research security best practices.

Volunteering is a great way to develop valuable skills, boost our well-being, and make a tangible impact in our community. Maybe we need to dig a bit deeper to find the right opportunities, like those cicadas did 13 and 17 years ago.

Sincerely,
Kara Hefner, Editor

Happy Spring, ACUA! I hope that everyone is packing away their cold-weather gear (depending on where you are in the country) and getting ready for flowers and sunshine. Personally, I love Spring. To me it represents new beginnings and fresh opportunities. So, in the spirit of Spring, if you have always wondered about volunteering but haven’t been sure where to begin, now is the time! A few weeks ago, ACUA sent out a “Call for Volunteers,” which listed over a dozen current volunteer opportunities. Take time to complete the survey here and a volunteer leader will be in touch with you!

On June 4^th we will hold our annual business meeting. This will be held virtually and is open to all active ACUA members. Various leaders from across the organization will provide valuable updates on items such as:

• State of ACUA
• Financial Updates
• Conference Trends

There will also be some exciting announcements, so be sure to attend if you are able! The presentation will be posted on ConnectACUA in the weeks following the meeting, should you not be able to attend.

Lastly, I’d like to thank our Professional Education Committee (PEC) for their tireless efforts to provide exceptionally relevant content to our members. Their work behind the scenes continues all year long, and that includes working with our management company to not only plan upcoming conferences, but also be thinking about future conferences. That said, I am excited to share that at the recommendation of PEC, we have finalized negotiations to host AuditCon 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky! Whether you prefer baseball bats or Derby hats, mark your calendar for September 14-19, 2025, for an in-person conference that is not to be missed. 

I hope everyone has a fantastic summer. I’ll look forward to seeing many of you in Atlanta, Georgia for AuditCon 2024 in September!

Marion Candrea, Boston University
ACUA President

The Association of College and University Auditor’s currently serves over 500 institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada, and abroad. Our members include schools of all sizes: from community colleges to large university systems, both public and private. Membership has grown tremendously over the past 76 years, when thirteen charter universities decided to share their professional knowledge with each other. ACUA Historian Toni Stephens explains how it all began:

On February 24, 1958, Fred Vorsanger from Purdue and Stanley Smith from the University of Illinois circulated the idea of forming a group to meet and discuss mutual audit issues to the other Big Ten schools of the time. The idea quickly spread, and the inaugural meeting of ACUA was held at the LaSalle Hotel in Chicago on Monday April 7, 1958. Lasting from 9:00am until 3:00pm, the meeting focused on reviews of internal audit reports in different areas of operation. Smith would become the first ACUA President.
Eleven people from the following eight Big Ten schools attended.

• University of Illinois
• University of Indiana
• University of Michigan
• Michigan State University
• University of Minnesota
• Northwestern University
• Ohio State University
• Purdue University

Though they did not attend the first meeting, the following schools became part of the thirteen charter members of ACUA:

• University of Chicago
• Iowa State University of Science and Technology
• University of Notre Dame
• Southern Illinois University
• University of Wisconsin

Shortly after the initial meetings, ACUA reached out to additional universities to join the group. In the last issue of the C&U Journal, the historian was looking for the oldest university membership certificate. No certificates from the original thirteen charter universities have been identified. The University of Mississippi still lays claim to displaying the oldest membership certificate from when they joined on September 10, 1959, just one year after the ACUA’s formation. Congratulations Ole Miss!