Speaking Engagements/Conferences

I’m on the road visiting universities, attending select conferences and forums and speaking to groups of all kinds. If you would like me to visit your university and your accounting/audit program, please write soon to lock in fall and winter dates.

Contact me at [email protected] to schedule a presentation at your university, conference, firm or for a private briefing.

Coming Up:

February 18, 2014, Stanford University and the Graduate School of Business. Visiting lecturer for undergraduate and graduate classes taught by Professor Anat Admati, author of the book Bankers’ New Clothes.

March 23-24, 2014, I’ve been asked again, my 5th year, to be a preliminary judge for the Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism. ( I am a two-time award finalist.) UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.

March 25, 2015, Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL. All Business students presentation. Details coming.

May 2, 2015, Guest lecturer, Baruch College of the City University of New York, for a graduate level auditing class at the invitation of Professor Doug Carmichael.

May 4, 2015, Guest lecturer, Columbia University Financial Engineering Practitioners Seminar, New York, NY at the invitation of Professor Emanuel Derman.

Previously

December 3-4, 2014, Illinois CPA Society’s 2014 Accounting & Auditing Conference, Wednesday, December 3, 2014 at The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Springfield, IL, and also on Thursday, December 4, 2014 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, IL. I will present at both locations with Martin W. Terpstra, CPA, CFE, Partner, Forensic & Valuation Services, Plante & Moran PLLC, “Lessons from Litigation – CSI”. Here’s my presentation.

October 14, 2014, Securities Enforcement Forum 2014, Four Seasons Hotel, Washington DC. Attended as media.

October 12-14, 2014, NACD Board Leadership Conference: Beyond Borders, Gaylord National Resort | National Harbor, Maryland. Attended as media.

October 11, 2014, University of Illinois-Chicago, ‘ProfessionaPalooza’ 2014 Conference, Speaking at 10 am on “Opportunities in Professional Services for Business Undergraduates – Audit, Consulting and Risk/Compliance.” The presentation is here.

July 10-12, 2014, Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics Conference. Theme of this year conference is “The Institutional Foundation of Capitalism”. Our special session is entitled ‘The New Financial Architecture after Financial Crisis’. I’ll be a panelist with moderator Guler Aras, Ph.D. and Professor of Finance & Accounting and Visiting Scholar of Finance at the McDonough School of Business and Center for Financial Markets and Policy at Georgetown University, Thomas Clarke, Professor of Management and Director of the Key University Research Centre for Corporate Governance at the University of Technology, Sydney, Shyam Sunder, James L. Frank Professor of Accounting, Economics, and Finance at the Yale School of Management; Professor in the Department of Economics; and Fellow of the Whitney Humanities Center, and Paul William, Professor, Ernst & Young Faculty Research Fellow, at NC State University. Williams is also Associate Editor for Critical Perspectives on Accounting. The conference is organized by Northwestern University and the University of Chicago and will be held in Chicago. Text of speech can be found here.

April 29, 2014, Speaking to accounting students at Benedictine University, Lisle, IL at the invitation of Martin Terpstra, M.S., C.P.A., Plante & Moran LLP partner and adjunct instructor of audit and forensic accounting.

April 24 and 25, 2014, Speaking at the 2014 Williamsburg Fraud Conference, Norfolk VA. Jointly sponsored by the Tidewater Chapter of the IIA and The Hampton Roads Chapter of the ACFE. Luncheon keynote speech is here.

April 23, 2014, Speaking at Hampton Roads Economic Club, Norfolk VA, noon meeting. My luncheon keynote speech is here.

April 7, 2014, IIA Annual Conference, Chicago Chapter, Rosemont, Illinois, Joint presentation with Martin Terpstra of Plante & Moran PLLC on “Internal Auditor Legal Liability”.

March 31 – April 2, 2014, Business Ethics Conference for Deans of Catholic Schools of Business, Co-Sponsored by The Center for Faith and Culture, the Center for Business Ethics and the Cameron School of Business, University of St. Thomas-Houston. I will be leading breakout discussions.

March 23-24, 2014, I’ve been asked again to be a preliminary judge for the Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism. ( I am a two-time award finalist.) UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.

March 11, 2014, Private briefing via webcast to law firm Cooley LLP private company practice and clients on the AgFeed fraud and my writing, in particular, on Milton Webster, Audit Committee Whistleblower.

March 3-4, 2014, NEIU European Business Conference, Chicago, IL, Speaking on “The Challenge of Creating and Sustaining A Multinational Career”. My presentation.

February 10, 2014, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Class visit to Bus F332/Law 725 Finance and Society taught by Professor Anat Admati, author of the new book Bankers’ New Clothes. A post with my lecture notes.

December 5, 2013, Baruch College of the City University of New York, Ensuring Integrity: The 8th Annual Audit Conference, I’m on a panel with Professor Robert Coulson of Baruch College, Brian Croteu of the SEC, Greg Jonas, Director of Research and Analysis at the PCAOB, and Phil Wedemeyer a Director at Atwood Oceanics. We talked about the PCAOB’s audit quality indicators initiative. Here’s an article written about that panel in Corporate Responsibility Magazine.

November 13-14, 2013, PCAOB Standing Advisory Group meeting, attending and covering.

November 7-8, 2013, Visiting students and faculty at Michigan State University at the invitation of auditing Professor Chris Hogan.

November 5-6, 2013, Futures Industry Association Expo 2013, Chicago, IL, attending and covering.

November 1, 2013, Spoke at University of Chicago Law School for a class taught by Tom Manning on corporate governance in China.

October 17, 2013, Women In Listed Derivatives (WILD) Chicago 2nd Annual Symposium and Networking Reception, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, 4pm. Panelist.

October 9-11, 2013, The Professional Liability Defense Federation (PLDF) Annual Meeting, special guest luncheon speaker on the 10th, “Is Private Litigation The Only Hope For The Accounting Profession?” The Westin Hotel, Chicago.

October 5, 2013, University of Nebraska, Lincoln NE, Luncheon speaker for the annual Finance and Accounting seminar sponsored by the Department of Finance and the School of Accountancy. Speech title: “The Economic Significance of the Audit Industry and the Key Role of Integrity in the Accounting Profession.”

September 30, 2013, Live “Spreecast” hosted by Broc Romanek of TheCorporateCounsel.net on the PCAOB’s proposed changes to the auditors report. With Joseph Hall of law firm Davis Polk & Wardell LLP.

September 25, 2013, Speaking to graduate students in the College of Communication at DePaul University, Chicago about the importance of finance and accounting proficiency for aspiring business journalists and corporate public relations professionals. Invited by Matt Ragas, an assistant professor of Public Relations at the school.

July 22,2013, Marquette University speaking to graduate auditing class at the invitation to Accounting Department Chairman Michael Akers.

July 17-19, 2013, July 17 informal meeting with Villanova University accounting faculty. July 18 spoke to Villanova University students and interested faculty at the invitation of Professor Anthony Catanach and an informal visit at the American College, a think-tank, on July 18.

Spoke twice at the PICPA Educators Conference in Hershey, PA July 19. Keynote in the morning and lunch speaker. Morning: “The Ethics of Auditor Independence and Our Public Duty”, skepticism and professional responsibility in accounting and auditing. Lunch: “Auditor Independence, Professional Skepticism and Auditors’ Obligations When Fraud Happens: Case Studies and Examples”, building on the morning remarks with actual examples and “war stories”. Here’s a link to that combined presentation.

June 29, 2013, RT Television, The Keiser Report appearance. Talking about Anglo Irish, Ernst & Young, and my latest Forbes magazine story, “The Madoff of Munis”. Here’s a

June 20, 2013, IIA Augusta, GA Chapter. “Internal Auditor Liability: Why You Should Pay Close Attention To The Colonial Bank and Avon Cases”.

May 16-18, 2013, Spoke for the fourth year in a row at the Seventh Annual Fraud and Forensic Accounting Education Conference hosted by Georgia Southern University’s Center for Forensic Studies in Accounting and Business and sponsored by Porter Keadle Moore, LLC. JW Marriott Buckhead in Atlanta, GA. Here’s my speech on May 16: “Professional Skepticism and Auditors’ Obligations When Fraud Happens: Case Studies and Examples“.

April 24-25, 2013, Texas Tech University Rawls College of Business “Strive For Honor Week”. My presentation was Wednesday, April 24, 2013, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m, Rawls College of Business, Room 101, “The Economic Significance of Accounting and the Key Role of Integrity in the Profession“. Hosted by Professor Robert Ricketts.

April 16-17, 2013, Marquette University, Milwaukee Wisconsin, at the invitation of Accounting Department Head Professor Michael Akers and Professor Jodi Gissel. The presentation I gave to a graduate forensic accounting class and an undergraduate audit class was entitled, “Auditor Independence, Professional Skepticism and Fraud”.

April 9-11, 2013, Texas A&M University at the invitation of Professor Michael Shaub. Guest taught his Accounting and Ethics class for two days and visited with faculty and Ph.D. candidates.

April 8, 2013, IIA Houston Chapter Annual Conference, “Internal Auditor Liability: Why You Should Pay Close Attention To The Colonial Bank and Avon Cases”.

March 11, 2013, Interviewed by Broc Romanek on TheCorporateCounsel.net blog, “Francine McKenna on Audit Industry Developments”.

March 4-5, 2013, Northeastern Illinois University, Latin America International Business Conference. I planned to present, “The Challenge of Creating and Sustaining A Multinational Career” the evening of the 5th. Canceled due to snowstorm. Ask me to do this presentation at your university or industry conference.

February 19, 2013, Market Technicians Association, “Risk 2013: Protecting Your Trading Accounts From Fraud”, DeVry University Chicago Loop Center, 5pm. My remarks are here.

Feb 10-12, 2013, Keynoted for the Federation of Schools of Accountancy and the Accounting Program Leaders Group at their annual joint meeting for accounting professors in San Diego, CA. My speech is here. Video of the speech including my ad-hoc remarks and Q&A is here.

January 17-19, 2013, Keynoted Saturday morning at the American Accounting Association Auditing Section Midyear Conference, New Orleans, LA. My speech is here.

November 26, 2012, Panelist at NYU Stern School, Ross Roundtable on Impact of Reemergence of Consulting Practices at Major Audit Firms, with Paul Volcker and Robert Herz. 4-6pm. Here are my remarks. Here’s a summary of the session by Accounting Today. Here’s a quote from me from the session in Floyd Norris’ column in the New York Times that following Friday.

November 21, 2012, I was asked to talk about HP and Autonomy tonight on NPR’s “All Things Considered” program.

November 15-16, 2012, Attended the PCAOB Standing Advisory Group Meeting, Washington D.C.

November 14, RT Television, The Keiser Report appearance. Talking about JP Morgan and Jamie Dimon. Here’s a blog post with the link to the video.

October 26, 2012, Attending as past-President of ISACA Chicago Chapter, the ISACA-Chicago Chapter, PwC’s Forensic Services Practice and Neal Gerber & Eisenberg LLP hosting a General Counsel Roundtable Forum focusing on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Union League Club, Chicago.

September 24-26, 2012, Visited North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.

July 17, 2012, I appeared on Chicago Tonight, a nightly news program produced by WTTW, Channel 11, the public television station in Chicago on, talking about business ethics.

July 13, 2012, 66^th annual Society of Corporate Secretaries National Conference at JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC, Participating in a panel, “Auditors, the Board and Shareholders: An Evolving Relationship.” I was joined by Kayla Gillan of PwC, Guy Jubb of Standard Life, a UK based investment advisor and Marilyn Mooney of Fulbright & Jaworski. The panel was moderated by Ken Bertsch, President of the Society.

July 8-11, 2012, Boston, MA, Covered the Institute of Internal Auditors International Conference.

June 24-26, 2012, Palo Alto, CA, Attended Stanford Rock Center Directors’ College at Stanford University.

June 4-6, 2012, Washington, DC, Moderated “SEC Reporting Update” and some other panel discussions at the Compliance Week Annual Conference.

May 23-24, 2012, New York City, Attended Stanford Rock Center Program for Journalists: A Primer in Corporate Governance.

May 18, 2012, RT Television, Capital Accounts,

May 17, 2012, The Committee for Monetary Research and Education Annual Dinner. My Topic: The Mystery of MF Global: How Hot Money and Hubris Caused The Loss of $1.6 Billion in Customer Funds. Here’s the speech.

May 15-17, 2012, Presenting for third year in a row to the Georgia Southern University Fraud and Forensic Accounting Conference, , Savannah, GA. My presentation: Auditors as “Whistleblowers”: The Auditors’ Responsibility to Report Fraud and Illegal Acts.

April 29-May 2, 2012, Milken Conference, Los Angeles, CA. Here’s a piece about the incredible lineup of panelists and speakers.

March 6-7, 2012, Gust lecturer, Eastern Illinois University. My speech to a large group of students, faculty and visitors in the afternoon was entitled, Who Will Slay The Dragon? Penn State and College Football: How “Ethical” Institutions Have Dropped Their Swords and Shields. The evening presentation to MBAs was, Stay on your feet. How “new hires” can successfully negotiate the slippery ethical slopes of the workplace.

February 11, 2012,

February 6, 2012, Guest lecturer, Columbia University Financial Engineering Practitioners Seminar, New York, NY at the invitation of Professor Emanuel Derman. Topic: “Modeling Fraud: Models Behaving Nefariously”. Here’s the presentation.

November 15-16, 2011, Guest lecturer, James Madison University, faculty and student visit at the invitation of Professor Tim Louwers. A speech and Q&A for MS in Accounting students was informal. My speech for the Beta Alpha Psi initiation dinner is here.