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The highly interactive 2023 10th Annual UCI Audit Committee Summit launches on Friday, September 8 for audit committee members.
The Summit brings relevant and knowledgeable government representatives and key business leaders to provide reliable up-to-date information regarding important changes and decisions being considered by the SEC, PCAOB and other rule-making bodies.
This year's event will be presented in a hybrid format (In-person at UCI Paul Merage School of Business and Virtual) to accommodate the convenience and needs of our attendees and enable us to continue the tradition of bringing valuable content to audit committee members and others.
We invite you to join our distinguished speakers including current SEC and PCAOB leaders, audit committee members, and subject matter industry experts for an in-depth look at timely and engaging audit committee topics. During this half day conference, you will hear about:
The Summit will include an opening segment with our keynote speakers followed by an interactive panel providing our attendees with an excellent opportunity to interact with our distinguished speakers and panelists. Lastly, get hands on implementation guidance by joining one of our new working group breakout sessions led by experienced practice experts and audit committee chairs.
We are very pleased to welcome among this year's keynote speakers and notable panelists:
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Kara M. Stein was appointed as Board Member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board by the Securities and Exchange Commission in November 2021 and sworn in on November 18, 2021. Her current term expires on October 24, 2026.
Prior to joining the Board, Board Member Stein served as a Distinguished Policy Fellow and Lecturer-in-Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and was Director of the AI, Data, and Capital Markets Initiative at the Center on Innovation, University of California Hastings Law.
From 2013 to 2019, Board Member Stein was a Commissioner of the SEC. There, she was a forceful advocate for addressing the impact of digital transformation on both companies and the agency itself, identifying ways to enhance our securities market structure to promote efficiency and resiliency, updating SEC rules to put investors first, holding both companies and individuals to account for violations of the federal securities laws, and advancing initiatives to further increase competition and facilitate capital formation in our markets.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Anita Doutt is a Senior Associate Chief Accountant in the SEC's Office of the Chief Accountant where she advises on auditing, internal control, and auditor independence matters through consultations, oversight of the PCAOB, and rulemaking support. Previously, Anita was a Senior Manager at KPMG LLP, in the firm's assurance practice. During her tenure with KPMG LLP, she completed an 18-month professional practice fellowship at the Center for Audit Quality focusing on policy matters impacting the public company auditing profession. Anita earned a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from the University of South Florida and a MAcc from the Ohio State University. She is a CPA in Virginia and D.C.
MODERATOR
Dr. Wellmeyer is an associate professor and an academic director in accounting at the Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine. Patricia’s experience spans both the professional and academic arenas. In her over 10 years as a practicing CPA with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and as an independent consultant, Patricia assisted clients with a wide range of services, from full-scope audits of private and public entities to research and consultation on a range of reporting and GAAP issues. In her over 10 years as an academic, Dr. Wellmeyer has investigated and authored papers on a range of topics related to audit quality, the impact of new regulation on market and financial reporting outcomes, and the impact of information technology on the audit process. Her research has been published and presented at numerous conferences nationally and internationally. Dr. Wellmeyer has been the recipient of several professional and academic awards, including receiving recognition as an AICPA Women to Watch and Educator of the Year final nominee. She is also the founder and current academic director of Merage’s first Specialty Master Program, the Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAc), and the co-founder and current chair of the annual UCI Audit Committee Summit.
MODERATOR
Steve currently serves as an independent director on the Board of Directors for Farmers and Merchants Bank of Long Beach, a regional bank headquartered in Southern California. He also serves on that board’s Nominations and Corporate Governance and the Risk and Compliance Committees. In addition, Steve is an adjunct professor at the UCI Paul Merage School of Business where, among other subjects, he teaches classes on board governance. He also serves on the Dean's Advisory Board at UCI’s Paul Merage School of Business, on the advisory board for UCI’s annual Audit Committee Summit, and as the Chair of the Steering Committee for the Leadership Experience and Development for Success program (LEADS) at the Paul Merage School of Business. Previously, he served for many years on the Board of Directors of the Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross, including two terms as Board Chair, and on the Chapter’s Audit Committee. After more than 37 years, Steve is now retired from the international law firm of Paul Hastings LLP, where he was a partner for 27 years.
Aimee Weisner is an independent board member serving on the boards of directors of three public corporations. These companies include Glaukos Corporation (NYSE: GKOS), an ophthalmic medical technology and pharmaceutical company; STAAR Surgical Company (Nasdaq: STAA), a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of implantable lenses and companion delivery systems for the eye; and LENSAR, Inc. (Nasdaq: LNSR), a medical technology company focused on laser surgical solutions. She chairs both the compensation and nominating and governance committees of STAAR, and she sits on the audit committee at Glaukos and the compensation committee at LENSAR.
Prior to retiring from the practice of law, Ms. Weisner served as CVP, General Counsel of Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE: EW), the global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring. Prior to joining Edwards, Weisner was EVP and Secretary at Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. where she was responsible for legal, HR, compliance, and internal audit. She also served as Vice President, Assistant General Counsel at Allergan after beginning her legal career at O’Melveny & Myers LLP. Weisner received her juris doctor degree from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and her bachelor’s degree in communications from California State University, Fullerton. PAc), and the co-founder and current chair of the annual UCI Audit Committee Summit.
David Rosenblum is vice chair of the board and vice chair of the audit committee of Hanmi Financial Corp. He was a senior principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP (1979–2013), where he was the national managing director of Consulting Corporate Development and a key leader of the Strategy & Operations practice. Rosenblum is a member of Sage Partners LLC, a strategic advisory firm, and is also an operating partner of Interlock Equity LP, a private equity firm focused on mid-market and lower-mid-market businesses, including technology services and health care firms. Rosenblum currently is a board member of Apply Digital, an Interlock Equity portfolio company. He also is a director of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, where he chairs the finance committee, is a member of the executive committee and previously chaired the audit committee. He previously served on the board of Deloitte Consulting LLP, as a trustee of Wesleyan University (where he served on the audit committee), and as chair of the Echo Foundation.
Karen Saunders is an audit and SEC reviewing Partner at KPMG LLP. She has over 30 years of experience in auditing, accounting, and business advisory services. Karen started her career at KPMG in 1986 and was admitted to the partnership in 1999. In 2005, she completed a rotation to the national office working in KPMG’s practice advisory group. She has also participated in the firm’s quality review program. Karen’s client experience includes serving as the audit engagement partner on both public and private companies, including banks, insurance companies, and investment funds. Her experience includes assisting with initial and secondary public offerings, reviewing internal controls systems, and advising companies on auditing and accounting issues.
Currently, Karen is a board member of the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Committee, the board chair of the Washington State Board of Accountancy, and is an ambassador board member of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Puget Sound. In 2008, she was the recipient of the Al Heglund Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of her work for BBBS. In 2015, she was named Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Woman of the Year for her fundraising efforts. Karen holds a CPA license in Washington and California. She is a member of both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Washington State Society of Certified Public Accountants. She earned a B.A. in accounting from the University of Washington.
Dr. Donald J. Patterson, is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Risk Compliance FinTech Cryptocurrency Start-up Blockpliance, a tenured professor of Computer Science at Westmont College and UCI. He specializes in the intersection of ubiquitous computing, artificial intelligence, and human-computer interaction. His innovative and award-winning research spans activity and event recognition from sensor streams, context-aware communication systems, and developing robust interpretation systems aimed at managing future societal challenges. Professor Patterson, also served in the U.S. Navy, is a co-founder of 7+ startups, and held a directorship at UCI after earning his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Washington.
Robyn draws on over fourteen years of experience in the corporate governance space in her work with board members and executive teams of EY’s clients on a wide range of governance and strategy issues. She runs briefing sessions for client boards, represents the firm at director events and roundtables, and is a leader in the US-West region’s initiatives to advance board diversity.
Robyn joined EY from the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), where she led the organization’s four Advisory Councils serving committee chairs of Fortune 500/Global 500 companies, authored NACD’s flagship Blue Ribbon Commission reports, and was a faculty member for NACD’s director education programs. Prior to NACD, she held senior roles at several global professional services firms, where she led strategy consulting, board advisory, and custom executive-education engagements.
Robyn has been a featured speaker and writer on governance topics: appearances include Agenda Week, Bloomberg BNA, CFO Magazine, Corporate Secretary, Directors and Boards, ISACA, the Institute of Internal Audit, ICGN, and NACD. She is a member of the Methodology Advisory Committee for Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies and has previously served on the Research Advisory Council for JUST Capital. A New England native, Robyn and her husband live in Los Angeles.
Michael Ray is Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of Western Digital. He is responsible for the company's worldwide legal, risk management, compliance and government relations functions.
Prior to his current role, he served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel since October 2010. He has held a number of positions at Western Digital since joining the company in 2000, including Senior Counsel, Assistant General Counsel and Vice President, Legal Services.
Ray serves as a member of the company's executive management team and provides strategic advice to the team and the members of the company's Board of Directors. He oversees teams responsible for supporting the company's efforts to develop, manufacture, market and sell storage products globally through the company's independent subsidiaries. He also leads teams responsible for protecting the company's significant intellectual property, strengthening and defending the company's brands worldwide, and complying with regulatory and public-company obligations.
Lester M. Sussman has more than 47 years of professional services and private industry experience in accounting, auditing, and corporate governance. Before retiring in 2020, Les was a senior advisor in the Risk & Compliance practice area for Resources Global Professionals (RGP), providing corporate governance, risk management, and compliance services to clients globally.
Prior to joining RGP in 2005, Les was an audit partner with Deloitte & Touche, where he held several leadership positions, including partner in charge of the Financial Services Group for the Pacific Southwest Region, partner in charge of the Capital Markets consulting practice for the West Region, partner in charge of the Woodland Hills office, national director of Recruiting and College Relations, and president of the Deloitte & Touche Foundation.
Les is a member of the Board of Directors of East West Bancorp, where he serves as chairman of the Audit Committee and as a member of the Risk Oversight and Compensation Committees. He also serves as a director of the Braille Institute and the NACD Pacific Southwest Chapter Board.
Dean is a board member of Pacific Life Insurance Company and one of three advisory committee members of American Honda Finance Corporation. He is the chairman of Vicara Health, a software start-up company. Dean previously was a director of a large foreign-owned bank and two companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
He has published over 100 essays and editorials in leading business journals and newspapers. Dean is the author of five books on corporate governance including the recently published Points of View on Boardroom Priorities.
He retired as a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers after 33 years where he held numerous client service and executive positions. Dean lived and worked in Tokyo and Beijing for 16 years serving the needs of clients as well as establishing and building PWC’s businesses in Asia. He was elected as a director to the 18-partner Global Oversight Board of PwC International Limited, the top governing body of the global network of firms. At his retirement, Dean was the managing partner in Orange County and the regional leader of its advisory services practice.
Dean is a trustee and member of the executive committee of the University of California, Irvine Foundation. He is a founder and serves as the chairman emeritus of the Corporate Directors Roundtable of Orange County and an emeritus board member of the National Association of Corporate Directors in the Pacific Southwest.
Mr. Papa serves as executive vice president and chief risk officer at Pacific Life and oversees the company’s risk management framework. He is responsible for the maintenance and execution of the company’s risk strategy, governance activities as chair of the enterprise risk committee, and is an active participant in the board audit and investment & finance committees. Mr. Papa is a member of the management committee.
Prior to joining Pacific Life in May 2020, Mr. Papa served as chief of staff to the president and chief executive officer at MetLife, Inc. and was responsible for driving major strategic initiatives and managing MetLife’s Reinvestment fund. Previously, he served as head of Insurance and Product Risk Management where he oversaw actuarial assumptions and pricing for major products, as well as the development of insurance risk analytics within Global Risk Management. As U.S. chief risk officer for MetLife, he was responsible for risk oversight of all U.S. business and MetLife Holding operations. He was also a member of company’s U.S. business senior leadership team.
Caryl is a managing director in our Consumer Business practice with more than 20 years of experience in the Retail and Consumer products industry. Caryl leads our Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego Beauty and Wellness practice. Caryl has extensive experience providing audit and assurance services to complex, multinational clients, emerging growth companies and entrepreneurial companies. She is a member of the Los Angeles core Emerging Growth Companies group. Additionally, she provides Accounting & Reporting Advisory services to clients and nonclients related to new accounting pronouncements, lease abstraction and finance transformation. Caryl is the Board Readiness Champion for the Los Angeles practice.
7:00 am – 8:00 am |
REGISTRATION & CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST (Merage School Dining Area) |
8:00 am – 8:15 am |
WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS Dr. Patricia Wellmeyer |
8:15 am – 9:15 am |
GENERAL SESSION – KEYNOTE Moderator: Keynote Speakers: Anita Duott |
9:15 am – 9:30 am |
BREAK |
9:30 am – 10:40 am |
PANEL DISCUSSION 1 - Audit Committee Hot Topics - The Audit Committee’s Role in Times of Uncertainty Moderator:
Panelists: Aimee Weisner David Rosenblum Karen Saunders Donald J. Patterson |
10:40 am – 10:50 am |
BREAK |
10:50 am – 12:00 pm |
BREAKOUT SESSION 1 – Cybersecurity Oversight and Reporting - Lessons Learned Panelists: Robyn Bew Michael Ray Lester M. Sussman
BREAKOUT SESSION 2 – Managing Key Relationships and Third-Party Risks Panelists: Dean Yoost Alessandro Papa Caryl Strong
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