At the 23rd Annual SEC “Hot Topics” Conference presented by the Cal State Fullerton College of Business and Economics and Center for Corporate Reporting and Governance, hundreds of accountants, auditors, regulators and accounting-focused students from across Southern California gained from the insights of cybersecurity and other accounting experts on Sept. 20 at The Westin South Coast Plaza. They also gamed out scenarios on how they would handle cybersecurity breaches.
The event, which was made accessible to professionals globally through a hybrid format, featured keynote speakers John Gelinne and Meg Schult, Deloitte cybersecurity experts.
Relying on decades of experience at the U.S. military and Deloitte, Gelinne and Schult helped attendees consider what decisions would be made hour-by-hour in the event of a major breach like those impacting major companies and government organizations on a regular basis in the 2020s.
Other major speakers on cybersecurity topics included Robert Renzulli, CEO and Cybergeist Security LLC and former CISO of the Port of San Diego, and Bryan Willett, supervisory special agent for the FBI Los Angeles Field Office.
Duc Dang and Jorge Tenreiro provided updates from the SEC, while Frederick Cannon, a board member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), discussed the latest in generally accepted accounting principles in a talk moderated by Jon Smith ’02 of EY.
“Our SEC “Hot Topics” Conference exemplifies the college’s community mission to provide regional business leaders the research and resources necessary to address current and future challenges,” said Sri Sundaram, dean of the College of Business and Economics. “By bringing together industry experts and fostering collaborative discussions such as this, we not only offer continuing professional development for professionals but growth opportunities for our students. I want to thank the Center for Corporate Reporting and Governance and its directors Vivek Mande and April Morris ’75 for organizing such an impactful event.”
As a generational transition takes place with new cohorts of accounting professionals joining the field, panelists discussed emerging trends such as gender equity and corporate diversity efforts in the accounting profession.
Climate change resiliency is another essential for today’s businesses. That was front and center at the conference, with speakers from Gibson Dunn, Intel and Watershed enterprise sustainability platform discussing the new climate rules that are about to impact many small- to medium-sized companies currently underprepared for these realities.
“All companies today need to be ready to navigate and thrive in an era of disasters, technological change and environmental regulations,” explains Mande. “At the Center for Corporate Reporting and Governance, we’re honored to be at the forefront of preparing today’s professionals and the next generation alike for this future.”
Since 2003, the Center for Corporate Reporting and Governance has brought together policymakers, professionals and students for the SEC “Hot Topics” Conference, as well as the Haskell & White Academic Conference held the day before this major annual event.
Through thought leadership, professional development and support for academic programs on accounting compliance, the center is at the forefront of the college’s commitment to tech-focused accounting education.
The college’s status as the only dual accredited business school in both business administration and accounting in Orange County testifies to this commitment.
For more information, contact the center or explore our articles on corporate reporting, including coverage of past conferences.
