Cynthia Cooper, the former internal auditor who uncovered WorldCom?s corporate fraud scheme in 2002, will give two lectures at the University of Central Arkansas on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
The first lecture will be during X-period (1:40 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.) in Doyne Health Science Center, Room 141. The second lecture will be at 6:30 p.m. in Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center, Room 5A & 5B. There will be a reception following the second lecture in BHCC 4A & 4B. Both lectures are free and open to the public.Cooper is a certified public accountant, certified information systems auditor and certified fraud examiner. In 2001, she was vice president of internal audit for WorldCom, the 25th largest company in the U.S. Her decision to take her findings to the WorldCom board, despite discouragement from WorldCom’s chief financial officer, resulted in the company admitting it had inflated its profits by $3.9 billion ? a number that has since grown to $9 billion. On Tuesday, she will share some of the lessons she has learned concerning the importance of strong ethical and moral leadership.
The UCA Department of Accounting and the College of Business hope to use Cooper?s lectures to stimulate inquiry and discussion on corporate ethics by encouraging continuing analysis and commentary on this significant public event and its implications for educating the next generation about responsible business behavior.
Cooper has been recognized the by the American Accounting Association for her efforts to promote professionalism and ethics in the Accounting Profession. In 2002, she was named one of Time Magazine’s Persons of the Year. In 2003, she was the first woman to receive the Accounting Exemplar Award. Last year, she became the first woman to be inducted into the AICPA Hall of Fame. She was also awarded the 2003 Maria and Sidney E. Rolfe Award by the Women’s Economic Round Table, and she was named one of 25 most influential working mothers in the November 2004 issue of Working Mothers.
Cooper?s lectures are being sponsored by BKD, LLP and Donna S. Stephens, CPA, LTD of Conway.
Faculty are invited to bring classes to these events. Sign-in sheets will be available for attendance.
