UW business schools present financial reporting conference May 13

Some of the nation’s leading accounting policy makers and enforcement officials will gather in Seattle May 13 to discuss the latest in financial reporting during a conference organized jointly by the University of Washington Business School and the Milgard School of Business at UW Tacoma.

The conference, a first for the UW, will provide accountants and other financial services professionals a forum to interact with national standard-setters and regulators. At the event, representatives from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) will speak on current issues in financial reporting.  In addition,corporate executives, professional accountants, and academics will participate in panel discussions.

The conference will be held all day Friday, May 13, at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle. Participants in this conference are eligible to receive 8 hours of continuing professional education credit.
Jeffrey Brotman, chairman of Costco, will give the keynote speech. Other speakers include FASB member Michael Crooch, Wells Fargo Controller Richard Levy, SEC Enforcement Division Chief Accountant Susan Markel, PCAOB Associate Chief Auditor Greg Scates and UW President Mark Emmert.

The conference was the brainchild of Shahrokh Saudagaran, dean of the Milgard School of Business.

“We are very proud to offer accounting professionals a top notch forum with nationally recognized experts right here in the Puget Sound. In the past, colleagues have had to incur considerable cost and travel time to attend such a high-caliber program in another part of the country, typically in New York or Washington DC,” Saudagaran said.

This is the first time a public conference of this kind has been offered in the Puget Sound region.

“There are many benefits a community gains from having a leading university in its midst, and this kind of conference is one of them,” Saudagaran said. “This event showcases the great things that can be done collaboratively between the UW campuses – in this instance the business schools at UW Seattle and UW Tacoma – to provide a value-added program to the greater Puget Sound region.”

The registration fee for the conference is $350 per person. To register or for more information, visit http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/business or call the Milgard School of Business at (253) 692-5630.