Beacom School of Business Accounting

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Arthur A. Volk Symposium

The Arthur A. Volk Symposium is sponsored annually by The University of South Dakota Beacom School of Business to bring together students, academicians and business leaders for discussion of current topics of interest.

The Symposium is named in honor of a man who gave 36 years (1948-84) of service to The U as Professor of Accounting and Director of the Business Placement Bureau. During his tenure, Art Volk taught every accounting course offered by the school as well as such diverse subjects as Small Business Management and Principles of Economics. Through the generosity of many donors, this Symposium has been established with The University of South Dakota Foundation to perpetuate the memory of Volk's outstanding service to students.

Recent Volk Lecturers
  • 2008 - Barry Melancon, CPA, the President and CEO of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), spoke on "Current Issues in the Accounting Profession."
  • 2007 - Kim R. Wallin, CMA, CFM, CPA, served as chairperson of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) in the 2003-04 term. In 2006 the American Women's Society of CPA's named her the nation's "Women CPA of the Year".
  • 2007 - Thomas J. Linsmeier, Ph.D., was appointed as a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in July, 2006. An award-winning teacher and researcher with particular expertise in financial reporting for derivatives and risk management activities. Throughout his academic career, Dr. Linsmeier's research has explored the role of accounting information in securities markets, including the usefulness to investors of fair value and market risk management disclosures, the valuation-relevance of bank earnings component information, and the economic effects of changes in accounting regulation. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and received his Ph.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and his B.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
  • 2006 - Walter Pavlo spoke about Ethics in Business Organizations. Pavlo holds an engineering degree from West Virginia University and an M.B.A. from the Stetson School of Business at Mercer University. He was a Senior Manager at MCI's Telecommunications Division in the early 1990's, and he was responsible for billing and collections in its reseller division. In 1996,  Pavlo, one member of his staff and a business associate outside of MCI began to perpetrate fraud involving a few of MCI's own customers which resulted in $6 million being diverted to accounts in the Cayman Islands. In January 2001, Pavlo pled guilt to wire fraud and money laundering and entered federal prison shortly thereafter. His story highlighted the corrupt dealings involving the manipulation of financial records within a large corporation. He discussed the culture at MCI that led to his decisions and how ethics can be instilled in corporate culture.