School of Business

Sarbanes-Oxley topic of business school symposium

Accounting executives, corporate leaders, standard-setters and professors gathered at KU to discuss the pros and cons of Congress’s latest attempt to clean up corporate fraud. Talks at the 2006 Deloitte/KU Auditing Symposium April 28-29 centered on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). The act passed in 2002 in response to business frauds such as Enron’s collapse.

Four years later, “SOX 2006: What Have We Learned?” brought industry leaders together to discuss the effects of the nation’s largest accounting reform. Over two days, participants talked about concerns and lessons learned in dealing with the act. The talks were part of panel discussions and research presentations.

Jim Heintz, director of the KU School of Business accounting and information systems area, said the symposium gave key stakeholders a venue to discuss the challenges imposed by the act. “The 2006 Symposium was a great example of our emphasis on current and important issues facing the accounting profession,” he said.

The symposium explored topics such as the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on auditing practices, corporate experiences with the act, and the costs and benefits of SOX. Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, a global professional services organization, sponsored the symposium, which meets every other year to discuss emerging trends in the industry.

Award-winning student portfolio outperforms S&P 500 return

Five KU School of Business students brought home third place in a national investing competition with their portfolio of stocks. In 2005 the Applied Portfolio Management (AMP) class, which allows students to guide real stocks, recorded a 17 percent return compared to an S&P 500 return of three percent.

The competition was a part of the Redefining Investment Strategy Education (R.I.S.E) Symposium at the University of Dayton March 29 to April 1, which brought together leading students, faculty and investment professionals in an interactive learning environment. While there, students discussed a range of issues facing the investment industry and participated in the R.I.S.E. competition.

The competition analyzes student-managed portfolios and awards the top performer in five categories: growth, value, hybrid, alternative and fixed income. For the competition, schools were placed in categories depending on their 2005 investments. Each investment category used 12-month, risk-adjusted numbers. Students Jill Seferovich, Lindsay Phillips, Carolyn Cornett, Matt Ferguson and Aaron Arnett placed third in the hybrid category.

Students aid inventors

KU researchers found an ally in the School of Business, when three teams of graduate students used their products and technologies for national and international competitions.

The competitions, designed to give students hands-on experience, challenged them to devise a business plan to commercialize a new product or service. The students chose researchers, who were already trying to license or market their inventions, with the hope of moving closer to new venture introductions.

For the first time in School of Business history, students presented plans to panels of judges at two competitions: the Big 12 Business Plan Competition and the University of Manitoba International Business Plan Competition. Two teams traveled to the University of Manitoba, and one team participated in the Big 12 competition. Of the two teams in Manitoba, one reached the “Challenge round,” essentially the semifinals. The Big 12 team also was a finalist but did not win.

Wally Meyer, director of entrepreneurship programs, traveled with the students to the University of Manitoba competition. “Our graduate students prepared, presented and defended business plans based on technologies sourced from KU Engineering and Science laboratories,” he said. “Dozens of teams from superior business schools competed, and our students did exceedingly well.” Meyer said he plans to take more groups of students to similar competitions in the future.

A well-deserved recognition

Janet Lukehart, assistant to the dean, won the 2006 Staff Person of the Year Award, an award voted on by fellow School of Business staff members. The award was created in 1995 to recognize hard work and helpfulness throughout the year and is presented annually at the Staff Appreciation Luncheon.  Lukehart joined the KU School of Business in 2004.