Speaking

Francine McKenna is an experienced speaker who can present on a variety of subjects.

Typical topics include:

  • The role of the external auditor and litigation issues pertaining to external audit
  • The external auditor’s obligation to detect fraud
  • Careers in the accounting industry and accounting education
  • Corporate governance and the role of Audit Committee
  • Internal audit – Roles and Responsibilities
  • IT Audit
  • The intersection of financial services and professional services
  • Risk management in financial services organizations
  • The intersection of finance/accounting and technology

My biography can be found on the About Francine McKenna page.

Loyola Marymount University lecture on Accounting Ethics

My speaking style is energetic, full of examples and anecdotes from a rich and varied career, irreverent, and no-holds-barred. Presentations embrace diversity and multiculturalism and can include stories of my experience as a female executive in Latin America and as an expatriate. I customize every presentation to address the audience at hand and can present in English or Spanish.

Speeches can cover technical topics such as regulatory and legal updates in detail, as well as give a business-oriented overview of accounting topics such as IFRS, XBRL and fair value. My audiences have included professionals in areas such as:

  • Finance and accounting
  • Business school professors and their students, especially accounting and MBA students
  • Technology, IT audit and IT security
  • Internal and external audit professionals at their firms an attending professional continuing education programs
  • General business and investment management
  • Attorneys specializing in securities litigation and class actions

I have also presented extensively on careers for finance, accounting, and audit professionals at all levels.

Email me for speaking requests  at fmckenna at mckennapartners dot com .

Presentations, Speaking & Seminars

Academic Conferences

2021.   Panelist. American Accounting Association’s Annual Ethics Symposium on the topic, “The Auditor as Whistleblower”. 

2021. Presenter. American Accounting Association’s Annual Ethics Symposium. Our KPMG/PCAOB Teaching Case: Corruption in the Auditor Inspection Process: The Case of KPMG and the PCAOB. 

2020. Panelist. Capital market effects of disclosure and auditing in emerging markets. Ph.D. Candidate Symposium. University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business. August 2020.

2020. Presenter. SEC proposals to ‘modernize’ auditor independence rules: Doublespeak for capitulating to the Big 4’s dominance? American Accounting Association Spark Conference, Public Interest Section. June 2020.

2019. Panelist. Fraud and the media. The Future of Financial Fraud II Conference. University of California, Berkeley School of Law. April 2019.

2018. Featured Participant. The Future of Financial Fraud Conference. University of California, Berkeley School of Law. May 2018.

2018. Panelist. Fake news. Third Annual News and Finance Conference. Columbia University Business School, Program for Financial Studies News and Finance Initiative. March 2018.

2016. Speaker. Fifth Annual Accounting CPE Conference. Duquesne University. November 2016.

2016. Speaker. The challenge of reporting on pharma company fraud: Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Martin Shkreli. 2016 Fraud and Forensic Accounting Education Conference. Georgia Southern University, Center for Forensic Studies in Accounting and Business. May 2016.

2014. Speaker. The professional services option for business graduates – audit, tax, consulting and risk/compliance. ProfessionaPalooza 2014 Conference. University of Illinois at Chicago. October 2014.

2014. Panelist. The new financial architecture after financial crisis. The Institutional Foundations of Capitalism Conference. Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics. July 2014.

2013. Panelist. Ensuring Integrity: The Eighth Annual Audit Conference. Baruch College of The City University of New York. December 2013.

2013. Speaker. Auditor independence, professional skepticism, auditors’ fraud obligations: case studies and examples. Seventh Annual Fraud and Forensic Accounting Education Conference. Georgia Southern University, Center for Forensic Studies in Accounting and Business. May 2013.

2013. Keynote speaker. Annual Joint Meeting. Federation of Schools of Accountancy and the Accounting Program Leaders Group. February 2013.

2013. Keynote speaker. Auditors’ obligations regarding fraud and illegal acts. Auditing Section Midyear Conference. American Accounting Association. January 2013.

Industry Conferences

2021. Panelist. Polish Audit Oversight Agency. Focused on the role of auditors in corporate governance: The auditors role in fraud detection and prevention as “Early Warning System”. My remarks were also published by the regulator in  Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, one of the leading Polish newspapers. October 2021.

2021.   Interviewed by Professor Tom Ray for the CFA Society of New York/Baruch College, “What Investors Need to Know about Audits.” Focused on the Wirecard and Luckin Coffee frauds. Feb. 2021.

2019. Panel moderator. What Investors Need to Know About Audits Event. CFA Society New York. November 2019.

2018. Speaker. “Fraud happens: Case studies in auditor liability.” Accounting and Auditing Conference. California Society of CPAs. October 2018.

2018. Featured Presenter. Ignoring the fundamentals: How alternative accounting leads to market self-delusion. Grant’s Interest Rate Observer 35th Anniversary Conference. October 2018. 

2018. Moderator. 2018 Leadership Conference. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. September 2018.

2017. Panelist. Annual Conference. National Investor Relations Institute. June 2017.

2016. Panelist. Power breakfast: Communicating in critical times. 2016 Global Board Leaders’ Summit. National Association of Corporate Directors. September 2016.

2016. Panelist. Camp Alphaville Festival of Finance. Financial Times. London, England. July 2016.

2015. Speaker. Leveraging social media. Annual Meeting. Shareholder Services Association. July 2015.

2014. Presenter. Global fraud happens: Case studies in auditor liability. 2014 Accounting & Auditing Conference. Illinois CPA Society. December 2014.

2014. Luncheon keynote speaker. “Where are the auditors?” Williamsburg Fraud Conference. The Institute of Internal Auditors – Tidewater Chapter and Association of Certified Fraud Examiners – Hampton Roads Chapter. April 2014.

2014. Luncheon keynote speaker. Economic impact of the accounting industry. Meeting of the Hampton Roads Economic Club. Old Dominion University. April 2014.

2014. Presenter. Internal auditor liability. Annual Conference, Chicago Chapter. The Institute of Internal Auditors. Rosemont, Illinois. April 2014.

2014. Speaker. The challenge of creating and sustaining a multinational career. European Business Conference. Northeastern Illinois University. March 2014. 

2014. Breakout discussion leader. Business Ethics Conference for Deans of Catholic Schools of Business. Co-sponsored by the University of St. Thomas-Houston’s Center for Faith and Culture, Center for Business Ethics, and Cameron School of Business. March-April 2014.

2014. Private webcast briefing to law firm Cooley LLP’s private company practice and its clients. March 2014.

2013. Panelist. Second Annual Symposium and Networking Reception. Women In Listed Derivatives (WILD), Chicago chapter. October 2013.

2013. Luncheon speaker. Is private litigation the only hope for the accounting profession? Annual Meeting. The Professional Liability Defense Federation. October 2013.

2013. Keynote speaker. The ethics of auditor independence and our public duty. Lunch speaker. Auditor independence, professional skepticism and auditors’ obligations when fraud happens: Case studies and examples. Accounting Education Conference. Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants. July 2013.

2013. Speaker. Internal auditor liability: Why you should pay close attention to the Colonial Bank and Avon cases. The Institute of Internal Auditors, Augusta, Georgia chapter. June 2013.

2013. Speaker. Internal auditor liability: Why you should pay close attention to the Colonial Bank and Avon cases. Annual Conference. The Institute of Internal Auditors, Houston chapter. April 2013.

2012. Panelist with former Federal Reserve chair Paul Volcker and Financial Accounting Standards Board chair Robert Herz Ross. Roundtable on Impact of Reemergence of Consulting Practices at Major Audit Firms. New York University, Stern School of Business. November 2012.

2012. Panelist. Auditors, the board and shareholders: An evolving relationship. 66th Annual National Conference. Society for Corporate Governance. July 2012.

2012. Moderator. SEC reporting update. Compliance Week Annual Conference. June 2012.

2012. Speaker. The mystery of MF Global: How hot money and hubris caused the loss of $1.6 billion in customer funds. Annual Dinner. The Committee for Monetary Research & Education Here’s the speech. May 2012.

2012. Speaker. Milken Institute Global Conference. April-May 2012.

2012. Presenter. Auditors as whistleblowers: The auditors’ responsibility to report fraud and illegal acts. Sixth Annual Fraud and Forensic Accounting Education Conference. Georgia Southern University, Center for Forensic Studies in Accounting and Business. May 2012.

2012. Guest lecturer. Modeling fraud: Models behaving nefariously. Financial Engineering Practitioners Seminar. Columbia University. February 2012.

Guest Lectures

2021. Fall MAcc Speaker Series. The Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business. October 2021.

2021.   Shidler College of Business, University of Hawaii at Manoa. Lecturing to two audit classes for Professor Jian Zhou, Ph.D., The Lloyd Fujie / Deloitte Foundation Distinguished Professor of Accounting. April 2021.

2021.   Baylor School of Journalism, Public Relations, and New Media and its “Writing for Mass Media” course. I created 30 min of what I write about so students, Baylor Business can write about it.

2021.   Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Knight-Bagehot Fellowship I am invited back for the third year to speak to 10 mid-career career business journalists about reporting on corporate fraud as a subject matter expert and former accountant/auditor. February, 2021.

2021.  Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, at the invitation of Kathryn St. John who is running the Business Bootcamp in the Law School while Jordan Neyland is on a fellowship in DERA at the SEC. 6pm class to talk about accounting and financial statements concepts for law students and recent litigation against the Big 4 auditors. January, 2021.

2020. Private presentation. I spoke about where I get my newsletter ideas and what I look for when reviewing earnings releases, quarterly and annual filings, and prospectuses. I also talked about what investors should expect from the company and auditors when a corporate investigation is prompted by a short-seller’s report or a whistleblower’s allegation. October, 2020.

2020. Masters in Accounting Auditing class. Vanderbilt University, Owen Graduate School of Management. November 2020.

2020. Auditing classes. University of Hawaii at Manoa, Shidler College of Business, October 2020.

2020. Fall MAcc Speaker Series. The Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business. October 2020.

2020. Accounting Ethics classes. Texas A&M University, Mays Business School. April 2020.

2020. Masters in Accounting programs from Indiana University, Purdue University, and The Ohio State University under the auspices of The Washington Campus. March 2020.

2020. Business Bootcamp. George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School. January 2020.

2019. Masters in Accounting program. Baylor University. October 2019.

2019. Tuesday Evening Seminar for Knight-Bagehot Fellows. Columbia Journalism School. October 2019.

2019. Fall MAcc Speaker Series. The Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business. October 2019.

2019. Masters in Accounting program. University of Michigan with The Washington Campus. August 2019.

2019. University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, Stigler Center. April 2019.

2019. Accounting Ethics classes. Texas A&M University Mays Business School. April 2019.

2019. Masters in Accounting programs. Indiana University, Purdue University, and The Ohio State University under the auspices of The Washington Campus. March 2019.

2019. Tuesday Evening Seminar for Knight-Bagehot Fellows. Columbia Journalism School. March 2019.

2019. Business Bootcamp. George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School. January 2019.

2018. Marquette University. November 2018.

2018. Fall MAcc Speaker Series. The Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business. November 2018.

2018. Loyola Marymount University. October 2018.

2018. Masters in Accounting program. Baylor University. October 2018.

2018. Texas A&M University, Journalism Studies Program. September 2018.

2018. Texas A&M University Mays Business School, Accounting Ethics classes. April 2018.

2018. Ripped from the headlines: Professionalism and professional skepticism in the Big Four. MAcc Speaker Series. The Ohio State University, Fisher School of Business. February 2018.

2017. Distinguished Speaker Series. University of Tennessee, Neel Corporate Governance Center. November 2017.

2017. Marquette University. November 2017.

2017. Masters in Accounting program. Baylor University. October 2017.

2016. Benedictine University. November 2016.

2016. Masters in Accounting program. Baylor University. October 2016.

2016. Roundtable Presenter. Recent trends in non-GAAP reporting. New York University, Stern School of Business. November 2016.

2015. Baruch College of The City University of New York, Zicklin School of Business. May 2015.

2015. Roosevelt University. March 2015.

2015. Stanford Graduate School of Business. February 2015.

2014. Benedictine University. April 2014.

2014. Stanford Graduate School of Business. February 2014.

2013. Michigan State University. November 2013.

2013. University of Chicago Law School. November 2013.

2013. Annual Finance and Accounting Seminar. University of Nebraska, Department of Finance and the School of Accountancy. October 2013.

2013. DePaul University College of Communication. September 2013.

2013. Villanova University. July 2013.

2013. Marquette University. July 2013.

2013. Accounting Ethics classes. Texas A&M University, Mays Business School. April 2013.

2013. Texas Tech University, Rawls College of Business. April 2013.

2013. Marquette University. April 2013.

2013. Market Technicians Association. DeVry University. February 2013.

2012. Eastern Illinois University. March 2012.

2011. James Madison University. November 2011.