While in attendance at a nationwide conference in Florida, Grand Valley State University graduate Lindsey Boden was chosen by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) out of a crowd of 48 universities from 11 different countries as the new representative for the “Next Generation of Internal Audit.”

Boden graduated from GVSU with a degree in accounting in the fall of 2014 and is currently furthering her education in the field of management information systems.

As the face of the next generation of internal audit, Boden has been featured on the official website for the IIA – a global organization which consists of over 180,000 members worldwide. Additionally, an eight-foot-tall cardboard cutout of Boden was made for the purpose of spreading awareness to college students of careers in internal auditing.

Recently, the cutout was featured at the IIA’S global committee conference with more than 350 people in attendance.

“Instead of putting pictures out there of people who already have lifelong careers, the IIA is picking the students that are really passionate about internal auditing,” Boden said. “They’re taking their pictures, getting their interviews and submitting them out there so that people can see there are a lot of people still interested in the field.”

Only a select number of students within the GVSU IAEP program were chosen to attend the conference in Florida. Boden said she chose to pursue a career in internal auditing because it allows her to be involved in all aspects of the business process.

“I started as an accounting major and decided I didn’t really enjoy doing the accounting stuff,” she said. “With internal auditing, you audit an entire business and then see where there are risks in their business. You give them controls which will mitigate those risks, which will in turn save them money.”

Boden attended the IIA conference back in September of 2014. At the conference, Boden and other GVSU students from the internal auditing education partnership program (IAEP) were given the opportunity to network and learn more about future careers within the internal auditing business.

“The conference was for students around the world who are earning this certificate to collaborate with each other,” Boden said. “At the conference we watched speakers, did speed interviews, attended informational seminars and participated in a case study about cyber security.”

Maunda Land, college and university relations manager with the IIA, said it was important that the IIA start highlighting fresh faces who will take over the industry in the coming years.

“When you think about it, the lifeblood of our association comes from the next generation, and if we don’t tell students about auditing in college, they won’t learn about this great career that the brightest and best students can excel in,” Land said. “Internal auditors are able to see all sides of the business as well as network and travel the world, so it’s important the IIA tells the next generation that internal auditing is a great career they can pursue in college.”

Boden’s “Next Generation of Internal Audit” profile can be found on the IIA website at
http://bit.ly/1Gov7MH.

For more information about a career in internal auditing, visit the
www.iia.org.

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