Elizabeth McDowell, CPA, CIA has nearly 20 years of audit experience and is the founder of Audit Forward, an innovative internal audit consulting and training firm. Elizabeth is passionate about advancing and advocating for the internal audit profession and was recently recognized as one of the 2023 Internal Audit Beacons by Richard Chambers. Elizabeth makes auditing and training fun (no, really!) with the help of her mascot, Audie the Internal Otteror.

Elizabeth’s most recent industry experience was at Achieve, where she was Sr. Director, Audit Strategy; prior to that, she held internal audit leadership roles at Elevations Credit Union, Fidelity Investments, and Xcel Energy after first starting her career at Ernst & Young.

Read more about Elizabeth here: https://www.auditforward.com

During a 30-year career in internal audit with Farmers Insurance, Mike Jacka was responsible for projects as far-ranging as development of fraud investigation procedures for a 100-person audit shop, oversight of Farmers’ western regional auditing operations, and designing auditor training programs for a global organization of 200+ staff members.  Currently, he is Chief Creative Pilot for Flying Pig Audit, Consulting, and Training Solutions (FPACTS), a group dedicated to advancing the skills and quality of internal auditors and all professionals.

He is top-rated presenter, award-winning columnist, and contributor to Internal Auditor magazine including his column “The Mind of Jacka”, his blog “From the Mind of Jacka” and the magazine’s lighter side pieces such as “Alice in Auditland”, “Auditing Songs for the Holidays”, and “Auditors Anonymous”.  He is also author or co-author of numerous books including Business Process Mapping:  Improving Customer Satisfaction, Auditing Social Media: A Governance and Risk Guide; and Message, Brand, and Dollars – Auditing Marketing Operations (all currently in second editions), as well as the rather curiously titled Auditing Humor and Other Oxymorons.