In the wake of several large financial institutions collapsing a year ago and the continuing struggle for many other firms to recover, risk management is top of mind for business leaders as well as students of business.  Both groups in Chicago will benefit from the presence of a nationally prominent thought leader in corporate governance and enterprise risk management who has joined DePaul University as an executive-in-residence this fall. 

David Landsittel, an accounting and auditing industry veteran who was recently elected chairman of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO), will lecture, conduct research and speak at executive forums organized by DePaul this year.  Representing five major U.S. finance and accounting associations, COSO provides the private sector with influential guidance on internal controls, enterprise risk management and fraud deterrence designed to improve organizational performance and governance. An example of COSO’s work is the recent issuance of a thought paper that aims to guide organizations on defining the roles of boards of directors and senior managers in effective enterprise risk oversight.

While at DePaul, Landsittel will collaborate with faculty on COSO-related research projects involving enterprise risk management and participate in executive roundtables and other special events throughout the year sponsored by DePaul’s Center for Strategy, Execution and Valuation.  DePaul accounting and auditing students will benefit from his knowledge because he will deliver guest lectures in classes at DePaul’s School of Accountancy and Management Information Systems this year.

Landsittel’s presence at DePaul “will put us at the forefront of the area of enterprise risk management, which is an area where we already have significant expertise,” said Ray Whittington, dean of the College of Commerce