The SBA’s Department of Accounting and Finance at Oakland University announced that the second International Conference on Credit Analysis and Risk Management will be September 5-6, in Basel, Switzerland.  Similar in many ways to the first conference, the 2013 conference will focus on increasing the understanding of credit analysis at the global level, examining new and existing models and methods for credit risk management, credit analysis and relationship lending.

The call for papers is underway, with papers and abstracts due by December 31.

For more information about submitting a paper or attending the 2013 conference in Switzerland, visit http://www.fhnw.ch/wirtschaft/iff/2nd-conference-on-credit-analysis-and-risk-management-1.

PwC US named Mark Mendola, BS Accounting '86, Tax Leader and Vice Chairman of the firm last week. He will also serve as member of the firm's U.S. leadership team and the global tax leadership team. In his new capacity, he will be responsible for the network of tax practices across the America's, including Canada, Mexico and South America.

Scholars and practitioners from across the world gathered at Oakland University (OU) School of Business Administration (SBA) in late July for the inaugural International Conference on Credit Analysis and Risk Management. The three-day conference focused on expanding knowledge of credit analysis, and encouraging the development of new and effective models to make credit-granting decisions.

Hosted by the SBA’s Department of Accounting and Finance, the conference offered nearly 60 academics and field experts with the opportunity to present individual research projects and interject in open-form discussion.

Offering keynote and panel discussions from experts around the world, the conference is attracting national attention. In fact, The Journal of Credit Risk has committed to devoting one or more special issues to the conference, and Cambridge Scholar’s Publishing has contracted to publish an entire book on the conference.

When alumni return to OU's School of Business Administration to recruit employees, it sends two clear messages: they believe in the education they received, and they believe in OU SBA graduates.

Throughout his career (full story here), Robert Manilla, SBA (Finance) '85, vice president and chief investment officer, Kresge Foundation, has been involved in recruiting new talent. Knowing the valuable skills he gained at OU's SBA and the school's success in graduating students with knowledge, skills and ethics that make for good employees, he has returned to campus to search for employees.

On one of these visits, Manilla met and hired triple major Elena Popova, SBA/CAS '11 (Finance, Economics, Math), as an investment analyst to work closely with Kresge's investment team in all phases of the investment process, from sourcing to final close, with a special focus on quantitative data analysis.  

For the 28th year in a row, the finance and accounting student organizations in OU's School of Business Administration brought together finance and accounting students and faculty, recruiters from area businesses and other individuals interested in supporting student education and success for the annual spring Finance and Accounting Banquet.

In early April, more than 170 people attended the banquet sponsored by Beta Alpha Psi (OU's professional accounting fraternity), the Financial Management Association, NABA (National Association of Black Accountants), OASIS (Oakland Accounting Students Information Society) and SAIFE (Society for Applied Investing and Financial Education) where students received scholarships, and all attendees had a chance to network with business professionals and gain insight from speakers.