Chapter Profile - Southwest Ohio Chapter #46
/The Southwest Ohio Chapter has not allowed the pandemic to slow down their regularly scheduled activities. In fact, they offered more events in 2020 than they did in 2019 and even saw their membership grow by 9%. They are approaching their 28th anniversary, and their dedicated board of six volunteers has plans to make the chapter even more active and visible. They have recently been proactive in contacting members, reminding them to renew their membership, and they have plans to revamp their website.
They offered a total of nine events, which included lunch meetings and their annual conference. The conference was changed from a live two-day event lasting eight hours each day to a four-day virtual event lasting four hours each day. In addition to the nine scheduled events they offered, they also partnered with other ACFE chapters for three additional training opportunities.
Unique Event Opportunities
The Southwest Ohio Chapter again co-sponsored the Dayton Fraud, Cyber & Ethics Conference, which they co-founded in 2019. The conference is a significant amount of work to plan, but it is an excellent partnership with other organizations. The conference does a great job of highlighting the Southwest Ohio Chapter while providing high-quality CPE for members, as well as other local and national business professionals. Highlighted speakers this year included the mayor of Dayton, the U.S. Attorney for Southern Ohio, current and retired FBI agents, two former federal prosecutors, and a convicted fraudster.
Their regular chapter meetings also have featured a variety of fantastic speakers, such as a chapter member who is a retired Inspector General, and an ACFE Regent who is with the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Contact ACFE National and other chapters for advice and networking. Every time I’ve reached out with any questions, I’ve found everyone to be helpful and full of useful input.”
Greatest Achievement
Their March meeting coincided with the onset of COVID-19 concerns, and accordingly, they canceled the meeting. They quickly pivoted, researching and selecting an online meeting platform and learning the CPE requirements for virtual meetings in Ohio. Their April meeting was held virtually, and they have continued their regular meetings and annual conference without disruption since. The virtual platform has allowed them to broaden their speaker pool, and they have brought in speakers from all over the country and even Great Britain.
The virtual platform has also enabled them to enhance their networking with other chapters. Toward the end of the year, they partnered with several other chapters on mutual profit-sharing for events.
Most Challenging Experience
Planning their conference was challenging with the unknowns created by COVID-19. Their original plans were to have an in-person conference; then they considered transitioning to a hybrid conference; and then of course turned it into an entirely virtual conference. As part of the switch to virtual, because it was a 16-hour conference given to a broad audience, they had to find a proper partner to facilitate the virtual piece. They also adjusted the conference schedule to half-days in an effort to prevent virtual burnout. As a positive spin, it allowed them to have a national audience for the conference with NASBA-approved CPE.
At the Southwest Ohio Chapter’s annual conference, chapter president Amanda Malusky Krauss, CFE (top left) interviewed Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley (top right). University of Dayton President Eric Spina (bottom left) and NACVA representative Colin Brown (bottom right) were present during the interview.
Recruiting New Members
They regularly download the local ACFE member list from the Chapter Administration page and add these individuals to the chapter email list. They also update the professors at local universities with their meeting schedules so that students can attend meetings. Their chapter president regularly gives presentations at these universities to forensic accounting students. They also are continuing to network and share events with other chapters and local organizations.
Future Goals
The transition to virtual meetings has elevated the need for an online payment system. Previously, chapter members would pay in-person at meetings, or via Venmo. They are currently implementing Wild Apricot as their Association Management System, which will solve this issue for them. They are also using Wild Apricot to redesign and update their website.
Advice for Other Chapters
The conversion of events to a virtual platform has taken research and effort, but ultimately they feel it has been worth it. Their chapter membership wants the virtual option to continue to be offered even when they return to in-person meetings, and as such, they plan to virtually broadcast all future meetings. If you’re overwhelmed by the virtual meeting world, reach out to us or another chapter for advice and potential partnerships.
