October 27, 2005
By Pamela McLaren

A little over a month ago, Cal State Fullerton’s Center for Corporate Reporting and Governance held its fifth conference in three years.

And like the four previous conferences, business executives, accountants, lawyers and others heard about the latest information that can and will impact their businesses. Prior to the center’s establishment in 2003, there was no central location offering this type of information and assistance.

The idea for the Center for Corporate Reporting and Governance came about during a 2002 conversation between two SEC fellows as they sat in a Starbucks in Washington, D.C.

Enron had just collapsed and Betty Chavis, chair and professor of accounting, and Vivek Mande, soon-to-be professor of accounting at Cal State Fullerton, had been working on Enron-related matters and listening to Congress debate about how such situations could be avoided in the future.

“We felt that there was a need to have a resource in Orange County that could help area businesses understand the regulations that were being created,” said Mande.

“Betty asked me about what I could do and whether I was interested in developing such a center at Fullerton. Although I hadn’t ever thought about creating a center and was focused on teaching and research, the opportunity was exciting.”

Today, Mande finds himself not only enmeshed in the teaching and scholarly activity surrounding the campus, but also in charge of a thriving center. Among the center’s strengths are its two boards, with a blend of academic and professional members, including a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission. No other center has SEC officers serving on their boards, Mande noted.

“It’s a collaborative venture. Regulators learn by hearing business concerns, and the firms hear the regulators’ views on why these rules are passed,” Mande said. “Further, the conferences provide a tremendous benefit to students who gain exposure to leaders in their future fields and, of course, hear from all the players in regulation and practice.

“I truly believe we have a unique formula here.”

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