Contact:
Elizabeth Blevins, Director, Office of Communications
Office: (740) 351-3810; FAX: (740) 351-3179; Cell: (740) 464-4854
940 Second Street – Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
E-mail: eblevins@shawnee.edu 
Web site: www.shawnee.edu

            Joanne Charles, associate vice president of Finance and Administration at Shawnee State University, coordinated a Higher Education Accounting Workshop at Chicago O’Hare Marriott for the Central Association of College and University Business Officers in May.
            Charles was appointed chair of the workshop committee of CACUBO and also served on the Current Issues Workshop/Professional Development Committee.
CACUBO is a nonprofit association representing chief business officers at more than 700 institutions throughout the North Central region of the United States. Thirteen states and 53 institutions were represented at the workshop.
            The Workshop Committee mailed information to more than 6,000 members of CACUBO. The workshop provided participants with an introduction to college and university accounting concepts and the basic format used by institutions in their financial statements.
            “The workshop is really helpful because it updates us on accounting standards,” Charles said. “It’s also helpful because it gives people a better understanding in terms of the significance of what they do and how it relates to the overall financial picture of the institution.”
            There were two accounting tracks at the workshop, one for the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) for public institutions, which is the one that SSU operates under, and another track for Federal Accounting Standards Board (FASB) for private institutions.
            Charles also worked to provide online registration for the workshop and the hotel. This was the first time the organization provided online registration.
            “It was a great learning experience for me and they have asked me to be the chair again next year,” Charles said.