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Fall 2018 OPPIA Newsletter -- Featured Person & November Lunch & Learn Speaker

Pamela J. Stroebel Powers, CPA, MBA, CIA, CRMA, CPM

Why She Does What She Does…            Pam has always enjoyed numbers and as early as high school felt drawn to the field of accounting. In college, when exploring career options, she thought she only had two choices as a future CPA – taxes or auditing. The idea of doing taxes for the rest of her life did not excite her, so she chose the audit path. Her Grandmother had worked for the State of Oregon, so when she saw an opportunity to join the Secretary of State’s Audits Division she jumped at the chance. She started with 13 other recent graduates and eager beginning auditors, and learned her first day on the job that as an auditor, she shouldn’t come to work to ‘get her loving.’ However, over the years she has learned how to market audit services as a benefit to management. Four years into her career she transferred from external auditing at the Secretary of State’s office to the internal audit office of the Department of Transportation. As an internal auditor, she had the opportunity to provide information to management on whether programs are operating as intended, whether internal controls are in place to mitigate the most significant risks and operating effectively, and to look for opportunities for process improvement. She appreciates the opportunity to provide insight into programs that support the citizens of the State of Oregon. She enjoys getting to know public employees and learning why they are passionate about their positions and what they do for the State, in order to focus her audit efforts on improving performance. Little did she know that her career would shift her focus from pure financial analysis to assisting agencies in developing processes to provide services more efficiently and effectively. Pam is passionate about the benefits of performance auditing and enjoys sharing that passion with others! Pam Today… Pam is a contributing faculty member at Willamette University’s Atkinson Graduate School of Management.  She teaches Auditing and Forensic Accounting/Fraud Examination in the early-career MBA program, and Accounting for Managers and Process Improvement/LEAN in the Certificate of Public Management program. Pam is also the owner and managing member of Powers CPA, LLC which she established in 2014. Her firm provides internal audit, consulting and assurance services to state and local government and non-profit entities. Pam’s Professional Background…         Prior to starting her own firm, Pam served as the Chief Audit Executive (CAE) for both the Oregon Lottery and the Department of Administrative Services (DAS). Her role as CAE at DAS included both managing the internal audit function as well as providing support and leadership to the internal audit community across the State of Oregon; she did this in part by coordinating the Statewide Audit Advisory Committee and co-facilitating the State’s Chief Audit Executive Council. Prior to her position at DAS, Pam began a single-person internal audit function for the Oregon Department of Forestry where she managed the program for three years. Before that, she spent four years as a Senior Internal Auditor with the Oregon Department of Transportation. She began her career auditing for the State of Oregon with four years at the Secretary of State’s Audits Division where she performed external audits of several state agencies including the Department’s of Human Services, Transportation, Revenue, and the Oregon State Fair. A Little About Her Personally…    Pam earned her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Western Baptist College in 1995 and her MBA from Willamette University’s Atkinson Graduate School of Management in January 2016. She also holds Certifications in Public Accounting, Internal Auditing, and Risk Management Assurance.  She is a graduate of Leadership Oregon, has earned the designation of Competent Toastmaster, and graduated from Willamette University’s Certificate of Public Management program in June 2011. In her off hours, Pam enjoys spending time with her family. When time allows she enjoys scrap-booking, walking her bulldog Missy, biking, kayaking, hiking or playing trivia with friends. Pam currently serves as the Treasurer for the Keizer Community Library. She can also be found helping her husband at their Wilsonville, Oregon business, “All Things Aquariums”.



Upcoming events

Please join OPPIA for its Fall Lunch and Learn. Pamela Stroebel will lead a discussion called "Using Auditing as a Tool to Enhance Performance.    The Lunch and Learn is on Thursday, November 15, 2018, from 12 PM - 1 PM at the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments, 100 High Street SE, Suite 200, Salem, OR.  


Meet the OPPIA Board

OPPIA would like to welcome Victoria Hawley from the Oregon Department of Transportation and Gloria Butsch from the City of Independence.  To learn more about all the members visit the OPPIA website.


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