COMMUNITY SERVICE
Making a Difference: The 2023 Everyday Hero and Heroines BY NATALIE ROONEY
On Nov. 9, 2023, the profession gathered at the Westin Denver Downtown to recognize four individuals for their service to their communities and colleagues. We applaud their accomplishments and appreciate their commitment to making our world better. In their honor, the COCPA made a donation to the charity of each person’s choice.
AMANDA "JO" ERVEN, CPA, CIA, CFE, CTQA Educator, Speaker, Author, Audit Consulting Education, LLC; Lecturer, Director of Internal Audit Education, Metropolitan State University of Denver AN EXCEPTIONAL LEADER At a time when the accounting profession is facing an unprecedented talent shortage, there is no one working harder to reach out to students and encourage them on the path to CPA licensure than Jo Erven. She is on the front lines and in the classroom every day, inspiring her accounting students at Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU). “Jo exemplifies what it means to be a CPA who makes a difference,” says Sarah Flischel, who nominated Jo as a COCPA Everyday Heroine. “She is full of zest and sparks excitement for the profession.” Determined to educate people about the role of internal audit, Jo visits other Colorado colleges and universities (14-16 each year), hosting campus events, awarding scholarships, speaking at Beta Alpha Psi and accounting student organization events, and visiting classrooms. In recognition of her outreach, Jo was asked in 2020 to join the MSU Denver’s Internal Audit Program Advisory Board. Thanks to 12
NewsAccount | Winter 2024
her efforts, the school became the first in Colorado to be a part of the Internal Audit Education Partnership. In 2022, Jo was asked to become a full-time professor and serve as the director of MSU Denver’s internal audit program. She has established two new certifications in the MSU academic catalog, in addition to meeting and working with dozens of CPA firms and audit executives to ensure that students have the right education and expertise to join and enhance the workforce. Jo is also the volunteer faculty advisor for MSU Denver’s Accounting Student Organization. She loves working with students, whether it’s on coursework, resumes, LinkedIn profiles, career mentoring, or simply buying them coffee and letting them vent about school or life. Not only is Jo a leader professionally, but she is also dedicated to supporting families affected by cancer. After losing her aunt and grandmother to cancer, she discovered she had the BRCA1 gene mutation. In 2016, Jo
underwent a preventative double mastectomy, and now actively volunteers for Susan G. Komen Colorado. Jo started on the Young Americans Initiative Committee and has grown to be a part of the Leadership Committee for the annual More Than Pink Walk (formerly known as the Race for the Cure). Jo makes calls to previous registrants and team captains to help them start their fundraising, posts flyers throughout Denver, provides information to retailers such as Target and Costco on providing donations, recruits new sponsors, and even runs a tent on the day of the event to show participants where their money is invested to end breast cancer. As an example of her dedication, Jo was one of the top five fundraisers for Colorado’s 2023 More Than Pink Walk. When it comes to CPAs exemplifying the profession’s core values of integrity, competency, and objectivity, Jo has written several books on the subject. Her ethical mantras include: “Silence is NOT golden,” and “Always speak the truth, even if your voice shakes.” “She openly shares her story, both personally and professionally, about what motivates her to continue her journey,” Sarah says. “Jo is an inspiration to all who meet her.”