The College of Business at PVAMU successfully organized two continuing education workshops last month titled “Bitcoins, Cryptocurrencies and Block Chain Technology,” and “Fraud and Forensic Accounting Workshop.”

Dr. Hesam Shahriari, assistant professor of finance, led the currency and technology workshop on Saturday, Sept. 8. The event hosts were pleased to see a diverse group of participants in attendance, which included at least two faculty members, one EMBA student, as well as professional accountants and lawyers.

“The rise of the Bitcoin phenomenon has captured widespread public attention, globally.  Given the concept and the underlying technology are fairly complicated, we believe there is a market for educating professionals on these topics,” said Dr. Munir Quddus, dean of the College of Business at PVAMU, said. “This gave us the idea that offering two non-credit seminars, one for the beginners, and a second one for those more advanced would be well-received. It was good to see a diverse group of accountants, lawyers and entrepreneurs register and participate in these seminars.”

The forensic accounting workshop took place on Thursday, Sept. 13 and was led by Dr. Larry Crumbley, a visiting professor in the department of accounting, finance and MIS. The event aimed to provide a comprehensive coverage of forensic accounting, which is a growing area of practice in which the knowledge, skills and abilities of advanced accounting are combined with investigative expertise and applied to legal problems. The workshop was updated with new fraud schemes, numerous examples and stories, and many forensic techniques and tools. Certified public accountants, certified internal auditors, certified fraud examiners, forensic accountants, governmental accountants, attorneys, other accounting/auditing professionals and educators were all encouraged to attend.

Quddus noted that from PVAMU’s mission and accreditation perspective, these workshops are an excellent example of the programs the university can engage in to improve its impact, relevance and visibility in the business community.

“Implementing these workshops and other COB non-credit programs at the NWHC is key as we build-up our portfolio and reputation as a credible source of innovating offerings in Houston for businesses and those interested in lifelong learning,” he said.  

By Emilia Benton