GCAS 2nd International Seminar a Success!

[Chiang Mai, Thailand, January 25, 2008] GCAS announced today that the 2nd International Seminar convened in Chiang Mai, Thailand, January 18 to 25, 2008, was a singular success. More than 400 persons, including auditors, spouses, children, and invited guests from the General Conference, World Divisions, and GCAS Board, attended this event in a location that prides itself in providing first class accommodations and event facilities at an extraordinarily reasonable cost.

In his keynote address, Paul Douglas, the recently elected director for GCAS, expressed his appreciation to the spouses and children who make significant sacrifices each day in support of the ministry to which each auditor has been called; acknowledged the contributions of Eric Korff who recently retired from being the GCAS Director, and challenged each auditor to embrace the seminar theme of “Delivering Excellence!” Paul stated that each person must embrace the global commitment of GCAS to deliver excellence by complementing their aptitude with the right attitude.

The weeklong seminar was designed to provide the opportunity for spiritual nourishment, professional development, as well as social interaction with colleagues from around the world. For spiritual nourishment, Elder Robert J Kloosterhuis, retired GC Vice President shared several spiritual nuggets that were tailored to the business background of the attendees. For professional development, 32 hours of continuing education were presented that addressed the understanding and application of ethics, updates to auditing standards, revisions to the GCAS Standard Audit Methodology, issues relating to fraud, tips and tools for public speaking, essential skills for leadership, and the mission‐critical matter of service excellence.

In recognition of the dedicated service of the auditors, an honors banquet highlighted the tenures of service of individual auditors ranging from 5 to 25 years. Elder Lowell C Cooper, GC Vice President, Elder Robert Lemon, GC Treasurer, and Dr. Jack Krogstad, GCAS Board Chair, paid special tribute to the honorees and thanked them for the excellent service and sacrifice they have made to both God and His Church.

Organized by the Seventh‐day Adventist Church in 1977, GCAS performs structurally independent financial audits, reviews of trust operations, and tests of policy compliance for more than 2500 denominational organizations worldwide that have an estimated asset base of US$20 billion. With a team of approximately 200 highly qualified professionals operating from offices in 40 countries, GCAS is positioned to deliver audits of the highest quality at the best economical value.