Call me sentimental, but I’ve always found it intriguing when twists of fate take people “full circle,” and reconnect them with an event or a milestone earlier in their life. Today I am having one of those experiences myself.

When I graduated with my accounting degree from Georgia State University (GSU) in 1975, I immediately assumed my first internal audit assignment with Trust Company Bank in Atlanta. Over the years, I’ve taught university courses and delivered lectures and presentations on the internal audit profession around the world. And despite the fulfillment derived from delivering these presentations, there has always been a faint longing to give back to my alma mater for the professional opportunities my education there afforded me. But for various reasons, the opportunity never seemed to present itself — until today.

This evening, I have been invited to deliver a presentation to a group of accounting students from GSU on opportunities in the internal audit profession and the value of The IIA as a resource for aspiring internal audit professionals. So almost 35 years to the month after I left Georgia State to launch my own career as an internal auditor, I have the privilege of sharing what has been a rewarding and exciting professional life with those who have followed in my footsteps.

The opportunity to speak to GSU students would be inspiring to me enough by itself. However, there’s more. As fate would have it, this evening’s event is being hosted by the Internal Audit Department of SunTrust Bank — the successor to (who else?) my first internal audit employer, Trust Company Bank.

Don’t you love it when life takes you full circle?​