Ohio State controller takes seat on Ohio's Accountancy Board.

• Author: O'Donoghue, Erin
• Position: Member profile - Greta Russell - Interview

Greta Russell knows that many roads lead to success. But The Ohio State University (OSU) controller never guessed when she entered college that her path would lead her to become a CPA--let alone to sit on the Accountancy Board of Ohio. Today, she's excited and honored to be taking on the challenges of both important roles.

You were appointed to the Accountancy Board of Ohio by Governor Taft in November. What do you hope to help accomplish during your term on the Board?

I hope that I will represent the profession well. For me, it is a great honor to be appointed to the Board. I wasn't a traditional student and was not able to take the traditional career path, but I still have this great opportunity to represent the profession.

What attracted you to the CPA profession?

I never thought of myself as being proficient in math. I just knew that I enjoyed solving problems. When I applied for a teller position at a finance company, my reference told the company recruiter that I was a "math whiz," so I was given a position in the accounting department. One year, a woman on the audit team shared some of her positive experiences and suggested that I consider a career in the accounting profession. Being a wife and mother of two, I wanted a profession that would provide career opportunities in a variety of industries and flexibility to balance my work and family obligations. Since accounting offered that, I changed my major from social work to accounting.

What's exciting about your role as controller at OSU?

I truly enjoy being a controller, and being at OSU makes it even better. In simple terms, I pay the obligations and report the financial position of the university, but my job is more than that. In my role, different opportunities and challenges seem to arise every second. From redirecting the parent who believes the controller should know every detail of her child's financial aid, to convincing skeptical faculty and staff that the best practices in Sarbanes-Oxley are relevant to public entities, I find myself dealing with an incredible range of issues.

With this excitement, however, come some significant challenges. In particular, audits at Ohio State are much stricter now than they were before Sarbanes-Oxley. Whether it is materiality or exceptions in control testing, there seems to be a much lower threshold for management letter comments and federal audit findings. It is a challenge communicating to our colleagues within the institution that we...