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2019-2020 IIA LV Chapter

Election Speeches

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The 2019-2020 IIA Las Vegas elections will take place on February 11, 2019 at February Chapter Event.

Highlighted in yellow are positions open for election. Officers

Board of Governors

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Candidates Running for Election

Officers (starting page 3)

President Louis Carnate*

Vice President Christiane Dolores*

Treasurer Jeff Easton*

Secretary Ellie Clark*

Membership Officer Shaina Bryan-Carpenter*

Programs Officer Haena Kim

Board of Governors (starting page 10)

Board of Governors (5 openings)

Tanya Braa Sarah Flavigny Michael Lombardo* JJ Merlino Alan Moorhead Paulette Tandy* Melissa Warstler* Jesus Valdez

* Candidates are currently serving a term for the 2018-2019 year

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Officer Candidates

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President Candidate: Louis Carnate

For the past two years, I have served as the IIA Las Vegas Chapter’s Vice President of Administration. I have been involved in many aspects of the chapter operations (budgeting, event planning, administrative reporting, etc.) and have worked directly with each of our officers to prepare myself as your next chapter President.

For the 2019-2020 year, I would like to strengthen membership service quality. Whether it’s through faster response times to inquiries, deploying fun and engaging speaker sessions, or selecting favorable food venue options, I want to ensure that your membership experience is a positive one. Additionally, I would like to strengthen our community outreach. I believe that each member provides something valuable to the profession, therefore, our local chapter can serve as a platform in providing meaningful advice for students and other professionals. Overall, my experience as an officer has been rewarding and important for my career development. It would be a privilege to serve as your chapter President and I look forward to volunteering another year of service as an officer.

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Vice President Candidate: Christiane Dolores

My name is Christiane Dolores and I am running for the Vice President of IIA Las Vegas Chapter. To give you a brief bio about myself, I am a Lead Internal Auditor at Caesars Entertainment and have been with the company since 2012. I have served on the IIA Las Vegas Chapter’s Board since 2017, as the Secretary (2017-2018) and VP of Programs (2018-2019). In addition to my experience on this specific board, in the last ten years, I have also served other professional and social organizations as a President/Chair, Vice President, Treasurer, Advisor, and other minor roles.

Based on my experience as an officer of the IIA Las Vegas Chapter, I believe I am fit to continue serving in the upcoming year as VP. In 2017, as Secretary, I served as an ambassador for the Las Vegas Chapter at the Leadership Camp Conference in Orlando, FL, and at the District Meeting in El Paso, TX. In addition to my normal duties, I assisted our then-VP of Admin in the roll-out implementation and execution of the E-Touches Management Tool (EMT) utilized by the IIA for scheduling events, communicating with the chapter membership, and obtaining CPE’s. Furthermore, I also assisted our then-VP of Events in coordinating the monthly luncheons and registrations. In 2018, as VP of Programs, I coordinated the monthly lunch events held by our chapter and was a go-to person for several admin duties and initiatives for the board. I was and am also responsible for coordinating the annual District Meeting, which will be held in Las Vegas this year. With that said, due to my experience in serving on several boards and my familiarity with the IIA LV Chapter board’s responsibilities and duties, I will be able to help guide, monitor and assist the board along with the President-elect. Because of this, I believe I am the best candidate for the VP role. If you have any questions specific for me, please feel free to reach out at cdolores@caesars.com. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve on the board for the last two years and I look forward to another year of serving the Chapter as an officer if elected. Good luck to all candidates running for a position on board!

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Secretary Candidate: Ellie Clark

My name is Ellie Clark and I am running for re-election for the position of Chapter Secretary for the IIA Las Vegas Chapter. I have a BSBA in Accounting from UNLV and am a CIA. I have over 10 years of customer-focused experience in a financial environment, including 5 years of audit experience. I am currently an Internal Auditor Supervisor with MGM Resorts International. Prior to my role with MGM, I worked as an auditor at Capital One providing audit process, legal, and project management support for legal issues and worked

with general counsel to provide legal advice for Capital One’s US Card Loss Mitigation Recoveries group. I possess an acute attention to detail, have excellent written and verbal communication skills, and can manage multiple tasks and projects simultaneously. I enjoyed serving as the Chapter Secretary for the 2018-2019 year and hope to have the opportunity to continue in this role.

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Treasurer Candidate: Jeff Easton

My name is Jeff Easton, I am running for re-election as the Treasurer for the IIA Las Vegas Chapter. I am a CPA with over 15 years as a Vice President of Internal Audit and over 25 in internal audit experience. For the past two years I have been elected to serve as the Las Vegas IIA Chapter Treasurer position. I have performed these duties at the highest level. I would like to continue to serve as the

Treasurer. For the 2019 – 2020 I plan to continue to streamline and integrate the accounting process and supporting records. Thank you for your consideration.

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Membership Officer Candidate: Shaina Bryan-Carpenter

My name is Shaina Bryan-Carpenter and I am currently a Senior Internal Auditor with The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, with over six years of Internal Audit experience. Presently, I am serving as the Communications Officer for the 2018-2019 year. I started my career as a Business Analyst within the Management Development Program at the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA), which allowed me rotate through various departments within the organization. My last rotation happened to be Internal Audit where my interest sparked. I officially joined the GCRTA Internal Audit department in 2013 and I have not

looked back since. I maintained my role as an Internal Auditor and was an active member of IIA Cleveland Chapter for two years before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2015, I joined The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Internal Audit team, and I became a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) in 2017. As I am dedicated to developing myself professionally as an Internal Auditor, I would like the opportunity to continue to grow with the IIA Las Vegas Chapter. In 2018, I was elected as Co-Secretary. My time as the Chapter Co-Secretary allowed me to share my current skills of recordkeeping and reporting. After a couple months in that position, our Communications Officer left Las Vegas, and I stepped into her role. As I have been adjusting to this positon, I see the opportunities to improve and enhance this role. For the upcoming year, I plan to increase our engagement with the members by revamping the newsletter, being active on social media (Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn), and finding new and creative ways to reach out to our members. Thank you for allowing me the privilege to serve in the 2018-2019 year. I hope to have the opportunity to continue my IIA Officer involvement by being elected in 2019-2020! I am looking forward to working with a team of talented professionals from various backgrounds and contributing to the success of the IIA Las Vegas Chapter.

If you have any questions specific for me, please feel free to reach out at shaina.bryan@cosmopolitanlasvegas.com.

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Programs Officer Candidate: Haena Kim

My name is Haena Kim and I am running for the Programs Officer position. I am currently a Senior Consulting Associate with the RSM National Gaming and Hospitality Group, and have been a member of Institute of Internal Auditors for 4 years. Prior to joining RSM, I was a Senior Internal Auditor at Caesars Entertainment. I received Bachelors of Art in Economics from University of California – Los Angeles. I am an energetic, upbeat, and positive individual, and would utilize my strengths in networking with businesses in the hospitality industry for upcoming IIA

meetings. I was a board member for a Caesars Business Resource Group, where I learned to facilitate different events for professional development and networking. With this experience, I am confident I would bring fun, innovative ideas to the table, and together with the Board, strengthen the visibility of our local Chapter. Specifically, for the 2019-2020 year, I would love to find ways to enhance our monthly events and work on the feedback given to the IIA Chapter this past year for the events we hosted. I would also like to find great venues where members can have more opportunities to network with each other at these events. I look forward to continue to the opportunity to grow professionally and become an integral member of IIA Las Vegas chapter. If you have any questions specific for me, please feel free to reach out at haena.kim@rsmus.com Thank you so much for your consideration.

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Board of Governors Candidates

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Board of Governors Candidate: Tanya Braa

My husband and I moved to Las Vegas almost three years ago from Kansas City, Missouri. I have spent almost 15 years in the gaming industry working within the areas of Internal Audit, SOX Compliance, and Regulatory Compliance Audit. In addition to the time that I spent in the gaming industry, I also worked as a Paralegal for a small law firm in Kansas City for five years and served one term as the Treasurer for the Kansas City Paralegal Association. I found serving in the capacity as Treasurer to be

very fulfilling and enjoyed being able to volunteer my time and promote growth and progress for those professional members of the association. Since I am still fairly new to Las Vegas, I believe becoming more involved and increasing my engagement with the Local IIA Chapter will allow me to grow and learn within the local chapter and board member events. Additionally, I would like to be able to share information and learn by engaging other professionals in best practices by hearing their experiences. Finally, I would like to be able to provide a service to the IIA members by volunteering my time as a member of the Board. For 2019, 2020 year I would like to increase my involvement and the involvement of those around me in the local IIA chapter and local chapter events. I do have availability and flexibility after work hours and during work hours (for luncheons). Thanks in advance for your consideration.

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Board of Governors Candidate: Sarah Flavigny

My name is Sarah Flavigny, and I am running for a Board Member position at the IIA Las Vegas Chapter. I am currently a Performance Assurance Senior Specialist with Caesars Entertainment, with over 8 years of experience in internal and external audit. My degrees include a BBA in International Trade and an MBA with an emphasis in Finance from a European business school. I am also a certified Professional Scrum Master and one of my goals for 2019 is to become a Certified Internal Auditor.

Born and raised in Paris, I started my career as a Financial Auditor with Deloitte France, where I served private and public companies from various industries. Eager to gain international experience, I took the opportunity to move to America in 2013 and joined Deloitte’s Las Vegas practice as

an Audit Senior. I primarily served gaming clients during my time with the public accounting firm and I also completed a 2-year rotation as a subject matter expert for Deloitte’s Audit Innovation group. In 2018, I decided to join Caesars’ Performance Assurance team, which is part of the company’s Internal Audit department. In my current role at Caesars, my primary objective is to facilitate Internal Audit’s transformation process and ensure best practices within the department. To achieve this goal, I work closely with our Chief Audit Executive, assisting him and the Internal Audit management team in implementing strategic initiatives that will help drive continuous quality and process improvement. Our key projects cover a wide range of topics, including use of technology and data analytics, implementation of an enterprise-wide risk assessment process, enhancement of existing policies and procedures, organization of trainings etc.

Through my academic and work experiences, I have gained valuable knowledge in auditing and agile project management. In addition, I have developed strong communication and organization skills, which I believe make me a good fit for being a Board Member for the IIA Las Vegas Chapter. Passionate about the hospitality and gaming at events, bring new ideas to the table and make a positive contribution to the Chapter. I also see this opportunity as a great way to engage regularly with peers and thought leaders from the industry. Finally, I would be thrilled to use my skill set to serve our Internal Audit community here in Las Vegas while pursuing my professional development.

Please feel free to reach out to me at sflavigny@caesars.com or find me on LinkedIn if you have additional questions or would like to connect. I am looking forward to being granted the opportunity to contribute to the success of the IIA Las Vegas Chapter. Bonne chance to all the candidates!

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Board of Governors Candidate: Michael Lombardo

My name is Michael Lombardo, I am running for re-election as Board of Governor for the IIA Las Vegas Chapter. I have a BS in Accounting from UNLV and I am a CIA. I have both public accounting and internal audit experience and have been in the industry for 10 years. My current role is Director of Internal Audit for Boyd Gaming Corporation.

I’m interested in continuing on as a Board of Governor because it is a great opportunity to be involved and give back to our profession. Thank you for your consideration!

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Board of Governors Candidate: Ernest “JJ” Merlino

JJ Merlino is a Consulting Services Director with RSM US LLP’s National Gaming and Hospitality practice and is seeking a Board of Governors position with the Las Vegas IIA. RSM US LLP is the 5th largest public accounting firm in the United States, and in his current role, JJ serves as the Consulting Services lead for the Las Vegas office. JJ has over 18 years of experience in gaming and hospitality through his various roles. His experience includes both internal audit and external audit; assisting casinos in support of MICS, T31, and regulatory compliance matters, along with various business process improvement initiatives and operational/financial analysis improvement projects. JJ is a Nevada CPA, and has previously worked for a big-

4 accounting firm and a large international gaming operator based in Las Vegas. JJ’s business interests include enhancement of the Internal Audit role within the organization, specifically in support of operational improvements, delivering value add solutions to operational challenges, and in becoming a business advisor to management in today’s competitive markets. JJ frequently presents to the industry at events such as G2E, NIGA, and the IIA Gaming Conference. As a practicing leader with a public accounting firm, his schedule allows for flexibility throughout the year to ensure attendance at board meetings and support to the IIA executive team and functions, as may be needed. For the 2019-2020 chapter year, JJ would like to see enhanced focus on emerging risks that businesses face in today’s competitive marketplace. This includes topics such as: process automation, synergetic business models, enterprise wide risk assessments, and culture/ethics. JJ believes the Las Vegas Chapter of the IIA is positioned not only to lead the gaming and hospitality industry, but also has a unique opportunity for further diversification with involvement of industries such as: financial services, governmental, gaming, technology, and retail.

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Board of Governors Candidate: Alan Moorhead

I recently joined the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority as Vice President of Audit Services. I have over 30 years of audit and consulting experience with organizations including Fortis, Inc. (Assurant, Inc.), HNI Corporation, Dart & Kraft, Heller International, Sears Consumer Financial Corporation (Dean Witter), and Touche Ross & Co. Most recently I was Vice President of Audit for Hanger, HNI and Fortis where I transformed audit departments from a financial compliance focus to operational

value add focus. I also functioned as an IT auditor for many years, building several departments to perform extensive process and system development support. My career in auditing is based upon my enjoyment of the profession and the gratification from effecting positive change within an organization. I have spoken at numerous seminars and training programs on various aspects of auditing along with visits to university programs to promote the profession. I served as a Board member for local IIA and ISACA chapters in Iowa and Minnesota and would like to contribute to the Las Vegas chapter as I acclimate to the community. I have a minimal travel schedule and good availability to meet as required. Plans for the upcoming year include promotion of the Audit function within LVCVA. We have already made several changes to better position the function and get it recognized as a group which will add value to the organization. This is my drive within the organization and the direction I promote for all organizations. I would like to help the chapter support its members to become more effective and stronger change agents within their respective organizations. I look forward to becoming more involved with the LVCVA IIA chapter and its members.

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Board of Governors Candidate: Paulette Tandy

My name is Paulette Tandy, and I am running for re-election to the Board of Governors for the Las Vegas chapter of the IIA. I have served in this capacity for several years, acting as a liaison between UNLV and the IIA. As part of this role, I help to plan and coordinate the annual IIA Student Night held to inform students about the career opportunities available in the field of internal audit. At UNLV, I serve as the Associate Dean of the Lee Business School. Before moving into this role, I was Chair of the Department of Accounting for 13 years,

and I have been at UNLV since obtaining my Ph.D. at Texas A&M University. In addition to my administrative responsibilities, I primarily teach internal auditing and financial accounting, and I developed and administer the UNLV Internal Audit Certificate Program, which is recognized by the IIA as an Internal Audit Educational Partnership program. I would like to continue to work towards bringing together the UNLV students and the Las Vegas chapter of the IIA.

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Board of Governors Candidate: Melissa Warstler Melissa Warstler, Station Casinos Vice President of Internal Audit; CIA, CRMA, CISA, CFE Position: Board of Governor: Re-Election Summary: I have been a member of the Las Vegas Board of Governors for several years. I bring to the Board over 22 years of professional experience in the fields of Internal Audit and Accounting. I have various connections within the profession in order to provide suggestions for training options or speakers for the local chapter. I am interested in the Board position in order to give back to the professional community. The Board has offered me the opportunity to meet other professionals and share ideas, which has been a great experience. For the future of the Board: I would like to encourage other internal audit professionals to obtain a certification of their choice. Technical Experience: Two certifications related to the IIA (CIA & CRMA), along with two other certifications from other organizations (CISA & CFE) Accounting degree from University of Missouri – Kansas City Soft Skills Experience: Knowledge sharing is the key to personal growth. Let’s chat & share our experiences together!

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Board of Governors Candidate: Jesus Valdez

My name is Jesus Valdez, and I am running for a Board of Governors position at the IIA Las Vegas Chapter. Currently, I work as a Senior Internal Auditor for Southwest Gas Corporation and have been with the company since May 2014. Prior to joining Southwest Gas, I was an Assurance Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Las Vegas office for almost four years. I completed my undergraduate and master’s degrees in Accounting from UNLV in 2010 and 2015. My years of public accounting, I was exposed to different industries including Gaming, Real Estate, Hedge Funds,

Manufacturing, Construction, and Utilities. I am a Certified Internal Auditor. When I joined the Southwest Gas Internal Audit department, I realized that I had found a special niche of people and learned to acquire a wealth of new skills. These newly developed skills positioned me to receive a nomination from my supervisor to be considered as an Emerging Leader for the Internal Auditor Magazine, for which I was featured in the December 2015 cover story, “On the Rise.” During my years of external and internal audit experience I have come to understand that to be successful you must adapt to change, hear new ideas, and learn to prioritize. My contribution as a member of the board of governors, if elected, will be to support the chapter’s officers and help enhance the variety of training opportunities offered throughout the year. Thank you for your consideration!