Monday | Tuesday| Wednesday Welcome and Opening Comments - Joe Dear Bio - Joe Dear Joe Dear was appointed Executive Director of the Washington State Investment Board (WSIB) in November, 2002. He serves as the Board's chief executive officer, overseeing a staff of 65 that implements the Board's investment policy decisions. The WSIB manages $86 billion within 36 funds, comprised of defined benefit and defined contribution retirement, deferred compensation, workers' compensation, permanent, and other trust funds. Formerly Mr. Dear served as Government Relations Officer for Frank Russell Company, Chief of Staff for Washington Governor Gary Locke, Assistant Secretary of Labor for the U. S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and Director of the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. When he was Director of Labor and Industries, Joe was a member of the Washington State Investment Board from 1987 to 1992, and served as Board chair from 1989 to 1991. He received his Bachelor of Arts from The Evergreen State College.   Roll Call of the States - Richard Bendall A representative from each participating organization will speak to the group about current audit areas, ongoing projects, and recent legislation affecting their pension fund. They will discuss how they get results, overcome obstacles, and prepare for issues in their audit shops. Dialogue will be facilitated to present possible solutions for problems and ongoing issues. This session is designed to prompt networking by identifying peers working on similar projects, and facing similar challenges.   Overview of Washington State Department of Retirement Systems - Sandy Matheson Why is internal audit more than just necessary for public pension funds? The structure of the Washington State retirement systems is unique. Internal audit plays a critical role in assisting the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems to administer its 15 retirement plans effectively. Ms. Matheson discusses Washington's circumstances, the future direction of public pension plans, and the role of internal audit as the nature of retirement changes.   Bio - Sandy Matheson Sandy Matheson is the Director of the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems (DRS). She was appointed in March 2005. The department administers 15 pension plans with nearly $75 billion in assets, 600,000 active, inactive and retired members and 1,300 employers. DRS pensions are a major economic driver in the state, issuing approximately $2.5 billion in retirement checks per year. Ms. Matheson also serves as the Vice Chair of the Washington State Investment Board and member of the Private Markets, Audit, and Administrative Committees. She is on the boards of the legislative Select Committee on Pension Policy, the Pension Funding Council, the Employee Retirement Benefits Board (Chair), and the Washington State Society of CPAs. She also participates with the International Centre for Pension Management and serves on the board of the Employee Benefits Research Institute. Ms. Matheson graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Northwestern University in Illinois. She completed post-graduate accounting studies at Gonzaga University and passed the CPA exam in 1978. She received a Masters of Business Administration from Washington State University in 1998. Her career has been primarily in management, with a focus on healthcare and financial services. She served as the President and CEO of Hanford Environmental Health Foundation, the Board Chair of Kennewick General Hospital, acted as interim CEO for various organizations, and taught as an adjunct instructor for the Washington State University business program. Ms. Matheson has served in a broad range of civic and charitable activities.   Investment Risk - Stephen Lerch There are many different forms of investment risk from market risk, to credit risk, to liquidity risk. What is value at risk (VaR) and how does it work? Which terms are meaningful and should be used in risk analysis, and then how do you allocate risk across the portfolio? This session will provide an overview of the Washington State Investment Board's process for allocating risk, and give a basic education on the different risk terms and risk techniques used in investment management.   Bio - Stephen Lerch Stephen Lerch joined the WSIB in July 2006 as the Board's first Research Director. He works on issues ranging from risk analysis, to researching new investment opportunities. Previously, he has worked as an economist and researcher on public finance and health care issues in government (U.S. Congress, Joint Committee on Taxation; Washington State Institute for Public Policy; Washington State Department of Revenue) and the private sector (HCIA-Sachs/Solucient). Mr. Lerch has a Ph.D. in economics from Johns Hopkins University.   Enterprise Risk Management - Beth Vandehey The concept of Enterprise Risk Management has moved in and out of the public eye for several years. At the WSIB, it has been a strategic initiative since 2003 and has become the cornerstone to optimizing risk from an agency-wide view. This session will provide real-world examples of how the WSIB's program has been implemented and continues to evolve. Whether you're looking to make the first step or revisiting where you are in the process, come hear practical tips and suggestions for risk management.   Bio - Beth Vandehey Beth Vandehey became the Risk and Compliance Director for the WSIB in 2005. She has been with the WSIB since 1998. As the internal auditor for the WSIB Ms. Vandehey developed the first internal audit program, and reported to the Audit Committee for eight years. As the director for risk she oversees the management of the Enterprise Risk Management Program leading a 12-member team with representatives from every unit across the agency. As the compliance director her role is to assure sound oversight of compliance with external and internal regulations, rules, policies, and procedures pertaining to investment activities. Ms. Vandehey is a Certified Public Accountant and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in accounting from University of Puget Sound, Washington.   Small Audit Shop - Challenges, Opportunities, & Emerging Practices - Don Espersen This session is a condensed one day version of the Institute of Internal Auditor's (IIA) highly rated 2 ½ day Small Audit Shop seminar. This interactive session will help participants deal with challenging issues, take advantage of potential opportunities, and identify a manageable number of action items to improve their small audit shop's capability. The session will focus on: Benchmarking Adding value and maintaining independence Doing more with less Emerging internal audit roles Building a better internal audit process Rightsizing your quality assurance and improvement program   Bio - Don Espersen Don Espersen, Certified Internal Auditor, is an independent risk/control advisor and internal auditor based in St. Paul, Minnesota. His firm, despersen & associate, specializes in the design and delivery of customized training programs and internal audit quality improvement activities. He has worked with client groups in Asia, Canada, Europe, Mexico, the Middle East, South America, and the United States. Prior to forming despersen & associate in 1999, Mr. Espersen held a variety of Chief Audit Executive, internal audit management, and staff positions in several financial services organizations. Mr. Espersen is one of the primary facilitators for The IIA Chief Audit Executive's Vision University series. Additionally, he has developed and led many of the Institute's seminars.   Private Equity Valuation Guidelines for Investors - Gary Bruebaker and Bill Hughlett This session will review the steps the Washington State Investment Board is taking to meet the current valuation guidelines [Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) 157 - Fair Value Measurement and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Alternative Investments Practice Guide for Auditors]. The discussion will give an overview of the WSIB portfolio, information about private equity performance versus public markets during turbulent times, and the life cycle of private equity performance. As part of the presentation one general partner (GP) will share their implementation of FAS 157 and provide suggestions as to what information and questions limited partners should ask when reviewing GP valuations.   Bio - Gary Bruebaker Gary Bruebaker is the Chief Investment Officer for the WSIB. The WSIB is one of the nation's largest institutional investors, currently managing $86 billion within 36 separate funds, comprised of defined benefit and defined contribution retirement funds, deferred compensation funds, insurance funds, permanent and other trust funds. Mr. Bruebaker is responsible for the design and implementation of the overall investment strategy and policy for these funds, consistent with the highest professional standards and for the exclusive benefit of fund stakeholders. Prior to joining the WSIB, Mr. Bruebaker served as Deputy State Treasurer of Oregon, Director of the Oregon State Treasury, Controller of the Oregon Housing Agency, and Senior Auditor for the Oregon Secretary of State Division of Audits. He received his Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Oregon and his Bachelor of Science degree with honors in business administration from Oregon State University. Mr. Bruebaker is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a Certified Cash Manager, and a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Bruebaker was honored to receive a Distinction in Financial Management Award from the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury in 1993, the Institute for Fiduciary Education's Leadership Award in 2005, and an Excellence in Investment Management Award from Institutional Investor in 2006. Bio - Bill Hughlett Bill joined Voyager Capital as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer in 2000. He brings over 25 years of industry and public accounting experience to the team, most of which has been focused on the technology industry. Prior to joining Voyager in 2000, Bill was a Senior Manager in Arthur Andersen's High Technology practice, serving companies such as aQuantive, Blue Nile, BSQUARE Corporation, and Loudeye Technologies. At Arthur Andersen, Bill specialized in planning and execution of corporate transactions and equity compensation strategies for his clients. Prior to rejoining Arthur Andersen in 1998, Bill had responsibility for strategic planning, corporate development, and the worldwide tax function of Spacelabs Medical, a public medical device company. Bill received his B.S. degree from Oral Roberts University.   Employer Self-Audit Program - Lanette Barton The Washington State Department of Retirement Systems Employer Self-Audit Program was designed and created by the audit unit in 2000. The audit unit is small in size, which creates a challenge to audit 1,300 employers spanning eight retirement systems and fifteen plans. This program was created to provide a useful tool for employers to ensure the information they submit to DRS is accurate and identify any issues that need to be corrected. Employers are able to navigate through the program easily and the complex information is presented in a way that is understandable to the employer. This presentation will provide a brief background of the DRS audit, the challenges of the audit unit, and an overview of the Employer Self-Audit Program.   Bio - Lanette Barton Lanette Barton has been the Audit Supervisor for DRS for the past two years. She has worked at DRS for eight years and has been in the Employer Audit Unit for five years. Ms. Barton supervises four audit staff, which performs compliance audits for approximately 30 employers annually. Recently Ms. Barton reviewed the Employer Self-Audit Program with her staff to ensure accuracy and compliance with rules and regulations. Ms. Barton attended South Puget Sound Community College in Washington.