The Georgia Association of Accounting Educators (GAAE) web site GAAE Annual Meeting

The GAAE 2026 Annual Meeting will convene on February 6-7, 2026, at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, Georgia.

Conference check-in is from 11:00-11:45 am on February 6th.

Cynthia Cooper, 2026 Annual Meeting Keynote Speaker

Overview
Cynthia Cooper is an internationally recognized speaker, consultant, and best-selling author. In 2002, she blew the whistle on the WorldCom fraud—one of the largest corporate frauds in history. In her book Extraordinary Circumstances, she shares lessons from the scandal and donated all book profits to support ethics education. Her talks focus on ethical leadership, corporate integrity, and avoiding the pitfalls of organizational failure.

Honors & Recognition

TIME 100 Women of the Year (2020) and a former TIME Person of the Year
First woman inducted into the AICPA Business Hall of Fame
One of Working Mother’s 25 Most Influential Working Mothers
Maria & Sydney E. Rolfe Award (public education in business and finance)
Internal Audit Beacon Award for thought leadership (2022)
Inaugural inductee, IIA American Hall of Distinguished Audit Practitioners
First woman to receive the American Accounting Association’s Accounting Exemplar Award

Media & Appearances

Featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CFO Magazine, and BusinessWeek
Appeared on NBC, ABC, PBS, Fox Business, C-SPAN, and CNBC
Shared panels with Anderson Cooper, Donna Brazile, and Grover Norquist

Leadership & Service

Former board member, NASBA Center for the Public Trust
Certified Fraud Examiner; former Chair, Board of Regents, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE)
Served on the Standing Advisory Group of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)
Current member, Mississippi State University College of Business Executive Advisory Board
Past advisor to the University of Alabama, LSU, and Lehigh University

Selected Audiences

Government: FBI; U.S. Departments of the Interior and Labor; Ontario Securities Commission
Universities: Harvard, Cornell, Western University’s Ivey Business School
Intergovernmental: United Nations
Companies: Dell, France Telecom, Raytheon, Walmart, Vanguard
Associations: National Association of Corporate Directors, Network of Executive Women, Ethics & Compliance Officers Association, Washington D.C. Trial Lawyers Association

Career & Education

M.P.Acc., University of Alabama; B.Accy., Mississippi State University
Began in public accounting; worked with Deloitte & Touche and Price Waterhouse in Atlanta
After WorldCom, served as Chief Audit Executive at MCI, helping guide the company out of bankruptcy

Annual Meeting Registration

Step 1: Register

step 2: Payment (GSCpa website)

Hotel & Accommodations

Annual Meeting attendees can stay at the beautiful historic Windsor Hotel in downtown Americus on February 6-7, 2026, at the discounted GSW rate. To secure your stay and discounted rate, you must call the Windsor Hotel (229-924-1555) and confirm you are attending the Georgia Association of Accounting Educator’s Annual Meeting.