Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/56539
which recruits and sponsors minority candidates who pursue doctoral degrees. Can you describe some of the programs you support? We've developed a three-tiered system to give back to the community. The first tier is KPMG Family for Literacy, which works with disadvantaged communities by putting books in the hands of kids. There's a great correlation between access to age-appropriate books and literacy. So far, we've given out 350,000 books. The second tier takes place at the high school level as KPMG sponsors a program called Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities, or RBI. We use baseball and softball to teach young men and women the values of life. For every hour they spend on the baseball diamond, we spend substantial time in the classroom teaching them math and economics and ethical decision making. We build the programs around the eco- nomics of baseball. The third tier is the PhD Project, which we support because we want to have more minority role models in the classroom. People don't normally go to school and say, "I want to be an accountant"—but all business students take an accounting course. Studies show that a student's experience with a really good teacher is what helps him decide which career could be the life for him. We'd love to increase the minority population in the accounting profession, and putting role models in the classroom is one way to accomplish that. Looking ahead, what do you think your biggest challenges will be in the years to come? Clearly, the conversion to IFRS is going to be a huge one, even though I believe the broader business community will reap great benefits from it. There's also a challenge in just understanding the sheer complexities of business today. How do we simplify them, increase transparency, and gain back the confidence that has been lost during this economic crisis? But the greatest challenge for the next 24 months or so will be the difficult economic environment. Our markets today really suffer from a lack of confidence. We will need to deter- mine the right decisions to make for our people, our clients, the capital markets we serve, and the community we live in. What I tell people at KPMG is that we have to demonstrate our own confidence and resolve to get through this. The glob- al economy will recover, the capital markets will stabilize, the financial systems will get regulated, and the fundamentals will matter. I am absolutely confident that we will come out of this in 24 months with a stronger foundation to build from. And we can't lose sight of that prize as we go through the day-to- day grind of dealing with the issues in front of us today. ■ z UNIVERSITY AN N OU N CI N G Bentley University The Bentley Board of Trustees and President Gloria Cordes Larson are proud to announce that the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education has granted our change of designation to Bentley University. This change reflects our institution as it is today: a model of 21st century business education, recognized nationally and internationally for leadership, excellence and innovation. © 2009 Bentley University, Waltham, MA BizEd MARCH/APRIL 2009 23