Former SDSU Student Returns to Fowler as a Cybersecurity Expert
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“Cybercrime is one of the top risks facing businesses today and cyber security attacks continue to increase in prevalence, sophistication and cost,” said Rebecca Perols, SDSU alumna (’10, MSA) and assistant professor at SDSU’s Charles W. Lamden School of Accountancy. “Organizations are increasingly engaging auditors and accounting firms to evaluate whether they have strong internal controls in place to mitigate cyber security risks and to protect their organization, investors and customers.”
Perols, who started her career as a technology risk consultant at Arthur Andersen, has devoted a significant amount of time to teaching, researching and presenting about the impact auditors have on cybersecurity risk assessment, financial reporting and process improvement.
Ironically, it was the collapse of Arthur Andersen in 2002 that led to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which imposed strict guidelines on internal IT systems and data security which are topics Perols teaches and researches.
In addition to data and cybersecurity, Perols also focuses her teaching on fraud, data analytics, blockchain and artificial intelligence. These skills are in demand by employers, and Perols pointed out that she is “passionate about encouraging students to consider their future careers early and in a deliberate manner.”
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Perols’ supportive nature resonates with her students. For example, one former student said she was “very engaging and communicates well,” and another reported that “she goes out of her way to make the content engaging and easy to understand.” Still another said “Professor Perols is one of the best that SDSU has to offer.”*
This is music to Perols’ ears. As a former student at the Charles W. Lamden School of Accountancy herself, she said she realized how meaningful teaching and mentorship were to her.
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“As a student at SDSU I had amazing professors who began mentoring me as a researcher and a teacher,” she said. “I was inspired to return to SDSU as a professor because I believed that I could make a difference in students’ career paths, especially by helping them see opportunities they may not have previously imagined.”
*Student comments were taken from the Rate My Professor website.
