Dr. Jack L. Krogstad, an associate dean and a professor of accounting and management at Creighton University, Nebraska, has been appointed chairperson of the General Conference Auditing Service (GCAS) Board. As the worldwide auditing service of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, GCAS is responsible for annual financial reporting for more than 2,400 organizations around the world, which together hold assets worth some US$11 billion.

The appointment of a layperson to the position is a “first” in the history of GCAS, says Pastor Lowell Cooper, a vice president of the Adventist world church and vice chair of the board.

Cooper points out that GCAS is already unique among boards of General Conference entities in that it is comprised of two-thirds laypeople. The rationale for this composition, says Cooper, is to help “insulate the auditing function of the denomination from the administrative structure of the church, while still maintaining a board that is thoroughly committed to the mission of the Adventist Church.”

“Auditing is not about numbers, it’s about credibility and trust,” Krogstad says. He adds that the task of the GCAS board is to continue to enhance the credibility of financial reporting within the Adventist Church and to “play a strong accountability role.”

Krogstad says that the new GCAS board, which includes accounting, legal, and business professionals, is a strong team with excellent credentials “that will serve the church well.”

Krogstad, who has practiced and taught public accountancy for more than 30 years, says that his faith has profoundly impacted his professional ethos. He believes that the Christian value system provides “unerring principles on which to base decisions—both personal and professional.” Krogstad also says there is a direct connection between maintaining the financial integrity and credibility of the Adventist Church, and the church’s ability to “realize its Gospel commission.”

The action to appoint Krogstad was taken at the GCAS constituency meeting held September 27 at the Adventist Church’s world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. 

The General Conference Auditing Service, which traces its beginnings to the appointment of the first full-time auditor in 1913, employs some 190 auditors worldwide. According to its mission statement, GCAS’s purpose is to provide “church members and administrators of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination with credible financial information to assist them in their mission of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.”