Marcus Evans seminar - any experience with this? 2904



  • Has anyone in the US attended the semi-annual 2-day seminar arranged by Marcus Evans? It is a round-table type of meeting, that SOX compliance management of companies would attend and exchange ideas.
    They have been calling me every half a year and I am just wondering about the benefit of this meeting. Like many other companies, our SOX compliance efforts are quite mature and at a good balance, so we are not looking to do any major overhauling of the process. However, the idea of benchmarking with other companies certainly sounds like a good idea, but the cost is really making me think twice. The seminar is USD3000, and for me to make a business case to attend something like this, I just want to reach out to see if anyone has any experience that they can share.



  • I have not attended any of their conferences before. Once you are on their call list, they seem to continue to call until you threaten to turn turn them in for ignoring your do not call requests (at least that was my experience). They seem to use high-pressure marketing tactics and almost always are calling to say that enrollment is almost full, and that they have limited openings. That is the primary reason that I asked them to put me on thier do not call list.
    They are quite expensive. Many of the large US audit firms hold client roundtable discussions (for little to no cost). I would ask your auditor if that is something that they can pull together.



  • Thank you Mike. It is also my experience that when they call (they have called me every half a year for 2 years now), they always said they only had a few seats left. Once I got cheeky and asked why they waited till the session was almost full before they contacted me, because that would contradict with their claim that they really want my company’s presence there. They definitely use some sort of pressure tactic and remind me of telemarketers - an annoying, unrelenting kind no less.
    I am glad I wasn’t the only one. And I will check with my auditor to see if they do roundtables with clients. Thank you.



  • Marcus-Evans can be a pest with their calls. However, if they are saying its like a roundtable that is only partly right.
    I lead the group, all of whom are experienced and generally the leaders of their SOX programs, through an agenda that includes not only reinforcement of the basics (the underlying principles) but also the complex (such as how to work with the external auditor).
    We use the material in the book I wrote for the IIA, which is nearing 200,000 downloads and includes insights from working directly with the SEC and PCAOB.
    Its like a roundtable in the sense that its not just me lecturing for two days. Everybody gets in the act, sharing experiences and questions, and we discuss tools and techniques together.
    Don’t take my word for it. Ask Marcus-Evans for referrals from the dozen that took the class last time. The feedback was excellent.
    By the way, you can look me up on LinkedIn, or Google me to see my credentials



  • Hi,
    Not to pile on top of the pile, but I also receive their frequent email communications and previously requested them to stop calling me…same tactics…the class is almost full and you should enroll right away. Their telemarketers must use a canned script or something.
    As for a roundtable, I am part of the CAE Roundtable that is hosted by a large insurance company which is based in New York. The roundtable is completely free, meets each month on the last Thursday in NYC and regular participants include the CAEs from a variety of industries, and to boot, you also get 2 hours CPE along with a tremendous networking opportunity to share best practices and discuss emerging developments in IA with other experienced professionals.
    So I pass on these ‘sign up now or miss out’ offers. If you are interested in attending the CAE Roundtable, just let me know.
    Just my 0.02.
    Milan



  • I agree with Mike and Milan. I regularly participate in a SOX roundtable that E-and-Y facilitates and it is specific to my industry. They are gracious enough to pick up the tab and provide attendees with CPE credit. You can’t beat it.


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