2023 Young Professionals Conference

Amanda “Jo” Erven is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and the President and Founder of Audit. Consulting. Education. LLC. Jo’s firm specializes in progressive internal audit, risk, fraud, and ethics consulting along with providing impactful training courses to organizations. Jo is also a full-time, accounting faculty member at Metropolitan State University of Denver as well as the Director of Internal Audit Education for the University. Jo’s educational background includes both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting from the University of Georgia. She started her career in public accounting at one of the Big Four firms, experienced a traditional accounting role at a multinational oilfield services corporation, and directed an internal audit function at an international financial services organization. Jo has written and published three books, is a member of many professional organizations, and personally advocates and fundraises for women and men surviving and thriving through breast cancer. After finding out she was positive for the breast and ovarian cancer gene mutation (BRCA1), Jo underwent multiple preventative surgeries (6 surgeries in 22 months!), including a full hysterectomy and a double mastectomy. She believes knowledge is power and encourages others to take action in their personal AND professional lives.

As the Director of Audit Transformation & Training, Sarah is leading the revolution of AAFCPAs’ audit department by reshaping the way the firm performs financial statement audits. As part of this process, Sarah is leading the implementation of a cloud-based audit solution that enhances our audit procedures with an advanced, technology-driven risk assessment process. AAFCPAs goal is to deliver more precise and efficient audits by leveraging real-time data and analytics, ultimately enhancing the client experience and providing greater value through tailored insights and proactive risk management.

These innovative technologies will enhance our teams’ capabilities of understanding client data as well as automate routine tasks to free up more time for analysis and insights. Additionally, she will lead employee training programs on these new solutions, helping our audit teams master the technology and processes, and elevate their command of advanced skills in rethinking how they perform audits. Through her leadership, Sarah will ensure that AAFCPAs’ clients experience the advantages of this transformation, including a more targeted, risk-based approach, quicker processing times, and deeper, actionable insights, all of which will enable more informed decision-making and strategic planning.

Sarah’s background in supporting the growth & development of people, coupled with a love of learning and openness to change, makes her well-suited for this transformative role. Prior to joining AAFCPAs in 2024, Sarah gained 14+ years of audit and tax experience, including the role of Partner in a regional public accounting firm. She is a member of the AICPA Leadership Academy’s 2019 graduating class, and a past speaker at the AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE Conference, the accounting profession’s biggest annual event. She is an active member of the Colorado Society of CPAs, and in 2021 was honored with the distinguished Women to Watch – Emerging Leaders award. Known as an innovator and trailblazer, Sarah is a member of AAFCPAs’ A&A Committee, Automation Center of Excellence, and the firm’s CoPilot pilot team. In 2024, she was nominated for the Top 50 Women in Accounting Award by Ignition, which is focused on women who serve as catalysts of change by advocating for innovation, diversity, and inclusivity. In 2025, Sarah was nominated to serve a three-year term on the Educational Foundation Board of Trustees for the Colorado Society of CPAs (COCPA).

In her free time, Sarah enjoys spending time with her family, skiing, travelling, reading, crafting, and cheering for the Denver Broncos and the UCF Knights. She lives in Denver, CO, and appreciates AAFCPAs’ Work from Anywhere model.

As the Director of Audit Transformation & Training, Sarah is leading the revolution of AAFCPAs’ audit department by reshaping the way the firm performs financial statement audits. As part of this process, Sarah is leading the implementation of a cloud-based audit solution that enhances our audit procedures with an advanced, technology-driven risk assessment process. AAFCPAs goal is to deliver more precise and efficient audits by leveraging real-time data and analytics, ultimately enhancing the client experience and providing greater value through tailored insights and proactive risk management.

These innovative technologies will enhance our teams’ capabilities of understanding client data as well as automate routine tasks to free up more time for analysis and insights. Additionally, she will lead employee training programs on these new solutions, helping our audit teams master the technology and processes, and elevate their command of advanced skills in rethinking how they perform audits. Through her leadership, Sarah will ensure that AAFCPAs’ clients experience the advantages of this transformation, including a more targeted, risk-based approach, quicker processing times, and deeper, actionable insights, all of which will enable more informed decision-making and strategic planning.

Sarah’s background in supporting the growth & development of people, coupled with a love of learning and openness to change, makes her well-suited for this transformative role. Prior to joining AAFCPAs in 2024, Sarah gained 14+ years of audit and tax experience, including the role of Partner in a regional public accounting firm. She is a member of the AICPA Leadership Academy’s 2019 graduating class, and a past speaker at the AICPA & CIMA ENGAGE Conference, the accounting profession’s biggest annual event. She is an active member of the Colorado Society of CPAs, and in 2021 was honored with the distinguished Women to Watch – Emerging Leaders award. Known as an innovator and trailblazer, Sarah is a member of AAFCPAs’ A&A Committee, Automation Center of Excellence, and the firm’s CoPilot pilot team. In 2024, she was nominated for the Top 50 Women in Accounting Award by Ignition, which is focused on women who serve as catalysts of change by advocating for innovation, diversity, and inclusivity. In 2025, Sarah was nominated to serve a three-year term on the Educational Foundation Board of Trustees for the Colorado Society of CPAs (COCPA).

In her free time, Sarah enjoys spending time with her family, skiing, travelling, reading, crafting, and cheering for the Denver Broncos and the UCF Knights. She lives in Denver, CO, and appreciates AAFCPAs’ Work from Anywhere model.

Mary-Margaret Henke brings 30 years business experience in financial services and energy and leverages a 3 in 1 combination of finance, technology and regulatory governance expertise. She currently serves as Independent Director and Audit Committee Chair for InBank and private equity backed Paragon Integrated Services (drilling fluids, solids control and environmental services) as well as outside audit committee member for Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association. Previously she served on the Farm Credit of Southern Colorado board as audit committee and risk committee vice-chair.

Mary-Margaret began her career with nearly 10 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Most recently she spent over 12 years at Western Union, a leader in global payment services. During her tenure at Western Union, she held a wide variety of leadership roles with increasing responsibility. She served as Chief Audit Executive navigating the continually evolving regulatory environment and increasingly complex technology landscape. With her passion for learning and development, she led significant advancement in talent development and audit data analytic capabilities. She was also hand selected to take over the critical Settlement Transformation technology program, a multi-year, multi-phased program replacing end-of-life, antiquated systems. She led various other CFO strategic initiatives including the global Oracle and Wallstreet System technology upgrades, enterprise risk management as well as acquisition and integration activities. Mary-Margaret’s other past roles include General Auditor for Janus Capital as well as Assistant Controller at CoBank. At CoBank, she managed the corporate accounting, investment and derivative accounting, financial reporting, and tax units of the controller division. Mary-Margaret received her BS in Accounting, summa cum laude, from the University of Denver and is a Certified Public Accountant. She is married and has three adult children.