After nearly 20 years with the Naveen Jindal School of Management and associate director of the school’s Center for Internal Auditing Excellence, Chris Linsteadt, MBA’96, MS’02, has retired. New faculty member and Jindal School alumnus Matthew (Matt) Paske, BS’08, MS’10, has been appointed as assistant director to replace him.
Center director Dr. Joseph Mauriello, PhD’22, MBA’02, MS’03, an associate professor of instruction in the Jindal School’s Accounting Area, described Linsteadt’s impact on the Center and the Jindal School as immeasurable.
“From the Center’s founding by Mark Salamasick in 2003, to my tenure taking over for Mark as Director in 2015, Chris has been the mainstay throughout the life of the program,” Mauriello said. “His influence spans thousands of auditing students, over 100 teaching assistants, leadership in over 40 professional conferences and a lifetime of colleagues and friends that have benefited from sharing the past 20 years with him. Chris has positively impacted the auditing profession in the past, the present and for years to come.”
Mauriello called Paske “a product” of Linsteadt’s legacy — and the right person to carry it forward.
“Matt was a successful student in Professor Linsteadt’s class, became Professor Linsteadt’s teaching assistant, was a student leader for the Center and ultimately became one of the leading professionals in the DFW internal auditing marketplace,” Mauriello said. “Matt’s exemplary tenure at Weaver, a leading CPA firm, and his leadership with the local Dallas Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors solidified his sterling professional credentials.
Mauriello said ultimately, it was Paske’s ability to connect with students, through mentoring, volunteering, and his willingness to give back to the profession, that truly make him the right person for the assistant directorship.
“Matt’s hiring as assistant director serves as a bridge from the earlier days of the Center to the present,” Mauriello said. “It is my conviction as director that his influence will help drive a successful future for the Center.”
The center, much like the auditing profession itself, is undergoing significant change, Mauriello emphasized.
“Emerging technologies, evolving risk landscapes and a demand for skilled internal auditing professionals will continue to drive what we do to prepare the next generation of internal auditors,” he said. “The addition of Professor Paske allows the center to increase its focus on expanding our portfolio of industry leading courses and programs while also retaining the DNA of what has made us the leading internal auditing academic program in the world.”
Paske, an associate professor of practice in the Accounting Area, joins the Jindal School after 15 years of auditing experience, both internal and external, in various industries. His most recent assignment was as senior manager of risk advisory services at Weaver, a Texas-based accounting firm. He said the reason for his return to the Jindal School was two-fold.
“First, I was very excited to replace Chris Linsteadt, who has been a key mentor of mine since I was a student and continues to be so to this day,” he said. “The opportunity to replace someone who had such a big impact on me and my career is something that I value greatly. Secondly, my favorite responsibility at Weaver was always developing the staff. Getting to watch our team members grow as professionals and knowing that I played a small part in that was by far the most fulfilling part of my job at Weaver. And now, I get to focus on that 100% of the time.”
Now tasked with building on the foundation that Linsteadt helped establish, Paske said he plans to focus on establishing a rapport with his students in order to make sure that they know that he genuinely cares about their development and that they can come to him for help any time.
Paske said asking questions and not being afraid to make mistakes are the two best things for auditing students and new professionals to keep in mind.
“You are not expected to know everything and asking questions shows engagement and a desire to succeed,” he said. “Honestly, for entry-level professionals, the bar is relatively low. We know that we will have to train you once you start your full-time job or internship. We are looking for energetic and engaged individuals who we can train and who want to be productive team members.”
He said having a fear of making mistakes can keep auditing students and new professionals from making decisions on their own.
“We all make mistakes and you should accept this as a fact of life,” he advised. “The key isn’t to avoid making mistakes — it is being able to defend the decisions you make. Even if you come to a wrong decision, if I know your thought process, I am in a better position to train you as to the correct thought process. Now, this obviously needs to be executed with prudence. Don’t go out there just making decisions all ‘willy-nilly.’”
Finally, Paske emphasized a key trait of success, namely, the importance of going above and beyond.
“If you want to truly be successful, find some extracurricular activities like training, recruiting or other internal organizational initiatives that you enjoy and volunteer for those,” he said. “If you do not volunteer on your own, you are very likely to be voluntold to do things you don’t enjoy as much.”
