David Caster is the internal auditor at First Community Credit Union in Missouri. He recently took on the role of St. Louis Chapter Coordinator for ACUIA. He enjoys music, reading, and sports in his free time. David has a bachelor's degree in accounting and is pursuing CIA and CPA certifications. He sees auditing shifting to a more risk-based approach and adapting to changing risks as the biggest challenges. David advises new auditors to learn about their organization and plug into audit networks for support.

1. 24 | www.acuia.org | The Audit Report
{ACUIA news}
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT by Tabitha Ernst-Chadwick
For this issue I have the pleasure
of introducing David Caster.
David is the internal auditor at
First Community Credit Union
in Chesterfield, Missouri. David
recently took on the position of St.
Louis Chapter Coordinator.
David, before we get into the
business stuff, tell us about
yourself and your family.
I moved to Saint Louis, MO from
Pittsburgh, PA when I was in the
eighth grade. My wife is from Saint
Paul, MN and we met through
mutual friends in college. We will
be celebrating our tenth anniversary
this August. Our son Gavin is two
years old and loves cars, trucks, and
anything else with wheels.
What do you do for fun
(besides auditing of
course…)?
I enjoy all kinds of music and
discovering new bands. One of my
favorite venues in Saint Louis is The
Pageant, and I try to get out there a
few times each year to see interesting
acts.Iliketoread,mostlynon-fiction,
and usually get through one book a
month. Being from Pittsburgh, I’m a
big fan of the Steelers and Penguins,
David Caster
but I’ll take the Cardinals over the
Pirates any day.
Your football and hockey
allegiances demonstrate
that you are clearly very
intelligent (though I must
admit as a fellow Burgh-er, it
hurts just a little that you’ve
given up on the Pirates.) So,
tell us about your educational
background, certifications,
etc. What led you to auditing?
While still in my first few years
of branch management at First
Community Credit Union, I received
my Bachelor of Science in Accounting
from the University of Missouri, Saint
Louis. Our CEO knew about my
educational background, so when
our previous internal auditor left the
credit union in 2012, I graciously
accepted the new opportunity that
was offered. Since then, I have been
fortunate to see the internal audit
department grow from one to four
audit staff members. I am currently
pursuing a CIA certification, and
another goal of mine is to eventually
obtain a CPA certification.
What do you know now that
you wish you would have
known coming into the
industry?
It would have been nice to have had a
better understanding about some of
the fundamentals of auditing, such as
audit planning and documentation
standards, before coming into the
industry. These are the areas I try
to focus on first with my new staff,
especially audit planning. Audits
can become much more efficient
when you spend additional time in
the planning stage.
Efficiency can be an ongoing
challenge. What have you
found to be the most useful
tools in streamlining audit
processes, enhancing
efficiencies, and making
audit a value-added service?
Within the last few months, we have
implemented AutoAudit® software
from Thomson Reuters. While we
have just scratched the surface on
implementing all the features, the
software helps to better manage the
internal audit function by having a
central electronic location for our
work papers, monitoring progress on
specific audits, and tracking issues
and recommendations given to
management.

2. The Audit Report | www.acuia.org | 25
Favorite SPORTS TEAM:
Pittsburgh Steelers
Favorite FOOD:
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Favorite Band:
Radiohead
Favorite Book:
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People
Favorite Movie:
The Godfather
Favorite QUOTE:
“We are what we believe we
are.” -C.S. Lewis
FUN FACTS
ABOUT DAVID
It seems like our industry
is in a constant state of
fluctuation. What changes
have you experienced
during your tenure in
auditing? What do you see
as our biggest challenges?
I’m still relatively new to the world
of auditing, but I can see how it
has shifted to a more risk-based
approach. A lot of people still
think internal auditors just fill
out checklists and give a report on
what management got wrong. In
our current environment, internal
auditors play a key role in identifying
and communicating risks to
management.
The biggest challenge the industry
faces is the rapidly changing risk
environment. While new regulations
pose a challenge, there are other
evolvingthreats(suchascyber-attacks)
that continue to add more areas to the
audit universe. The challenge can be
overwhelming at times, but internal
auditors can overcome it by focusing
their efforts on the greatest risks to
the organization.
How do you manage your
department in this ever-
changing environment,
especially in terms of
choosing the right staff?
In addition to an attention for detail, I
look for individuals that have a desire
to learn and can adapt to change.
There are times when we are entering
an area that has never been audited
before or verifying compliance to a
new regulation. It’s important to
have a team that can learn new
concepts and understand the effects
on the organization. I also look
for individuals that can clearly
articulate audit results, so good
communication skills, especially in
writing, are very important.
Do you have any advice for
auditors who are just coming
into the field?
Use your free time wisely, because you
won’t have much of it. Take the time
to learn about the organization and
how it does business. Get plugged
into a network of audit professionals,
like the ACUIA, that can help with
some of the challenges that new
auditors face.
And last but definitely not
least, tell us about your ACUIA
experiences. What volunteer
opportunities have you
embracedintheorganization?
I’ve been a member of the ACUIA
since 2012 and been involved in
the local ACUIA group here in
Saint Louis from the beginning.
The biggest volunteer opportunity
I’ve embraced is in my new role as
Chapter Coordinator. It has helped
me become more active and fully
appreciate the benefits of membership
in the ACUIA. With this new role,
I look forward to becoming even
more active with the group and
promoting the ACUIA.
What ACUIA membership
benefits do you find most
rewarding?
The Interactive Audit Guide has
been a great resource. As a new
auditor, the sample audit programs
were integral in some of my first
few audits. Being a part of our local
chapter group has also been very
rewarding. I’ve learned so much
from our group discussions.
Thank you David!
I know our ACUIA friends will
enjoy getting to know you as
much as I did!