Ferrum College Announces Laura Hodges Sprouse ’97 as a Panelist for the 2024 Gentry Locke Lecture Series “Demystifying AI: The truth…a Terrible and Terrific Future”

4 weeks ago June Hunt
Headshot of Laura Hodges SprouseFERRUM, VA, March 21, 2024 – Gentry Locke and Ferrum College are pleased to announce Laura Hodges Sprouse, CPA as a panelist for the 2024 Gentry Locke Lecture Series. The event will be hosted at the College on Wednesday, April 10 at 7pm. The spring presentation titled “Demystifying AI: The Truth…a Terrible and Terrific Future” will focus on artificial intelligence, and its impact on industry, the future of jobs, and what higher education needs to consider as it prepares the students of today and tomorrow.

Sprouse is a partner and Chief Operations Officer of Brown Edwards CPAs with over twenty years of accounting experience. In her role as COO, she provides leadership to the firm’s administrative teams including information technology, Human Resources, finance, business development, and spearheads many of the firm’s special projects. In January 2024, she was announced as the incoming CEO and Partner at Brown Edwards.

Sprouse received her B.S. in Accounting, Finance and Decision SupportSystems from Ferrum College in 1997. She is a Certified Public Accountant(CPA) and a member of the American Institute of Certified PublicAccountants (AICPA) and the Virginia Society of Certified PublicAccountants (VSCPA).
Sprouse and the other panelists are experts representing a variety of fields including accounting, law, engineering, national security, and the military, as well as corporate finance and operations. Kevin Holt and Jessiah Hulle will host the event on behalf of Gentry Locke Attorneys.

College President Dr. Mirta Martin emphasized the value of having a financial expert on the panel and available to speak with students for the April 10th event. “We are thrilled and honored to welcome Laura Spouse, CPA and proud Ferrum College alumna, as a distinguished panelist to shed light on the transformative power of artificial intelligence in the realm of accounting. AI is reshaping the finance industry and offering CPAs new tools and capabilities to enhance their effectiveness, improve decision-making, and deliver greater value to their clients. With her unparalleled expertise and deep understanding of this intersection between AI and finance, Laura brings invaluable insights that will enhance our understanding of the business landscape and highlight how our students can prepare themselves to enter the financial industry of tomorrow. We are eager to welcome her home to Ferrum College as Laura and her fellow panelists share their wisdom and expertise on this vital topic.”

For event details and directions to Ferrum College, please visit: https://www.ferrum.edu/event-page/gentry-locke-speaker-series/