Articles by: Penny Popps

Penny Popps

Penny N. Popps recently joined the Graduate School USA instructor team in early 2025, teaching in the area of Audit. She is an exceptional leader with over 20 years of private and public sector experience in accounting, audit, compliance, risk management, fraud, and internal controls. A recipient of numerous public service, recognition, and performance awards, she is committed to developing the next generation of financial management and audit professionals.

During her nearly 15 years as a Federal Government Public Servant, Penny held several pivotal transformational leadership roles, including serving as the first Fraud Risk Manager at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), where she successfully helped mature its Fraud Risk Management Program.

She holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington, an MBA from Texas Woman’s University, an Advanced Technical Certificate in Professional Accountancy from Dallas College, and multiple professional credentials, including Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Internal Controls Auditor (CICA), Department of Defense Financial Management Certification, and an ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC) Certification.

Prior to her tenure at SBA, Penny spent more than six years at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), managing projects that advanced the delivery of affordable, safe, and decent housing while safeguarding HUD programs from fraud, waste, and abuse. She led multiple audit teams in conducting complex quality control reviews of independent public accounting firms, CIGIE reviews, financial assessments, staffing studies, and annual OMB A-123 risk assessment reviews for the Accountability, Integrity, & Risk (AIR) Program.

During her federal career, Penny also served as the Branch Chief of Financial Reporting at the DHS ICE OCFO, Office of FM–Financial Service Center. She oversaw the operations of the Payroll and Fund Balance with Treasury Units for all DHS ICE components, which processed approximately $5.2 billion in payroll transactions and reconciled $10.1 billion in cash transactions, significantly improving financial management operations.

She also led and supervised audit teams at the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), recovering millions in questioned costs from contractors. In state government, she recovered millions in sales and use tax dollars owed to the Texas State Comptroller of Public Accounts, ensuring taxpayer funds were used responsibly and efficiently.

Penny’s private-sector experience includes helping build successful internal audit divisions at major corporations such as Essilor Group and Fossil Group. Throughout her career, she has continued to expand her expertise while paying it forward by mentoring, coaching, and training professionals entering the accounting, audit, compliance, risk management, fraud, and internal controls fields.

Deeply committed to service, Penny is passionate about her philanthropic and volunteer work, especially with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the Junior League of Washington. Her mission is to provide service to all mankind throughout her career, retirement, and life. She currently resides in Alexandria, VA, and enjoys spending her leisure time reading.