The American Institute of CPAs and CPA Practice Advisor have recognized 25 leaders in the accounting profession with the 2019 Most Powerful Women in Accounting Award.
These women represent a broad spectrum of roles and perspectives within the profession, including executives from Top 100 CPA firms and Fortune 500 companies, small to midsize firm partners, state society leaders and consultants. In addition, members of CPA Canada were eligible for recognition for the first time.
The awards were created by CPA Practice Advisor and are jointly administered by the AICPA. The recognition came during the AICPA ENGAGE conference in Las Vegas June 12.
“This recognition of women leaders in the accounting profession shines a bright light on the role models and the inspiration needed by women finding their way in the profession and those who are considering accounting as a career,” says editor-in-chief Gail Perry.
A group of independent judges selected the award recipients, using the following criteria:
- Demonstrates she is a driving force in creating a culture of innovation or excellence within her organization or helped, as a vendor, to develop technologies that empower firms to be more productive and profitable
- Reached a level of management and ownership within her company, with demonstrable impact on its success
- Actively mentors those following in her footsteps
“We received substantially more nominations in 2019 than a year ago and it was a strong group of women,” says Jacquelyn H. Tracy, chair of the AICPA Women’s Initiatives Committee (WIEC). “Asking our judges to choose among a fabulous nominee pool is a good problem to have as we start to see more women leaders rising in our profession.”
The 2019 winners are:
- Tommye Barie, senior consulting shareholder, Succession Institute, LLC
- Samantha Bowling, partner with Garbelman Winslow, CPAs
- Danielle Supkis Cheek, director of entrepreneurial advisory services, PKF Texas
- Susan Coffey, executive vice president of public practice, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants
- Lynne Doughtie, U.S. chairman and CEO, KPMG
- Sarah Elliott, principal and co-founder, Intend2Lead, LLC
- Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, global strategy leader for the cloud business group, Oracle
- Cathy Engelbert, retired CEO of Deloitte US and incoming commissioner of WNBA
- Tracey Golden, AICPA vice chair and an audit partner with Deloitte
- Kelly Grier, U.S. chairman and managing partner and Americas managing partner, EY
- Kacee Johnson, strategic advisor, CPA.com, and founder, Blue Ocean Principles
- Elizabeth Pittelkow Kittner, controller, Litera Microsystems
- Samantha Mansfield, director of professional development and community, CPA.com
- Gail Perry, editor-in-chief, CPA Practice Advisor
- Amy Pitter, president and CEO, Massachusetts Society of CPAs
- Natasha Schamberger, president and CEO, Kansas Society of CPAs
- Lindsay Stevenson, founder and CEO, Origin Evolution, LLC
- Joy Thomas, president and CEO, CPA Canada
- Michelle Loyd Thompson, CEO and firm managing partner, Cherry Bekaert LLP
- Jacquelyn Tracy, partner, Mandel & Tracy, LLC
- Amy Vetter, creator, The B3 Method Institute
- Jennifer Warawa, executive vice president of partners, accountants and alliances, Sage
- Sandra Wiley, president, Boomer Consulting, Inc.
- Jennifer Wilson, co-founder and partner, ConvergenceCoaching, LLC
- Candace Wright, director, accounting and assurance services group, Postlethwaite & Netterville
