The 2022 Most Powerful Women in Accounting Announced

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and CPA Practice Advisor have announced the recipients of the 2022 Most Powerful Women in Accounting awards, which recognize professionals for their significant contributions to the field. The awards were presented during a ceremony at the AICPA ENGAGE conference at the Aria Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, on June 8, 2022.

Women are increasingly becoming the face of public accounting and financial management. The most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021: https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm) found that 62 percent of all accountant and auditor roles are now held by female professionals. Women are also increasingly assuming leadership roles within firms. While still only about 27% of firm partners and principals are women, they now account for a third of management committee roles, about double that of a decade ago, according to Catalyst.org’s 2020 data (https://tinyurl.com/3t5pyw8h).

As new generations of accounting professionals aspire to leadership roles in the profession, it is inspiring to look to those who have attained those ranks ahead of them. The AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor partner each year to honor those professionals as the Most Powerful Women in Accounting, women who have emerged as the most influential leaders shaping the profession. While many are directly engaged in client-serving practice, others help lead the profession through professional organizations, as consultants, or in media, academia, technology development or other influential roles.

Qualifications for selection for the Most Powerful Women in Accounting Awards, which have been presented annually since 2012, include:

She has been the driving force to create a culture of excellence, innovation, and inclusion. If she is a vendor, she has helped to develop the technologies and solutions that will empower organizations to be more productive and profitable.
She is one of the top leaders in the accounting profession and her leadership has had a demonstrable effect upon the accomplishments of the organization with which she is associated.
She is a mentor, sponsor, and a role model, someone who stands out in her ability to encourage and help those around her thrive and flourish.
The work she does is influential and is having a positive impact on the accounting profession as a whole.

The 2022 Most Powerful Women in Accounting:

Lara Abrash, CPA – Deloitte & Touche, LLP
Tommye Barie, CPA – Succession Institute
Arianna Campbell, LSS Black Belt – Boomer Consulting
Erin Collins, J.D. – IRS National Taxpayer Advocate
Patricia Cummings, CPA – Citrin Cooperman, LLP
Sarah Elliott, CPA, PCC – Intend2Lead LLC
Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, CPA.CITP, CGMA, CISA – KET Solutions, LLC
Janet Foutty – Deloitte LLP
Kelly Grier, CPA – Ernst & Young
Orumé Hays, CPA, CGMA, MST – Hays CPA
Allison Herren Lee, J.D. – U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission
Dawnella Johnson, CPA – Crowe LLP
Lexy Kessler, CPA, CGMA – Aronson LLC
Tamera Loerzel – ConvergenceCoaching, LLC
Carla McCall, CPA, CGMA – AAFCPAs
Guylaine Saint Juste, SHRM-SCP, CAE – NABA Inc.
Elizabeth Pittelkow Kittner, CPA.CITP, CGMA, DTM – ILTA
Kecia Williams Smith, CPA, Ph.D. – North Carolina A&T State University
Danielle Supkis Cheek, CPA, CFE, CVA – MindBridge AI
Michelle L. Thompson, CPA – Cherry Bekaert LLP
Amy Vetter, CPA.CITP, CGMA – The B Method Institute
Tracey Walker, CCD-AP, COB – RSM US, LLP
Sandra Wiley – Boomer Consulting
Erica Williams, J.D. – Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
Jennifer Wilson – ConvergenceCoaching LLC

Nominations for the 2022 awards were open to the public on the AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor websites, with final selection of recipients determined by an independent panel of judges. Nominations for 2023 will open in November 2022 at the Women’s Global Leadership Conference..