Center for Accounting Transformation Names Public Accounting Advisory Board Members for 2022

Eight innovation leaders in the accounting profession will serve as advisers for an organization created to help accounting firms create roadmaps to- successfully navigate the increasingly complex changes in the accounting profession. 

The Center for Accounting Transformation, which was created to provide accounting professionals with a framework for using innovations ready for adoption, named the members of its Public Accounting Advisory Board to counsel on strategic direction, services, and program planning.  

“We recognize the value and importance of engaging a variety of perspectives on the accounting industry in discussing and addressing issues facing accounting firms. This Advisory Board brings together a collective of diverse experience, innovation, and insight that will help align the efforts of the Center to complement and elevate the work being done by other industry associations, consultants, and vendors” said Donny Shimamoto, CPA, CITP, CGMA, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies, a CPA firm focused on organizational development and innovation management for small businesses, middle-market organizations, and nonprofits. Shimamoto, who also formed the Center, added, “As an organization that prides itself on embracing transformation, the Center has advisory boards with innovative leaders within the profession who enable us to seize the opportunities and nurture the seeds of transformation in collaboration with the next generation of accounting, technology and association leaders.”  

Advisory Board members include:  

• Sona Akmakjian, CPA; Senior Director, Global Accounting Strategic Partnerships, Avalara
  A CPA with 29 years of transactional tax services and automation experience, Akmakjian is recognized for her deep industry expertise.  

• Victor A. Amaya, CPA; Director of Partner Fulfillment, Botkeeper 
  Amaya has served as Chair of the Board for the Colorado State Society of CPAs, as member of the PCPS Executive Committee with the AICPA, and is a current member of the AICPA’s council.  

• Jessica Cormier, CPA; Vice President of Talent Development, Allinial Global
  A 2014 graduate of the AICPA Leadership Academy, Cormier has more than 17 years of experience in business leadership, fiscal management, and public accounting. She is a 2017 recipient of the Louisiana Society of CPAs’ Women to Watch Emerging Leader Award.  

• Sarah Elliott, CPA; Co-Founder and Principal, Intend2Lead 
  Elliott has been recognized as one of the Most Powerful Women in Accounting by the AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor for the past four years and as one of the Top 50 Women in Accounting by Practice Ignition.   

• Kari Hipsak, CPA, CGMA; Senior Manager, Firm Services Team, AICPA
  Hipsak leads PCPS resource creation for accounting and auditing emerging issues, manages PCPS IT resource development, including cybersecurity, oversees the G400 initiative, and maintains the AICPA alliance with firm associations and networks.  

• Mike Maksymiw, CPA, CGMA, MSA; Executive Director, Firm Foundation, Aprio
  Growing up in a sole practitioner household, Maksymiw worked for 16 years at 3-5 partner firms, and knows firsthand the knowledge and wisdom gained from working in an environment where you see everything about a client, from the shoebox through the financial statements. 

• Jennifer Scott, Founder, CEO and Chief People Officer, HireEffect
  Scott’s specialties include employing conscious business and positive leadership tools to improve employee engagement and retention and helping companies create and sustain the kind of culture that attracts top talent.  

 The group met in the fourth quarter of 2021 to discuss the biggest issues facing the accounting industry. Learn more about the Public Accounting Advisory Board for the Center and read about their discussion in CPA Trendlines. 

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The Center for Accounting Transformation provides professionals with a framework for utilizing innovations that are ready for adoption, the training and resources necessary to apply the innovations, and an opportunity to engage the talent and community needed to further the pursuit of innovative accounting practices that drive responsible and mindful business performance.

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