Jeannie Patton 

Jeannie Patton is the Vice President, Students, Academics and Membership for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Her responsibilities include overseeing the AICPA’s programs to recruit students into the accounting profession, encouraging accounting graduates to pass the CPA exam, serving the needs of young CPAs, and promoting the recruitment and long-term retention of AICPA members. These efforts include the Start Here, Go Places campaign (www.startheregoplaces.com), aimed at building awareness and understanding of the CPA profession among high school and pre-college students, This Way to CPA campaign (www.thiswaytocpa.com), aimed at college accounting majors and CPA examination candidates, the Young CPA Network (www.aicpa.org/YoungCPANetwork) and the AICPA Leadership Academy. Jeannie also oversees the activities of the AICPA Foundation, the Accounting Doctoral Scholarship, scholarship and diversity efforts.

In addition, Patton supervises the Institute’s annual survey, Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Account Recruits, as well as initiatives directed towards minorities. She serves as a Director of the International Innovation Network in international associations for professional accountancy membership organizations. Prior to joining the AICPA in July 2008, Patton served as chief executive officer of the Utah Association of CPAs, whom she worked for since 1981.

During her tenure with the Utah Association, she was highly active in the AICPA. She most recently was a member of the National CPA Financial Literacy Commission, which directs the profession’s 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy effort (www.360financialliteracy.org) and the Feed the Pig campaign (www.feedthepig.org).

From 1996–1999, she led the CPA Vision Project, an AICPA initiative which created a roadmap for the future of the CPA profession. She has served on various other Institute committees and subcommittees and was a trustee for the AICPA Foundation.

In 1999, Patton became the first recipient of the AICPA Distinguished Service Award. Patton is past president of the national CPA Society Executives Association (CPA/SEA) and served as a peer reviewer for other state societies. She was a member of the Advisory Board for the School of Accountancy at Utah State University. She has been named three times as one of the top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting by Accounting Today.