AICPA National Commission on Diversity & Inclusion
The AICPA National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion (NCDI) was formed in 2012 to be champions that influence the accounting profession to make diversity and inclusion a priority in the areas of recruitment, certification, and advancement of ethnic minorities.
The NCDI accomplishes their mission by:
- Identifying challenges ethnic minorities face in the profession.
- Developing solutions and innovative practices that address the challenges.
- Maximizing opportunities of having a more diverse and inclusive profession.
The vision of the NCDI is to create a seamless handoff of students from the pipeline to the profession, and ensure retention and advancement. They work to accomplish this through three profession-wide goals:
Goal 1 – Students – Increase the pipeline of ethnic minorities enrolling and graduating from accounting programs, earning the CPA credential, and ensure their successful transition into the profession.
Goal 2 – Educators – Equip ethnic minority serving educators with the tools and training required to teach diverse future CPAs.
Goal 3 – Professionals – (1) Increase ethnic minority representation in the profession through credentialing, conference participation and committee appointments. (2) Support professionals focused on improving D&I in the accounting profession by providing impactful D&I training and volunteer opportunities.
Goal 4 – Firms – (1) Assist firms in the development of effective diversity and inclusion programs. (2) Assist firms in improving retention and advancement of ethnic minorities.
The NCDI can consists of representatives from minority professional affinity groups, CPA firms, state CPA societies and leaders from business and industry, government and education.
NCDI 2020 Roster:
Accounting Association Representatives
Ernie Almonte, CPA
Partner, RSM
President, AICPA Foundation
Jenny Okonkwo MBA FCMA (UK) FP&A CGMA CPA, CMA
Founder, Black Female Accountants Network
Partner Representative – CIMA
Accounting Educator Representative
Michael Clement
KPMG Centennial Professor of Accounting and Department Chair
University of Texas Austin
Accounting Firm Representatives (Big 4)
Ken Bouyer
Americas Director, Inclusiveness Recruiting
EY
Elena Richards
Talent Management & Minority Initiatives Leader
PwC LLP
Tori J. Farmer
Executive Director, Inclusion & Diversity
KPMG LLP
Tony Torres, CPA
Audit and Assurance Chief Inclusion Officer
Deloitte LLP
Accounting Firm Representatives (Large, Medium, & Small)
Richard Caturano, CPA, CGMA
National Leader of Culture Diversity and Inclusion, RSM
Past Chairman, AICPA
NCDI Chair
Jessica Velazquez, CPA, CFE
Managing Partner
Indiva Advisors LLP
Lisa Myers
Boyer & Ritter LLC, Principal, Chair – Forensic, Litigation & Consulting
Past President of Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA)
Past member of AICPA Council
Business & Industry Representative
Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, CPA, CGMA
Executive Director, Finance Thought Leadership, Oracle
Past Chairman, AICPA
NCDI Vice-Chair
Affinity Group Representatives
Anna Mok
Partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP
Partner Representative – ASCEND
Edilberto Ortiz, CPA
Managing Partner, E.C. Ortiz & Co. LLP
Partner Representative – NCPACA
Damien Rivera
CEO, ALPFA
Partner Representative – ALPFA
Walter J. Smith, CPA
President and CEO, NABA
Partner Representative – NABA
Center for Accounting Education Advisory Board Representative
Frank Ross, CPA
Director, Center for Accounting Education
Howard University
State CPA Society Representative
Todd Schapiro
President and CEO
Illinois CPA Society
