On Tuesday, June 6, 2023, at the ENGAGE Conference, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) in collaboration with CPA Practice Advisor magazine announced the 2023 Most Powerful Women in the Accounting Profession. The award, now in its eleventh year, was created to promote and support the success of women leaders as part of the AICPA’s broader mission of sustaining the profession.
Amongst these dynamic 2023 recipients is Kimi Ellen, CPA, co-founding and managing partner of Benford Brown & Associates, LLC in Chicago, IL. BB&A is the largest African American, woman-owned public accounting firm in the U.S. Headquartered in Chicago just blocks away from the Obama Presidential Center, BB&A has grown through the years and has squarely made its mark on the accounting profession.
In January 2022, Kimi Ellen assumed the position of the Board Chair for the Diverse Organization of Firms, the national organization of Black CPA and financial services firms. Founded in 1986, she is the first woman to hold this position. Under her tenure, the organization has grown to its highest membership level in over a decade, and she continues to provide leadership as the organization’s Chair, fostering member engagement and collaborations among the member firms.
Kimi Ellen has devoted a substantial portion of her 31-year career to providing audit, accounting, and consulting services to various Fortune 500 companies, governmental agencies, and nonprofit organizations. She is a member of various organizations including the National Association for Corporate Directors and is a board candidate currently completing the Deloitte Board Ready program and is enrolled in the Audit Committees in a New Era of Governance course at Harvard Business School.
