CPA.com is delighted to have Okorie Ramsey, Chair of the AICPA join Kalil and Kacee to discuss the big picture of what is happening in the accounting profession today and in the future. Get a unique insight into the perspectives and what drives Okorie Ramsey as he discusses:

·       What should we be thinking about as the impact of tech continues to accelerate and our agility becomes more important than ever

·       The importance of upskilling and reskilling for the next era of the accounting profession – skills we need now and will need soon

·       What the next generation is looking for from their employers and workplace and the cultural shifts that are reshaping public accounting

·       In the digital intelligence age, how do we build innovation and transformation into the fabric of our culture

·       Maintaining innovation momentum and viewing it as a journey and not a box to check

·       Why firms need a Chief Innovation Officer – someone in charge of innovation and what’s next

·       The importance of the art of story telling to break down and explain complex and nuanced concepts

·       Ways we can make the profession more intentionally accessible to a wider variety of people of make DEIB a differentiator

Let us know what you think about this and future podcasts by writing to digitalcpapodcast@hq.cpa.com

A little bit about Okorie Ramsey, CPA, CGMA, PMP, NACD.DC

Okorie L. Ramsey, CPA, CGMA, PMP, NADC.CD, is the Chair of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and Chair of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (Association).

Throughout his career, Ramsey has served in several AICPA volunteer roles: the AICPA Board of Directors, the Association Board of Directors, the AICPA and Association Audit and Finance Committee Chair, the AICPA Investments Committee and AICPA Council.

In his current role at Kaiser Permanente, he oversees SOX and Model Audit Rule compliance, which includes strategy, testing and evaluating internal controls and assessing business risk to help ensure effective internal controls over financial reporting for the integrated health care enterprise.

Prior to this role, Ramsey served in various roles throughout his 14 years with Kaiser Permanente. Most recently, as Vice President, Finance Compliance Officer, he was responsible for establishing a finance compliance program to support compliance with regulatory and enforcement agencies as well as leading compliance investigations and co-developing remediation activities to address issues identified. He has also served as Interim Vice President of Tax and Interim Vice President of Operational Risk Management while also executing core Finance Compliance responsibilities.

He is a Lifetime member of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) and won NABA’s Inaugural Core Values award in 2022. He also previously held roles as Past President of the California Society of CPAs Education Foundation Board of Trustees and Past Chairman of the Accounting Career Awareness Program, San Francisco Bay Area and is also a former adjunct professor for San Francisco State University’s Master of Business Administration program.

Ramsey has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from San Francisco State University, and a Kaiser Permanente Executive Leadership Program Certificate from Harvard Business School.