Five California Women Receive Awards For Excelling in Accounting, Volunteering
Apr 24, 2015, 04:00 ET
SAN FRANCISCO, April 24, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A Vietnamese refugee, an executive recruiter and the only Latina California lottery commissioner are among five women who today received Women to Watch Awards from the California Society of CPAs (CalCPA.org).
The women were honored during a daylong Women's Leadership Forum at Hotel Nikko.
CalCPA presented Kim Le, CPA, CIA, with its Trailblazer Award, which recognizes an individual with a story so inspiring, it deserves its own category. The founder and CEO of A2Q2 in Redwood City, Le is a Vietnam refugee who grew up in Minnesota. Her firm's services include Sarbanes-Oxley compliance initiatives, internal audits and mergers, and acquisitions due diligence and integration.
Le is heavily involved in community activities, including working with and speaking on behalf of Ascend Leadership, a nonprofit organization for Pan-Asian business professionals.
Tapped for the Emerging Leader award was Katie McConnell, CPA, director of recruitment and development for Gallina LLP in Roseville. Besides launching Gallina's executive recruitment service for its clients, McConnell has mentored accounting students at her alma mater, California State University, Sacramento. She regularly speaks at colleges throughout the Western United States about the accounting profession and recruiting.
Three women received the Experience Leader Award: Jennifer Farr, CPA, shareholder and lead managing director at CBIZ & Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. in Irvine; Bertha Minnihan, CPA, a partner with and national practice leader in employee benefit plans for Moss Adams LLP in San Francisco; and Connie M. Perez, CPA, a partner with Brown Armstrong Accountancy Corp. in Pasadena.
Farr specializes in providing audit and tax services to charitable organizations, foundations and government agencies. In addition to her duties with CBIZ, she is the chair of the financial review committee of the United Way of Orange County. In 2013 she started monthly Mission Luncheons, a program at her office in which local nonprofit executives discuss their mission and seek volunteers from the firm's employees.
Minnihan is a recognized authority on employee benefit plans and has frequently spoken about the topic at national and regional conferences. She currently serves as chair of the annual CalCPA Employee Benefit Plans Audit Conference. Minnihan also is an active community volunteer, including currently serving on the finance committee for the Catholic Community Foundation of Santa Clara County and on the advisory committee for the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University.
Perez serves on the American Institute of CPAs' National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion. She also is the only Latina commissioner on the California State Lottery Commission and is a board member and treasurer for the California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce.
In 2012, Perez founded the first career day at her former grammar school, Woodville Elementary, Porterville, where 14 speakers shared their stories with students predominantly from the nearby labor camp where her family once lived.
CalCPA selected the experienced and emerging leader recipients in partnership with the American Institute of CPAs and the AICPA's Women's Initiatives Executive Committee. The Trailblazer Award was presented solely by CalCPA.
Criteria for both the emerging leader and experienced leader categories included community or public service. Candidates for the Emerging Leader Award also were evaluated on their demonstration of leadership, contributions to the profession, creation and implementation of unique initiatives and involvement with educational institutions.
Additional criteria for the experienced leader category included authorship of articles, contributions to the CPA profession and mentorship of other professionals.
About CalCPA
Headquartered in San Mateo, Calif., the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA.org) is the nation's largest state accounting organization and the largest CPA association in California. It serves more than 40,000 members in public practice, private industry, education and government. Through CalCPA Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, CalCPA members provide financial literacy programs to high schools and community groups.
SOURCE California Society of CPAs