Illinois CPA Society Honors Richard Cerda with its 2012 Emerging Leader in Advancing Diversity Award

CHICAGO, June 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Illinois CPA Society recently honored Richard Cerda, CPA, Senior Manager with Ernst & Young LLP, with its 2012 Emerging Leader in Advancing Diversity Award for his commitment to fostering a more inclusive and diverse accounting community and his role in promoting diversity in both his professional and personal endeavors.

During his 13 years in public accounting, Cerda founded Crowe Horwath's Latino People Resource Network and helped validate that diversity can help firms grow by bringing in new business opportunities from his diverse network, including the largest proposal in Crowe's 70-year history. He also introduced the firm to ALPFA, the largest Latino association for business professionals and students with chapters nationwide and over 19,000 members. The ALPFA partnership's success led to the creation of relationships with other diverse professional organizations, including NABA and ASCEND.

In addition to his contributions within his professional career, Cerda has also dedicated a significant amount of effort to improving the Chicagoland accounting professional community.  From 2007 through 2011, he served as President and Executive Vice President of ALPFA Chicago. In part due to his leadership as President, the Chicago Chapter grew exponentially from 451 to 1,006 members and proved its long-term sustainability by hiring the Chapter's first Executive Director. As a result of these accomplishments, the chapter has won ALPFA National's Midwest Chapter of the Year Award for the last three consecutive years.

A resident of Bolingbrook, Illinois, Cerda received a BS degree in Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a certified public accountant and a member of the AICPA, Illinois CPA Society, Financial Executives International and the University of Illinois Alumni Association.  He believes that, based on the changing demographics of the country, providing accounting professionals of all backgrounds and cultures with a strong foundation and authentic support is critical to the future of the profession and the success of accounting firms.

About the Illinois CPA Society
The Illinois CPA Society, founded in 1903, is the fourth largest state CPA Society in the nation, with more than 24,000 members. It is the premier professional organization that represents CPAs in Illinois. During its over 100 years of existence, the Society has advanced the highest ethical and financial standards of the profession, and has been a leader in educating the public on financial issues.

SOURCE Illinois CPA Society