Northwestern business instructor selected to attend AICPA’s 2019 Leadership Academy

October 1, 2019

Jana Walker, instructor of business at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, is one of 38 Certified Public Accounts to be honored recently by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) as a member of the Leadership Academy’s 11th graduating class.

Walker was selected for the four-day Leadership Academy program based on her exceptional leadership skills and professional experience. The Academy will take place Oct. 6-10 in Durham, North Carolina.

Walker is a 2012 graduate of Northwestern with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a graduate of Oklahoma State University with a master’s degree in agricultural economics. Walker is a member of the Oklahoma Society of Certified Public Accountants (OSCPA) where she was awarded the 2016 Trailblazer Award for accountant innovation, professional deduction and community commitment.

Since 2017, Walker has been an accounting instructor for the Division of Business at Northwestern. She is also the sole owner of her public accounting firm Jana A. Walker, CPA, PLLC.

Walker said the AICPA Leadership Academy was designed to strengthen and expand the leadership skills of promising young professionals while they network with a peer group of talented and motivated CPAs.

The Leadership Academy features career-development workshops and sessions with some of the accounting profession’s most prominent influencers, including William (Bill) Reeb CPA, CITP, CGMA, chair of the American Institute of CPAs, Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, American Institute of CPAs president and CEO, Association of Certified Professional Accountants CEO, and Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA, executive vice president – Firm Services, Association of Certified Professional Accountants.

Participants were selected from public accounting firms of all sizes, business and industry, academia and consulting firms.

The 2019 Leadership Academy attendees were recommended by their employers, state CPA societies or both. Candidates submitted resumes and a statement explaining how participating in the Leadership Academy would impact them personally and professionally. They also wrote an essay on the topic “The future will bring significant changes to the accounting profession. What do leaders have to get right in order to successfully lead?”

To date, 351 CPAs have participated in the AICPA Leadership Academy, many of whom have gone on to take on leadership positions in their firms, businesses and volunteer organizations.

More information about the AICPA Leadership Academy is available online.

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CONTACT FOR RELEASE
Erin Davis, University Relations Specialist
eedavis@nwosu.edu 580-327-8480