Orumé Agbeyegbe-Hays, a Nigerian-American certified public accountant located in New York, has been named one of the 25 winners of the 2022 America’s Most Powerful Women in Accounting Award.

Hays’ notable contribution to the US accounting profession earned her a spot in the elite club. She was recently chosen chairperson of the Executive Committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Private Companies Practice Section.

The renowned CPA who founded and serves as managing director of Hays CPA LLC is the first sole practitioner and the first female Black CPA to chair the Executive Committee of the Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS). The position is for a period of three years.

Concurrently, the Most Powerful Women in Accounting Award recipients for 2022 have been revealed by the AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor Magazine.

The Most Powerful Women in Accounting Award is given yearly since 2012, and among the requirements for selection is that the recipient be an inspiration for the development of an inclusive, innovative, and high-achieving culture. If she is a vendor, then she has contributed to the creation of the tools and technology that will enable businesses to operate more profitably and productively.

AICPA President Barry Melancon discussed the significance of the America’s Most Powerful Women in Accounting Award, describing it as a forum for honoring female CPAs who have excelled and presenting them as role models who are already motivating upcoming generations of female professionals.

We all know that women make up a large portion of the best accounting experts. However, they don’t always get the credit they merit. For this reason, the CPA Advisory Magazine and the AICPA partnered to establish the Most Powerful Women in Accounting Award. This award has been a well-deserved platform for highlighting women who have left a lasting legacy in the accounting field for more than ten years, the speaker stated.

Hays is the current president of the Manhattan/Bronx Chapter of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, in addition to serving as an executive committee member and director at large.

Orumé Agbeyegbe Hays, an adjunct lecturer at the College of Staten Island (CSI)’s Lucille and Jay Chazanoff School of Business, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Benin in Nigeria. She graduated from the D’Amore McKim School of Business at Northeastern University in Massachusetts with a Master of Science in Taxation and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from CSI, City University of New York (CUNY).