Ellison-Taylor for ICAC conference

• May 01 2019
• http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-observer/ellison-taylor-for-icac-conference_162953

The organisers of the 37th Annual Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean Conference have added Kimberly Ellison-Taylor to their impressive list of speakers, which already includes international best-selling author, Stephen MR Covey as the event's keynote speaker. The conference is slated for June 20 to 22 at Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, under the theme 'Navigating Global Disruption: Creating Opportunities'.

Ellison-Taylor, the global accounting strategy director for Oracle Corporation — the California-based American multinational software and technology powerhouse — is one of the most powerful names in accounting in the continental United States. She has had a distinguished and outstanding career, including as the first African American chairperson for the near century-plus-old American Institute of CPAs (AICPA).

She is also a past chairman of the Association of Certified Professional Accountants, the world's largest accountancy body of more than 670,000 members in over 180 countries.

From the streets of inner-city Baltimore to the top of the accounting and finance profession, Ellison-Taylor's story is one of inspiration detailing the importance of what she calls life's “ABCs” — attitude; belief in one's self; and courage to act with compassion, take chances, and to be different.

“My path is a testament to the power of high expectations,” said Ellison-Taylor, who exhorts her colleague accounting professionals to always demand more from themselves, no matter their achievements.”

Ellison-Taylor, who was named one of the most powerful women in accounting in 2018 by the reputable publication, Accounting Today, earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Maryland, a master ofbusiness administration (MBA) at Loyola University, and a master's in information technology at Carnegie Mellon University.

Asked what advice she would give to female college students about the opportunities for women in the accounting profession, Ellison-Taylor answered: