US Accounting honours two exceptional 2 Young Nigerians

In 1921, 25 years after the first certified public accountant (CPA) certificate was granted in the United States, John W. Cromwell Jr. became the first Black CPA.

He opened a door through which thousands of Black accountants would eventually pass.

With 2021 marking the 100th anniversary of Cromwell’s landmark achievement, the Black CPA Centennial—a year-long national awareness campaign recognizing Black CPAs in the United States and pushing for more progress to be made in achieving diversity, equity, and inclusion in the CPA profession—is proud to recognize 40 outstanding Black CPAs with its special 40 Under 40 Black CPA Award.

Kenneth Omoruyi is a Nigerian-born University of Benin Accounting graduate who earned his master’s degree in Business Taxation from the University of Southern California, Leventhal School of Accounting.

He worked with Schlumberger, the world’s largest oil field services company, within their North America corporate accounting and tax division. Kenneth is the Managing Partner of CKO CPAs & Advisors – a full-service accounting firm in Houston, Texas. Kenneth is also an adjunct professor of Accounting at Lonestar College and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Chinedu Iwuora is an Audit & Assurance Manager at Deloitte, Chicago. He is an accounting project manager leading cross-functional and multicultural teams from finance and operations to execute financial statement audits for global organizations. He was named the winner of the 2019 Lester H. McKeever Jr. Emerging Leader in Advancing Diversity Award.

Chinedu earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Chowan University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United States, the CPA is a license to provide accounting services to the public.

It is awarded by each of the 50 states for practice in that state. Additionally, all states except Hawaii have passed mobility laws to allow CPAs from other states to practice in their state. State licensing requirements vary, but the minimum standard requirements include passing the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination, 150 semester units of college education, and one year of accounting related experience.