NextGen Week: Where the Profession is Headed: Trends Shaping Tomorrow Roundtable

Calvin Harris, Jr., CPA, is the CEO of The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYCPA). He also serves as Executive Director of the Foundation for Accounting Education, Inc., and the Moynihan Scholarship Fund, Inc. He is Treasurer of the Society’s CPA PAC, Inc. A graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., Harris began his career as an auditor at Arthur Andersen LLP, later serving as the 24th Chairman of the Board and National President of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA). Before coming to the NYSSCPA, Harris was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the historic National Urban League (NUL), based in New York City. Harris has over 30 years of executive-level experience in working with complex organizations.

Sean is a professor at the City University of New York – Lehman College. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance, where he chairs the Accounting Work Group. Sean sits on the Advisory Board of Gilded, a TechStars ’19 company and AICPA-CPA.com startup accelerator participant, and serves as a Strategic Advisor to the Central Bank Digital Currency Think Tank. Sean's award winning research and thought leadership have been recognized and honored by the AICPA. AAA. NJCPA, NYSSCPA, IMA, and CPA Practice Advisor as a thought leader in the profession, with a focus on emerging technologies and innovative thinking. Sean is also the immediate past chairperson of the NJCPA's Emerging Technologies Interest Group (#NJCPATech), where he hosts the NJCPA TechTalk Podcast, and is the President-Elect of the NYSSCPA Manhattan-Bronx Chapter. He has also served as a Visiting Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research.

Aisha Jordan has over twenty years of experience in external reporting, strategic initiatives, governance, stakeholder management, and process improvement. She spent the first half of her career in public accounting, primarily focused on real estate operations and investing. She then transitioned into private equity leading financial reporting and accounting of affordable housing projects for several years. For the past five years she has been exploring several roles within the Banking & Capital Markets industry primarily at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in financial reporting and has recently pivoted into sustainability reporting and risk management. She is currently a Global Sustainable Finance Officer at Morgan Stanley leading voluntary reporting of environmental, social and governance initiatives. Aisha holds a B.B.A in Accounting from Hofstra University and is a licensed CPA. She recently obtained a Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting credential sponsored by the IFRS Foundation and a certificate in Sustainable Finance & ESG Investing from NYU. Aisha has a passion for and champions financial empowerment by volunteering with Junior Achievement in schools, and demystifying finances and taxes for her fellow community members and small business owners. She lives and works in New York City and is an avid traveler who finds adventures and animals native to wherever she goes. She also enjoys spending quality time with her friends and family, especially her niece.

Akshay Shrimanker is the founder and CEO of Shay CPA P.C. He started helpingentrepreneurs in New York City’s fledgling tech startup scene in 2009 with their taxesand bookkeeping. At first, it was something he did part-time whilst working full-time at WNET – Channel 13 (NYC’s PBS station). Soon his passion for working withentrepreneurs led him to create Shay CPA P.C in January of 2014 and devote 100% ofhis time to working with entrepreneurs and startups.Apart from Shay CPA P.C, Akshay is also the Past-President of the New York StateSociety of Certified Public Accountants – Queens/Brooklyn Chapter, and previouslyChaired the NYSSCPA Emerging Technology and Entrepreneurship Committee (ETEC). He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in New York State and has a Bachelor ofBusiness Administration Degree in Accounting from CUNY-Baruch College.