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AI Native Accounting Awards 2026

Meet the inaugural winners.

These firms and practitioners aren't talking about AI adoption. They're doing it with measurable results, real governance, and approaches the rest of the profession can learn from.

What the AINA Awards recognize

The AI Native Accounting Awards exist to recognize firms and practitioners who are doing the real work not piloting, not announcing for PR, not experimenting on the side. The winners are organizations and individuals who have moved AI into the core of how their work gets done, measured what changed, and built something the rest of the profession can actually learn from.

Each award category was designed to reflect a different dimension of what responsible AI adoption looks like in practice: the governance infrastructure that makes it sustainable, the implementation that proves it works, and the individual innovation that shows what's possible when one person decides to lead. Winners were evaluated by the AINA Advisory Council a group of respected leaders who reviewed all nominations and applied a consistent rubric focused on measurable outcomes, governance, and replicability.

What you see below is the inaugural class. It will not be the last.

Firm Award

AI Strategy & Governance

SMALL FIRM AWARD WINNER

CBIZ

Small Firm Award

AI Strategy & Governance

SMALL FIRM AWARD WINNER​

Financial Optics

Firm Award

AI Implementation

SMALL FIRM AWARD WINNER

Armanino

Individual Award

AI Innovation

Individual Award Winner

Angel Zhen, CPA

About the selection process​

Winners were selected by the AINA Advisory Council:​

Tom Hood, EVP

EVP, AICPA-CIMA
Tom Hood, CPA, CITR CGMA is currently the EVP Business Growth & Engagement for AICPA-CIMA and the Business Learning Institute, the largest association of certified professional accountants in the world, representing over 690,000 CPAs, CGMAs, and students. He was named in the top ten most influential people in accounting by Accounting Today Magazine for the twelfth year. In 2012 LinkedIn recruited Tom as one of their Top 100 Influencers and he now has a following of over 700,000. He is a member of Forbes Finance Council and was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame. He is the former CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs and former CFO of a highway construction company. He has a Master's in Finance from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Loyola University of Maryland. He lives in Baltimore with his wife Sharon.

Arianna Campbell, COO

COO, Boomer Consulting
Arianna Campbell is the Chief Operating Officer at Boomer Consulting, Inc., where she helps CPA firms lead transformative change by aligning people, process, and leadership. A nationally recognized speaker and one of Accounting Today's Top 100 Most Influential People, she facilitates peer communities that shape the future of firm leadership and operations. When she's not guiding change, Arianna is beach-hopping or volunteering with local nonprofits.

Barry Brown, Founder

Founder, EBITDA Advisors
Barry Brown is a seasoned technology executive and CPA with more than 30 years of experience in public accounting. He has served over 20 years as a CIO and 8 years as a COO, leading strategic technology initiatives, contract negotiations, and operational transformation. Barry specializes in helping firms navigate the evolving technology landscape, including A1 and automation, to drive efficiency, reduce costs, and maximize profitability through thoughtful, forward-looking leadership.

Amy Vetter, CEO

CEO, The B3 Method Institute
CPA, keynote speaker, technologist & board member, Amy has a vast background in technology that includes leading multiple CAS practices, being a corporate executive at Intuit, Sage Intacct and Xero, to now advising and consulting with FinTech companies and CAS practices on GTM and business strategy. Amy has received numerous recognitions including Top 100 Most Influential in Accounting and Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Accounting multiple years.

Joe Woodard, CEO

CEO, Woodard Consulting Group
Joe Woodard is a respected author, consultant, business coach, and national speaker. He has trained well over 125,000 accountants, bookkeepers, and business advisors on practice development, technology trends, and modern firm strategy.

Ellen Choi, CEO

CEO, Edgefield Group
Ellen is the CEO and Founder of Edgefield Group, a consultancy helping CPA firms drive growth and efficiency through A1 enablement. A Stanford alumna and Harvard MBA, she began her career at Google, where outdated tools inspired her focus on building modern technology for accountants. She co-founded Aiwyn, a technology company serving 800+ firms by automating practice management and tax workflows. Ellen was named Accounting Today's 2025 Top 100 Most Influential and a 2025 Most Powerful Woman in Accounting by CPA Practice Advisor, and serves on the AICPA ENGAGE TECH+ Planning Committee and CPA.com Digital CPA Advisory Committee.

Randy Johnston

Founder, Network Management Group, Inc.
Randy is recognized by Accounting Today Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting—his twenty-first consecutive year on that list. Randy also writes a monthly column and hosts a weekly podcast for The CPA Practice Advisor, contributes to the Journal of Accountancy, and has published numerous books.

This is just the beginning.

Announcing the winners is one part of what the AI Native Accounting Foundation does. The other part is making sure the rest of the profession can actually learn from them.

Each of this year's winners will be featured in a dedicated episode of the AI Native Accounting Podcast, where they'll go deeper on their approach, their results, and what they'd do differently. We'll also be publishing a full case study on each winner built to give firms and practitioners a real, detailed look at what worked, what didn't, and what the path forward looks like.

Stay tuned to ainativeaccounting.org and subscribe to the newsletter to be the first to know when each feature drops.

What's next from AINA

Applications are now open for the AINA Scholarship Program - two $5,000 awards for the next generation of AI-native accounting professionals.

Learn about the Scholarship
Listen to the Podcast