Tom Hood Inducted into Accounting Hall of Fame

Accounting professionals are often stereotyped as conservative number crunchers, but few would say that about the latest inductee into CPA Practice Advisor’s Accounting Hall of Fame.

Tom Hood, CPA.CITP, CGMA, received that honor on Tuesday night during an evening ceremony at the Westin Galleria in Dallas. Hood is the Executive Director and CEO of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA). He is also CEO of the Business Learning Institute.

The Accounting Hall of Fame ceremony is part of CPA Practice Advisor’s annual Thought Leader Symposium, an invitation-only event that brings together more than two dozen respected practitioners and consultants for a series of round table discussions presentations by major technology providers to tax and accounting firms.

“I was surprised to be in the company of people who I look up to as icons in the accounting profession,” said Hood, who was preparing to take a photo of the honoree when his name was announced. “To be thought of as being in the same group as them is a remarkable honor.”

Hood’s unique professional career has been spent in both private company financial roles, as well as organizational leadership. Prior to joining the Maryland Society, he served as treasurer and CFO of Bryn Awel Corporation, a privately-owned $75 million highway construction enterprise.

“Tom has used his unique background and view of the profession to help create innovative initiatives,” said Randy Johnston, a fellow inductee in the Hall of Fame and one of the 2015 Thought Leaders. “His promotion of social media has also helped move the profession to a more extraverted role.”

A frequent speaker and educator at accounting trade shows and conferences, his professional drive is described as passionate about leadership, learning and technology. Hood is a very recognizable presence on social media and has led his organization’s action on that front.

Previous Accounting Hall of Fame inductees include Greg L. LaFollete, CPA, Randy Johnston, Gary Boomer, CPA, Rick Richardson, CPA and Chris Frederiksen, CPA.

Hood is a graduate of Loyola College (B.A. in Accounting) and has a Master’s in Finance (Real Estate) from Johns Hopkins University and a Master’s equivalent in Information Systems from the University of Baltimore. He holds the Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP) certification and the Certified Global Management Accountant (CGMA) certification from the AICPA.

“Tom has earned and deserves this recognition,” said Chris Frederiksen, CPA, who was inducted into the Accounting Hall of Fame in 2014. “His contributions to the profession have been awesome.”