TAYIIKA DENNIS, CPA

Firm: CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP), Principal

Forbes Ranking: America’s Best-In-State CPAs 2025

Tayiika Dennis is many things: She is an expert in OMB Uniform Guidance audits and government contracts. She was the State Board Chair of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. She began her career on the backlots of Universal Studios as a financial analyst. She was named by the Los Angeles Business Journal a Top 100 accountant. She’s worked for large international firms and regional firms and helped nonprofits maximize their impacts.

But even those many accomplishments might ultimately pale in comparison to her signature yearslong rebranding effort: to redefine “CPA” to mean “Coolest Profession Around.”

A partner at the firm of CliftonLarsonAllen for almost a decade, Dennis entered the profession in the summer of 2008, just in time to witness the fallout from the mortgage breakdown that upended the economy. It was an experience that made a lasting impression for her on the value of the profession: “It’s so important being an auditor,” Dennis says today. “Auditing is the backbone of our profession. Integrity is paramount. It protects the public trust. Our job is to protect the public. When standards are lowered the results are devastating. All entities need good accountants for reliance.”

It’s a perspective she brings to her clients in these uncertain economic times, along with a belief that such downturns present the chance to reassess what matters—to the business and the bottom line. “Challenges, economic and otherwise, are the time to reflect and look at what is working and what is not. I believe great innovation comes from challenging times. Those companies that do it right come out even stronger.”

And if Dennis can do all that while also rebranding accounting as the Coolest Profession Around, she might not only ease the profession’s pipeline challenges but help the entire profession emerge stronger. “We have to showcase this to our youth and let them know that they can have a bright future in accounting.”

For the full list of Best-in-State CPAs, click here.

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