NJCPA CEO Ralph Albert Thomas to Retire in June

Ralph Albert Thomas, CPA (DC), CGMA, CEO and executive director at the NJCPA since 1999, is retiring effective June 30, 2023. As CEO, Ralph has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the CPA profession on the state, local and federal levels and to tout the benefits of such a career to students, young professionals and those from underprivileged communities.

Ralph has continuously helped to improve the business climate in New Jersey. In June 2022, he was asked by New Jersey Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin to be on New Jersey’s Sales and Use Tax Commission. Ralph served on former New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney’s bipartisan Economic and Fiscal Policy Working Group and is currently a member of his public policy center at Rowan University. In addition, he is a member of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Cornerstone Initiative and the Commerce & Industry Association of New Jersey Board of Directors.

Nationally, Ralph was appointed to the inaugural American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion, the AICPA Foundation Board and served on numerous AICPA education, business, peer review and strategic planning committees as well as on the board of the CPA Society Executives Association. He is a lifetime member and former national and chapter president of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) and was appointed to NABA’s Corporate Advisory Board. He is also a member of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy’s (NASBA) State Society Relations Committee (former chair), serves on its Diversity and Inclusion Committee and is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Ralph has been honored for many accomplishments over his span of more than two decades at the helm of the NJCPA. The New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA) awarded him the 2023 Leonard C. Johnson Award for being an advocate for New Jersey employers. For the past 11 years, he has been selected by Accounting Today as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting.” In 2018, Ralph received the NJBIZ Icon Honors award, which recognizes New Jersey business leaders for their notable success and demonstration of strong leadership both within and outside of their chosen field. Ralph was also awarded the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey’s (AACCNJ) 2021 Business Award, and NABA awarded him with the 2010 National Achievement in NonProfit Award, the 2010 Presidential Service Award and the “NABA Legend” award at their 2009 Annual Convention. He also received the Boy Scouts of America’s 2019 Accounting Distinguished Citizen Award.

PAYING IT FORWARD

Under Ralph’s leadership, the NJCPA scholarship program, which has distributed more than $7 million in scholarships since its inception, was expanded to increase the number of minorities and women who enter the profession. The expanded programs include the Deloitte Foundation’s NJCPA

Scholars Award, the introduction of sophomore awards to attract interest from students attending two-year colleges, and other awards in conjunction with the AICPA and NABA – Northern New Jersey Chapter. Thomas, and his wife, Valerie, also provide additional student scholarships.

Ralph serves on the boards of numerous colleges, including the Accounting Advisory Boards for Lehigh University, Rutgers University, Seton Hall University, Montclair State University and Rider University. He is also Trustee Emeritus of Lehigh University, a member of Lehigh’s Trustee Audit Committee and is on its Diversity Committee. Ralph will be continuing his work with even more colleges and nonprofits in retirement.

“I will truly miss my time at the NJCPA — all of the members, staff and colleagues from other state CPA societies and national organizations that work so hard to keep the CPA profession relevant — but it is time to find new frontiers,” according to Ralph. “I look forward to what lies ahead for me, my family and the new connections still to be made.”