J. Clarke Price, president and chief executive of the Ohio Society of CPAs, will retire effective Dec. 31, 2012 after a 40-year career with the 22,000-member association.

J. Clarke Price

The OSCPA said it has begun the search for a successor.

Price, who joined OSCPA in 1972 as a public relations manager, has served as CEO since 1990 and during his tenure led a number of high-profile initiatives including driving tort reform in 2005, leading an overhaul of Ohio’s tax code, and helping eliminate the corporate franchise tax.

In 2009, he teamed with the OSCPA executive board and formed the Ohio Budget Advisory Task Force in response to the state’s $8 billion budget crises.

He was named as a member of Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People on 10 occasions.
“It’s been an honor for me to lead The Ohio Society of CPAs for the past 21 years,” Price said.

“During that time, the CPA profession has experienced some of its greatest challenges and opportunities and I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the most talented CPAs to drive initiatives for our members and Ohio citizens.”