PYA Chief Compliance Officer, Shannon Sumner, Honored with Nashville Women of Influence Award
Shannon Sumner, Chief Compliance Officer and Managing Principal of PYA’s Nashville office, has received a Nashville Business Journal 2024 Women of Influence Award in the “Top Executive” category. The award program honors the region’s most influential businesswomen in the 10-county region of Middle Tennessee who shape companies, improve communities, and serve as role models for future influential female leaders. The “Top Executive” category recognizes female CEOs, presidents, and partners who are leading their companies to success while impacting Nashville and the surrounding region.
Sumner has more than 30 years of experience advising executives and governing boards in healthcare organizations in Middle Tennessee and across the country on navigating highly complex federal regulatory requirements and their roles and responsibilities for effective compliance oversight. Her work helps the organizations strengthen their essential compliance programs, so they can continue to provide quality care to their communities.
Sumner’s career highlights include being recognized by the U.S. Dept. of Justice as the healthcare compliance and internal audit expert for the largest federal compliance co-monitorship of a health system in U.S. history. Before returning to PYA, she was integral to the senior leadership of the nation’s largest provider of internal audit services to more than 450 hospitals and health systems.
“I’m honored to represent PYA in the Women of Influence Award—a reflection of our firm’s commitment to female leadership,” Sumner said. “I take immense pride in being a female owner at one of the nation’s premier healthcare consulting firms and in the fact that PYA is a leader among our peers in the percentage of female owners. I hope my award is a testament to my approach to empathetic leadership, professional excellence, community involvement, and a culture where colleagues and clients feel supported, valued, and empowered.”
An active community supporter, Sumner serves in governance roles in the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, Ascension Saint Thomas, and most recently the Maryland Farms’ YMCA. She is a member of Women Business Leaders in Healthcare, the American Health Law Association, and the Women’s White Collar Defense Association. She also serves as a faculty member of the Health Care Compliance Association and on the editorial board of the Journal of Health Care Compliance.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead our office’s efforts to give back to the Nashville community,” Sumner said. “We have sponsored Alive Hospice, fulfilled holiday wish lists for families in need, celebrated cancer survivors with the YMCA’s After Breast Cancer program, and packed boxes for Second Harvest Food Bank. Our goal with community outreach is always to do the good that is ours to do.”
Sumner is a certified public accountant with certification in healthcare compliance. She earned a Master of Accountancy degree and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree, Cum Laude, from the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
“Shannon Sumner is certainly a ‘woman of influence,’” said Marty Brown, PYA President and Chief Executive Officer. “Her leadership of our Nashville office reflects on her both as a person and a professional who represents PYA’s values in the region through her passion for quality service, her collaborative spirit, and her dedication to supporting clients’ and the community’s needs. I’m proud of Shannon and this recognition, which is so well deserved.”
PYA has served a variety of clients in Middle Tennessee for 40 years and has continually reinvested in the dynamic Nashville market, including opening a Brentwood office and naming Sumner to lead it 10 years ago. Since its opening, the office has tripled in size with plans for continued growth.
Women of Influence Award honorees are nominated by the public and judged by an independent panel of past winners on professional accomplishments, community involvement, and the judges’ assessment. The awards will be presented at an event in Nashville on April 24. Nashville Business Journal subscribers can read about all of the 2024 winners.
Six PYA Leaders from Tennessee Included as Best-in-State CPAs
April 15, 2026 – Nashville, TN
In April, Forbes released its annual list of Best-in-State CPAs, and six PYA leaders are recognized in the prestigious statewide list:
- Marty Brown, CEO
- David McMillan, President
- Jennifer Blackwood, Managing Principal, Tax
- Shannon Sumner, Principal, Chief Privacy Officer
- Carol Carden, Managing Principal, Compensation Valuation Planning and Design
- Matthew Warren, Principal, Business Valuation Services
The 2026 honorees are recognized by Forbes as some of America’s best CPAs. “Candidates are assessed across a range of weighted criteria, with an emphasis on recent achievements, professional impact, and contributions to the broader community….[Each honoree] reflects not only technical expertise, but also leadership, integrity, and meaningful influence, which serves as a trusted signal of distinction for clients, peers, and the profession at large,” according to Forbes.
PYA had the most CPA honorees—more than 10% of those named—among firms with locations in Tennessee, with the exclusive list comprising less than 0.5% of all licensed CPAs in Tennessee, highlighting PYA’s depth of talent. Among firms in East Tennessee, PYA is proud to have the most professionals named—more than 20% of the total—and across the Southeast, PYA is in the Top 5 with the most honorees. Uniquely, PYA ownership is comprised of 56% female leaders—twice the industry average, and three of those leaders are named to the Forbes list.
“The breadth and depth of PYA’s expertise in accounting, tax, and audit reflect our firm’s culture of lifelong learning, integrity, and dedication to putting our clients’ needs first,” said Brown. “My colleagues and I are grateful for the statewide accolade and honored to be part of recognition that represents PYA’s leadership in the accounting industry.”
As the industry grapples with a narrowing stream of talent, the influence of artificial intelligence (AI), and the impact of private equity, as noted in the Forbes report, PYA continues to grow, conservatively advance the use of AI, and choose to remain privately owned. This relationship-driven management style enables the firm to focus first on clients and the trust placed in its professionals, a style reflected in PYA’s significant representation in the Forbes list.
PYA continually evolves its client services as shifts in industry and economy emerge. With a focus on clients first, the six Forbes top CPAs provide expert support through client accounting services, tax planning and advisory services, business and healthcare valuation, tax regulatory compliance, strategic planning, compensation design, fair market valuation, and other related fields.
PYA and our Nashville teammates are pleased to support these organizations among others in the region:
- Tennessee Bankers Association
- Tennessee Healthcare Financial Management Association
- Nashville Health Care Council
- Leadership Health Care
- Nashville Sports Council
- Faith Family Medical Center
- Nashville Young Leaders Council
- Middle Tennessee Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
- Turnaround Management Association
- Williamson County Chamber
- Ronald Mc Donald House Charities of Nashville
- Habitat for Humanity
- Alive Hospice
- Second Harvest Food Bank
