Diversity and inclusion: Tips for moving the needle
Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, CPA, CGMA, believes it’s time for the accounting profession to build on its focus on creating ethnic diversity and making an earnest effort to promote inclusion.
Ellison-Taylor, the vice chair of the AICPA National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion, said the accounting profession through its recruiting processes has improved in attracting diverse people to the profession. But she said the profession also needs to work together to get diverse hires to remain in the profession.
“It’s the consistent application of talent management processes and procedures such that every team member feels the same shared values and sense of purpose,” Ellison-Taylor said Tuesday during a panel presentation on diversity and inclusion at the AICPA fall Council session. Council is being held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Just 9% of partners at the firms participating in the AICPA’s most recent Trends survey were nonwhite. Ellison-Taylor said diversity remains elusive at higher levels of the profession because ethnic minorities often don’t feel at home in their work environments.
“We have to work on our team building,” she said. “We have to make sure we work to build an environment where everyone fits.”
Rich Caturano, CPA, CGMA, chair of the National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion, said during the presentation that the accounting profession has put a great deal of effort and resources into promoting diversity.
But he said the needle hasn’t moved enough yet, particularly related to minority representation at senior leadership positions at CPA firms. Caturano sees the current reckoning on racial justice in the United States as an opportunity to make progress.
He said diversity and inclusion is at the top of the priority list now for CEOs throughout the nation. Getting social inequality on the radar is merely the first step in the process.
“We have to seize that opportunity now,” Caturano said.
Crystal Cooke, the director for Diversity and Inclusion at the AICPA, said a professionwide approach is necessary to advance diversity and inclusion. The National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion is embracing that broad approach by reaching out to:
“You can’t just look at one thing,” Cooke said. “You have to look at the entire ecosystem.”
For individuals who are committed to improving diversity and inclusion in the profession, tips from the panelists included:
Caturano said it’s important for leaders to continue building on the current momentum and not get fatigued.
“We really have to stay at this,” he said. “We have to really stay at this.”
The AICPA National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion will present a forum titled “Courageous Conversations: A forum on diversity, inclusion and making a difference together,” on Oct. 28 at 9 a.m. ET. For more information or to register, click here.
—Ken Tysiac (Kenneth.Tysiac@aicpa-cima.com) is the JofA‘s editorial director.
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