Next year’s report from the Accounting MOVE Project aims to track the effect of community service on women’s career advancements.

Co-sponsored by the American Society of Women Accountants and the American Woman’s Society of Certified Public Accountants, the MOVE Project is a collection of accounting firms dedicated to the progression of women through firm leadership and building business.

The project is soliciting firms to participate in this 2012 report, which follows previous surveys by concentrating on one dynamic of women’s leadership growth.

"We are looking forward to understanding new ways that women rise to leadership through involvement outside their firms," stated Joanne Cleaver, president of research partner Wilson-Taylor Associates, Inc., which designed and manages the Accounting MOVE Project.

Registration for the survey is open at www.wilson-taylorassoc.com.

According to last year’s Accounting MOVE Project report, women comprise 46 percent of accounting professionals; 38 percent of senior managers; 25 percent of directors and 17 percent of partners and principals.

Accounting consulting firm Moss Adams and professional services firm Rothstein Kass sponsor the project.

“Moss Adams is proud to be the founding sponsor of the Accounting MOVE Project, and we're very passionate about this year’s focus on the connection between volunteerism and advancement," said Tammy Young, managing director of human resources, in a statement. "As a firm, we make supporting the communities in which we live and work a priority, and we encourage our women to engage in community efforts on their own and through Forum_W—our effort to attract, retain, develop and advance women.”

“Increasingly, Rothstein Kass team members have expressed interest in becoming more involved in charitable and philanthropic activities and have looked to our firm and the LIFE program to facilitate community service opportunities,” said Rosalie Mandel, a principal and founder of the Leadership, Inspiration, Family & Empowerment (LIFE) Program at Rothstein Kass, in a statement. “Particularly among the younger generation, the preference is for direct participation in philanthropic initiatives that support local communities.”

 The project stems from the MOVE methodology, developed by Wilson-Taylor Associates, investigating the following factors: M – Money: fair pay practices; O – Opportunity: advancement and leadership development; V – Vital supports: work-life programs that remove barriers; and E – Entrepreneurship: operating experience for managing or business ownership.