Voices

Minorities Are Missing in Tax

A new study is showing that the tax profession is lagging when it comes to hiring, retaining and advancing minority tax professionals.

According to “Minorities in Tax 2010” released by TaxDiversity, representation of minorities has increased, however, not enough is being done to improve the recruiting, training, mentoring, and elevating of diverse tax professionals – especially in management positions.

That may be true, but at least one Big Four firm – Ernst & Young - is trying to change that by hosting “Discover Tax” an annual leadership conference for college youth of color interested in getting into the tax area.

The survey’s findings include the following:

•    The IRS continues to lead in tax with a minority population of 34 percent, which includes 20 percent in African American tax professionals alone.
•    Public accounting firms’ management is two percent African American, a 100 percent increase from the one percent in 2002. Still, African Americans remain underrepresented.
•    Overall, Caucasians are exiting the tax profession at a faster rate than many other professions.
•    Asians currently make up 18 percent of the public accounting workforce.

•    Hispanics in tax generally mirror their civilian work force employment percentage – which is six percent.

For more information visit www.TaxDiversity.com.

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