Mazars and other firms are highlighting their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts as firms look to make their employee base more reflective of the population at large.
With February being Black History Month and March being Women's History Month, firms are highlighting the progress they've made, while still acknowledging that more needs to be done.
"For me, it's really about engagement," said Tifphani White-King, national tax practice leader at Mazars in the U.S. "When I think about how to be more purposeful and meaningful, the celebration and recognition, whether it's of Black History Month or another honor, it really comes down to engagement, and how do you engage with your constituents, customers, professionals, community and those around you. There's no one size fits all, especially if you're talking about corporate America. We're all coming from different walks of life."
Accounting firms have been trying to increase diversity in their ranks over the years, but progress has been relatively slow, especially at the higher levels. Hopes for bringing in younger accountants from diverse backgrounds have also met with difficulties in attracting interest. A
Firms need to tailor their recruiting efforts to attract a diverse range of people who come from different backgrouns. "Our cultures are different," said White-King. "There may be similar underpinnings, but at the end of the day, that's what makes us who we are, and it's what makes us unique. In order to have that engagement, there can't be one size fits all."
Mazars held an event last month to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a connection with Black history as well. A member of the firm is related to John L. Withers II, whose 2020 book "Balm in Gilead," tells the story of his father's service during World War II commanding an all-Black army truck unit that sheltered two Jewish teenage boys who had escaped from a displaced persons camp near the recently liberated Dachau concentration camp in Germany.
"We actually highlighted that experience through one of Lieutenant Withers' family members, and it met with great applause from the organization," said White-King. "That level of engagement is there because we know our professionals and are true to our culture."
She believes it's important for firms to engage and educate their members about diversity as well as evaluate the success of the DEI programs. Mazars has also been hosting events this month in commemoration of Black History Month.
"How can we as schools, as educators, as corporate America, as accounting firms, public accounting and private, how do we tie this back to our culture, the vision, the mission statements that we have on our websites and everything that we brand ourselves as? How do we engage our teams? You have to tie it back to the people," said White-King.
New York State Society of CPAs CEO Calvin Harris Jr., a former president of the National Association of Black Accountants, spoke about efforts to recruit young accountants at the high school level during a talk last fall at an online meeting of the Accountants Club of America.
"Guidance counselors are key," he said. "At some of our society discussions, we've been talking about how important it is to touch guidance counselors. I had a meeting at a college in Albany, and that was one of the big discussions we were having. We were talking with their enrollment folks on how important it was to talk to those high school guidance counselors. Because when it comes to those younger people, it ends up being whoever's at home, and then those high school guidance counselors, because sometimes they have accounting programs or bookkeeping programs, like my mother taught. And in some cases, they don't. But those high school guidance counselors not only can point kids to the college, but also point them to their career."
The NYSSCPA has a Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) program at several colleges and universities in New York State. "It's just making sure that we keep getting the word out there in ways that probably aren't as traditional as we're used to, and there are programs and partnerships that we can lean into that also can help," said Harris. "When I was in college, I was a volunteer with Junior Achievement, teaching financial literacy and education to elementary school students. While I was there talking to sixth graders, they would ask me what I was going to college for, and I would say I'm going there for accounting, and we would have discussions on what that means."
White-King also thinks back to her experiences in college and early in her career when she was exposed to different cultures. "I remember being in college just starting out with work and you're part of these extracurricular clubs and activities outside of school and work," she said. "We went to potlucks where everybody would bring a little dish to celebrate a culture, or you'd have an outside speaker and you're learning something."
Accounting firms are having a difficult time recruiting students to join the profession, despite awareness of the shrinking talent pipeline.
"What we see in terms of just the number of students that are entering university and endeavoring to major in accounting and finance and other related subject matters, the numbers are declining," said White-King. "For those that have decided they want to do something in accounting and finance, the numbers trail off on licensing. Even sitting for something like the CPA exam or chartered accountancy, we're seeing that those numbers are diminishing as well. The numbers trail off even more when you talk about students or professionals of color. It's interesting to dig into the reasoning behind some of those statistics and data points, but the numbers don't set us up for great success. So what more can we do to refresh and excite interest within the profession?"
Only 2% of partners or CPAs in accounting firms were Black or African American in 2020, according to the AICPA 2021 Trends report, and 5% were professional staff. Similarly 5% were new grad hires, and 7% were graduates with a BA and MA degree.
"Maybe 20 years ago, when you entered this profession, one of the appeals was that you had a job for life," said White-King. "Overall, in accounting and finance, that stability has really decreased. I think that some students and professionals are seeing more promise and promotion, and are more enticed by some other areas of employment. We do have a responsibility and an obligation here. What can we do to bring the excitement back and what are we doing? We're reaching into high schools, colleges and universities, and we're looking at new ways to do that in terms of recruiting and generating interest, reaching more junior levels to do that, teaching financial literacy, working with not-for-profits to bring financial economic literacy to different environments, cultures, geographies and levels of schooling, outside of just college and university, to incite an interest early."
She works with elementary school students through some of the nonprofits where she has served, such as the National Association of University Women and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
Accounting firms were among the businesses that spoke out after the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020 in the midst of the Black Lives Matter protests that erupted across the country. PwC US chairman Tim Ryan spearheaded the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion initiative that enlisted corporate leaders to commit to improving diversity. But making progress on longtime DEI initiatives is taking longer than promised.
"You saw a lot of accounting firms that came forward through their CEOs, and inclusion, equity and diversity officers, just lending support statements," said White-King. "Sticking to just the Black and Brown community, that speaks volumes to us, because that's how many of us grew up. Our churches did that. The sororities and fraternities continue to do that. Our communities do that. That's everything about the Civil Rights Movement, taking a stance, having a perspective, yielding just that ear, that shoulder, that voice of support. It speaks volumes to people. It connects and engages, and it lets you know you're part of something that's beyond just the business. That's something I'm seeing more from the accounting firms as well. The dollars speak volumes. As a profession, we have endowments. We have access to capital, where we can donate for a variety of causes and to help address inequities in our society and beyond."
With Women's History Month coming up in March, Mazars also plans to commemorate the growing role of women in accounting.
"Every month, or every day, there is really something to celebrate," said White-King. "I'm sure there are some things that we miss, but we do our best to really acknowledge, honor, recognize and celebrate and have fun doing it, in a way that's meaningful to our teams and to our people."
