The American Institute of CPAs has introduced two new tools to help CPA firms and organizations expand and enhance their diversity and inclusion efforts. The Accounting Inclusion Maturity Model and the Recruitment and Retention Toolkit are now available online.
The Accounting Inclusion Maturity Model helps firms evaluate their current diversity and inclusion efforts through a thorough online assessment. The Maturity Model consists of more than 100 questions across four key areas of business: workforce, workplace, marketplace, and community and supplier relations.
To provide a complete picture of the organization and its diversity and inclusion efforts, multiple teams across the organization, including human resources, marketing and finance, are encouraged to participate in the assessment, which was developed through research and collaboration with accounting profession leaders on diversity and inclusion.
While the Maturity Model was designed to be completed by CPA firms and organizations with 20 or more CPAs, the model is scalable so that organizations of all sizes will find value in completing it.
According to the U.S. Census, minority-owned businesses increased 45.5 percent from 2002 to 2007, with the total number growing from 4 million businesses to 5.8 million. In addition, minority-owned businesses accounted for 21.3 percent of the nation's total businesses and generated $1 trillion in receipts.
In addition to the Maturity Model, the AICPA has created a Recruitment and Retention Toolkit. The toolkit provides an outline of the process necessary to make diversity and inclusion initiatives an ongoing part of a company's culture, which in turn helps them fulfill their overall goals for recruitment and retention.
Also included in the toolkit is an action plan template, which provides examples to assist in implementing changes. Firms will find value by using the Recruitment and Retention Toolkit as a supplement to the feedback they receive from the Accounting Inclusion Maturity Model.
