From the November/December issue of New Jersey CPA magazine.
Diversity in the CPA profession has changed very little in the last 25 years. According to the American Institute of CPAs 2011 Trends in the Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits, minority hiring in the profession has seen slight improvements, but overall stagnation.
From 2008 to 2010, total minority hiring rose from 22 percent to 25 percent. Broken down by ethnicity, Hispanic hiring increased from 4 to 7 percent of total hires over the two-year span; African-American hires stayed steady at 4 percent; Asian/Pacific Islander hires also remained fixed, at 12 percent; and American Indian/Alaskan Native hires fell from 2 percent to zero.
To keep pace with population demographics and client/employer needs, the profession is acting now. In August 2012, NJSCPA Executive Director Ralph Albert Thomas, CGMA, the first African-American to lead a state CPA organization, participated in a diversity summit sponsored by the Indiana Society of CPAs. Diversity leaders explored the most effective and innovative tools and proven results needed to address the challenges associated with minority hiring and retention. I sat down with Ralph to discuss why the profession needs to change and how to accomplish it.
What is the business case for increased diversity?
Demographic changes are making diversity a business imperative. The total number of minorities in the U.S. will be the majority by 2042. The number of minorities that are business owners or occupy top roles continues to grow. Organizations looking to do business with those companies need to ask themselves, “Do we have the know-how, understanding and in-house human capital to fully understand the culture, needs and sensitivities of our minority clients?” From a staffing perspective, younger staff, both current and prospective, will have grown up in a much more multicultural environment than their parents’ generation. The best and brightest among these populations are going to be attracted to firms that value and embrace diversity.
What challenges are associated with attracting minorities into the CPA profession?
Even though accounting has been consistently ranked as one of the leading majors for students, minority students are not considering it a viable option. Many minority students have the perception that accounting is simply too boring. They seem to hold the stereotypes and misconceptions about what accountants do, so they tend to opt for more glamorous majors or professions where they see more diversity. Additionally, the profession has difficulty holding onto qualified candidates. At each step in the supply chain, the percentage of minority representation drops, from college enrollment to overall CPA firm employees.
How do we make the profession more desirable to minorities?
Exam affordability is significantly associated with the likelihood of becoming a CPA. I recommend that accounting firms of all sizes along with state CPA societies explore providing financial assistance by paying for CPA Exam registration and associated fees. Also, in a recent membership survey conducted by the National Association of Black Accountants, 81 percent of respondents agreed that having a powerful mentor contributes to a successful career. I agree with that assessment, but I think that firms should take that one step further and move mentor programs to sponsorship/advocate programs. Mentors are valuable, but sponsor/advocates are close enough to protégés’ career trajectories and personal goals to clearly see in detail where protégés’ should be focusing their efforts in the near future to accomplish their professional, and sometimes life, goals.
If a firm is serious about diversity initiatives, where should it start?
Two good places to start are assigning minorities to major clients and giving them challenging tasks on these engagements, and increasing the minority pipeline at both the senior and manager levels.
For more information about the profession’s diversity initiatives, visit
aicpa.org/career/diversityinitiatives/pages/diversityinitiatives.aspx.
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