We were honored to host our fifth open forum discussion focused on exploring diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (“DEIBâ€) with our I2L Innovators Community on August 22, 2023.

During this session, we asked two important questions of accounting firm leaders in Learning & Development and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging:

  1. What are the approaches, methods, or practices that are working at your firm?
  2. What are the biggest challenges your firm is facing?

These leaders generously granted us permission to share some of the highlights with you in hopes you take away at least one powerful insight to help move Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (“DEIBâ€) forward at your organization.

First, let’s talk about what seems to be working well for many firms.

Don’t start from scratch.

It’s important to realize that your organization might not have all the expertise you need internally to effectively create and implement a DEIB strategy. In fact, it’s common and expected that your organization does not. Instead, consider what support you need to seek out. Who could you partner with to help your organization get where it needs and wants to go?

Align DEIB with the firm’s strategic plan.

For DEIB efforts to be effective, they must be embedded into your organization’s identify and actions. DEIB should be demonstrated in the foundational actions of firm leaders and integrated into the firm’s strategy. If not, your organization won’t have the anchor in place to ensure long-term sustainability of your DEIB efforts.

Passion is key.

DEIB efforts require a significant investment of time, energy, and resources. Passionate people should lead the charge. You can look at an organizational chart to determine which senior leaders and decision makers should be in the room for strategic discussions. However, if those people aren’t the most passionate about DEIB, your efforts will fall short. Seek to include the right leaders in the room, not just by their title or authority, but also by their energy and passion.

Encourage an environment for real, inclusive conversations at all levels.

Changing the tone and culture at an organization requires everyone, not just DEIB leaders and those who are already bearing the burden of the existing culture. Create an environment where all people feel empowered to speak up, no matter what their position is.

Stay abreast of what is happening across the profession.

How is your firm measuring up against others in the profession? Ask yourself, “Where are we as an organization compared to our peers? What opportunities might we be missing?†We can all learn a lot from what other organizations are doing.

One valuable resource to tap into is this research study from the Center for Audit Quality and EDGE Research, Increasing Diversity in the Accounting Profession Pipeline: Challenges and Opportunities.

Next, let’s talk about the challenges many firms face.

Driving DEIB forward requires a significant commitment of time and energy.

Although some firms have roles specifically dedicated to DEIB, others rely solely on volunteers. Finding the time for volunteers to actively contribute can be challenging, particularly when they have multiple busy seasons throughout the year.

How can you reward volunteers and show them that their contributions are recognized and valued? What additional support (e.g., conferences and career development) can you provide these volunteers?

Thoughtfully consider how you collect and use data.

All sorts of data are important to DEIB efforts, including surveys, demographics, exit data, recruiting data, etc.

Consider the following questions:

  • How are you gathering and tracking this data?
  • Who at the organization is responsible for this?
  • Once you have the data you need, how are you evaluating that to inform your DEIB strategy and measure its effectiveness?
  • How well are you using the data you’re collecting to drive decisions, actions and behaviors? (For example, if you collect feedback from employees through surveys, but then don’t do anything with the information, your people will feel like their input doesn’t matter and eventually disengage.)

Gather employee feedback in a way that inspires trust.

In order for firms to gain honest insights from their employees, people must be able to trust that the information they share is safe and protected. For example, how do you ensure and communicate that an “anonymous†survey is truly anonymous?

Share clear expectations regarding what you will do with the information gathered, including what you’re prepared to share, what it means, and what you will do with it. Don’t backtrack or over-share.

Ensure the right people are leading the conversation.

Ensure you’re aligning the message you want to send with the person delivering that message. Who is the best person to convey this message?

Organizations should not only aim to elevate voices and allow people from underrepresented groups to speak for themselves, they should also enable and support them, without adding burden or pressure.

Meet people where they are on their DEIB journey.

Across one firm, you’ll see people at many different stages of their DEIB journey. Some people want to be doing more, while others wonder why they should invest in it. Consider how your organization will navigate these differences in a way that best supports each person where they are on their individual journey.

Holding others accountable is challenging.

Consider what will be the most effective type of accountability to ensure your firm’s DEIB efforts are working. Who will follow up and ensure people are following through on the work the firm has committed to? A top-down approach will likely yield more effective results (e.g., a department head, rather than an associate).

DEIB is at the heart of everything we do in leadership development at Intend2Lead, and we envision a profession that includes all of us. Although we may have significant challenges to tackle in the accounting profession, we’ll overcome them better and faster together.

Additional resources:
We encourage you to tap into the insights from our previous DEIB open forum discussions:

See you in the DoP,