Women in the accounting profession: Status and trends

Supporting women’s retention and advancement: 12 key questions your organization should ask

In the fall of 2005, the AICPA’s Work / Life and Women’s Initiative Executive Committee conducted focus groups to explore what works in the retention and advancement of women. The following are key questions any organization should consider in supporting women’s retention and advancement.

Do you track the percentage of women entering your organization and the percentage of women in leadership positions?
Is women’s retention and development a component of your strategic initiatives?
Are women members of key committees and task forces in your organization?
Do you have policies that support work / life balance?
Do you offer individualized flexible work arrangements to your employees?
Do you offer opportunities for advancement for individuals using flexible work schedules?
Do you provide leadership and management skill development to all levels of employees in your organization?
Do you provide training on gender differences?
Do you provide alternative work options for employees on family leave (e.g., laptops to receive company e-mail, continued opportunities to participant in training and CPE activities)?
Do your employees have adequate technology support (e.g., BlackBerries, laptops, cell phones) to allow for flexibility?
Do you encourage and support internal mentoring, whether formal or informal?
What options do employees have in creating alternative career choices at various stages of their family and life development?

By Cheryl Leitschuh, Ed.D., RCC

In 1952, there were 750 female CPAs.
In 1972, there were 2,000 female CPAs.
Today, there are 108,000 female CPAs.
-- AICPA 2005 research report

There was a time when women wore only skirts, clients did not want to work with female accountants, partners were reluctant to share business development activities with female accounting staff and pregnancy was treated as a disease which required secrecy and had adverse impact on career advancement. (Helping Women Professionals Succeed, AICPA Work / Life and Women’s Initiative Executive Committee, 2007).

Thankfully, times have changed!

AICPA research (A Decade of Changes in the Accounting Profession: Workforce Trends and Human Capital Practices, 2006) indicates more than 50 percent of new accounting graduates are women. The percentage of both male and female associates who leave the profession is similar at the entry-level and mid-level positions. Women are an overwhelming majority of non-partner track (i.e., career senior, manager, senior manager) and non-equity partners (i.e., directors or principles). Alternative partnership and non-partnership career tracks are used twice as often by women as by men. While women in partner positions have increased from 12 percent in 1993 to 19 percent in 2005, this is a small increase compared to the 50 percent increase in the number of accounting graduates.

Trends and needs for women’s advancement

The AICPA’s Work / Life and Women’s Initiative Executive Committee (WLWIEC) conducted six focus groups in the fall of 2005 to better understand issues related to women’s career advancement in the profession. Specifically, the committee was interested in what changes had occurred and why, what issues still exist and what is needed for the future.

As one participant stated, “The glass ceiling is cracked but not shattered.” She went on to explain that some cultures provide opportunities for women who work hard and put in the time that is required and meet the expectations, and women can continue to rise in the organization. However, if flexibility is needed in this model, barriers continue to exist.

The issues fell into four areas: the organization, the profession, client expectations and the individual.

The organization

There are senior leaders who do not yet understand the issue of women’s retention and advancement. This mindset becomes prevalent in the culture of their organizations at all levels, causing women to encounter the glass ceiling earlier in their careers.
The individual requesting flexibility or work / life balance can be interpreted as a “second-class employee.” The mindset seems to be, “If you won’t sacrifice all for the organization, are you a useful employee worthy of advancement?”
The partnership or senior leadership position does not appear an attractive position. The workload requirements, risk involvement and added leadership requirements may be seen as additional challenges for flexibility or work / life balance. This may demotivate women or the younger generation to seek these positions.

The profession

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was identified as a change in the profession that has significantly increased the number of hours for everyone. This has created additional stress as the demands increase for travel, documentation and billable hours. This has created breaking points for both males and females in the profession, causing some employees to look for other employment options with less stress and greater work / life balance.

Women and young families are re-prioritizing their values, with quality of life and family on the top of the list. As these priorities have changed, the profession is faced with an old business model that does not support the needs of these professionals. Unfortunately, we do not have a ready -made replacement model to follow, leaving the profession to grapple with what this model might look like.

Risk issues and PCAOB regulations were identified as professional barriers that cause greater scrutiny in investing in a firm. Several women acknowledged that they may be less willing to risk family security than their male counterparts.

There is a high demand for good employees, not just in the CPA profession but in all business areas. This competition can present opportunities to employees for a less stressful, more flexible work environment away from the accounting profession. As baby boomers prepare to retire, there will be a huge gap in senior leadership in the profession and a greater need to retain and develop younger employees. The issue of work / life balance is no longer just a female issue. The younger generation is asking for the same degree of work / life balance and flexibility. Focus group participants say succession planning, retention and development are all issues that will play a strong role in shifting the profession and creating more opportunities for women.

Client expectations

In this world of strong competition and high client expectations, the need to know who will answer the client if the primary client contact is on a flexible work schedule is a concern. The current model of a primary client contact may need to shift to a team model to facilitate the needs of both the client and the employee. Clients are also struggling with work / life balance and flexibility issues with their employees, creating a perfect time to re-educate our clients and set new expectations.

The individual

Regardless of how many external considerations change, the participants agreed that in order for women to succeed and advance, there are individual factors that need to be recognized and developed. The list includes:

Confidence in their abilities. Women need to recognize and express their unique talents that add value to the firm. These often include being a team player, developing others and multi-tasking.
Guilt. Making choices between family and work will generally cause some level of trade-off. Guilt can cause women to doubt themselves and undermine their own self-confidence.
Assertiveness. Because women are often collaborative, they may not always ask for what they need. Assertiveness is an important ingredient in achieving the goals they set.
Setting realistic expectations for family and work.
Finding role models and having the courage to ask for mentoring and guidance – both inside and outside the profession and the organization.
Having a support network that includes your significant other, friends, co-workers, family, nannies and caregivers. There is no need to do it alone.

What initiatives have worked

Several formal and informal programs were identified as significant initiatives that have supported women’s career advancement.

Flexible work arrangements: Individually based plans, not one-size-fits-all. This may be a part-time / prime-time schedule or simply flexibility with hours and location for full-time staff.
Partnership options: Part-time, flexible work arrangements are included as a positive path to partnership. This requires adjustments to billable hours and compensation.
Women’s initiatives as a strategic direction of the organization’s strategic business plan, not just a “token task force.”
Training on diversity, team development, leadership styles and executive development programs.
Project teams versus a primary client contact. This allows for client responsiveness while still respecting the employees’ needs for flexibility and work / life balance.
“Off-ramp” considerations: Keeping employees connected to the organization while they are on family leave. This includes CPE training and access to e-mail and inter-office communications.
Technology investments (BlackBerries, laptops, cell phones) to support flexible work options like telecommuting.
Mentoring program – both formal and informal. The organization supports and encourages mentoring relationships for all members of the organization – from new associates to senior partners.

Summary

“I think there are great things that are going to create great opportunities for women. I think women are smarter, more demanding and they won’t take the status quo, but they’ll do it in responsible ways and really make change and not be so constrained like we were in trying to follow all the rules.”
-- A female senior partner, public accounting, and focus group participant

The focus group’s expressed positive comments about the changes that have been made and felt optimistic about the future. Clearly, the change process needs to be continued, and these changes will be more complex as the paradigms of the profession shift. The initiatives already taken have shown progress with benefits not only for females, but also for the needs of the younger generation, clients, the organization and the profession. There was a mandate from the participants that the profession continue its commitment to the challenging work ahead.

Cheryl Leitschuh, Ed.D., RCC, is chair of the AICPA’s Work / Life and Women’s Initiative Executive Committee. She can be contacted at Cheryl@career-future.com. To request materials referenced in this article, e-mail Missean Reed at mreed@aicpa.org.

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