Accounting
The 2024 Best Firms for Women: Freedom of choice
There are many different ways Accounting Today’s 2024 Best Firms for Women earned the honor of being among the top 10 most female-forward workplaces, but while the individual policies and programs they employ to effectively recruit, retain and advance women vary by practice, two stand out as critical for the highest-ranked firms: flexibility and mentorship.
Both strategies also empower female employees to make critical choices for their personal and professional success.
“Mentorship is so important — it’s just the be-all, end-all these days,” said April Miller, principal at Laurel, Maryland-based Bormel, Grice & Huyett PA, a Best Firm for Women for the third consecutive year, this year ranking No. 3. “So much more focus is on mentorship and training than ever before. It has a lot to do with retaining people and a lot to do with attracting people. Most people want to grow and advance, and we really want to foster that here. It’s more important than anything else.”
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Bormel, Grice & Huyett offers two types of mentors, Miller explained: “a mentor for learning, your work-side policies, procedures, technical help, as people advance and get more experience in the industry, and also a mentor whose primary focus is on career guidance.”
San Francisco-based Realize CPA, No. 5 among this year’s Best Firms for Women but also the highest ranked midsized firm on the list, shares those priorities, with managing partner Minerva Tottie crediting her female staff’s satisfaction to its strong mentorship program and flexible work culture.
All the Best Firms for Women are chosen from the members of Accounting Today’s annual Best Firms to Work For list, which is based on in-depth employee surveys. The Best Firms for Women, among other criteria, garnered positive survey responses from their female employees.
“Providing flexibility for women,” Tottie identified as one of Realize’s strengths. “We have a really strong mentorship program at Realize. Mentorship and flexibility. We usually get women fresh out of college, super eager and ambitious and ready to work. And then life happens: marriage, kids. Having mentors who can help guide them along the work side of things and different changes of life is really important, and we continue to provide that. We don’t want to get them discouraged. Accounting is a hard profession, with the hour requirements, especially on the tax side.”
The Best Firms for Women recognize that the profession’s current talent shortage makes these two principles more vital than ever. To combat the pipeline problem, they have also adjusted for the needs of younger candidates.
“Based on experience, education, and how they are brought in, we have a dedicated coaching and staff development plan that details expectations at each level,” shared Kayla Perry, firm administrator at Boise, Idaho-based B.A. Harris, No. 2 on this year’s list. “We make it clear to staff. This generation asks for complete clarity. They’re not a gray generation but black and white. We provide as much information as possible; the expectations of the next level up and so on. All expectations are provided to them even at an associate level, to see what it takes for a promotion to senior, to manager.”
At the Best Firms for Women, employees also have a choice in mentors and coaches.
“Good mentors, leaders who are also women, who have also been there, can provide guidance,” explained Tottie. “Oftentimes, myself as a partner, I’ll team up with another woman at a supervisor, manager level just so they can feel comfortable bringing up the types of issues they might not otherwise feel comfortable bringing up with men. Some women don’t care, and can be paired up with men or women. We are sensitive to what people need to get far in their career.”
“Any of the partners are always welcoming,” shared Miller. “Sometimes people don’t want to talk to partners, but have [a talk with] managers, principals or peers. There are different groups with different comfort levels of what they want to speak about.”
Bormel, Grice & Huyett also finds value in connecting female new hires with more senior women in the firm.
“We are respectful of the challenges some women face,” Miller said. “Not all women struggle with work-life balance but that is a thing, responsibility in the office plus family … We try to be respectful of women and men having the work-life balance everyone is talking about. Among new hires, we encourage setting up a meeting with a woman at the firm to talk about their experiences. We’ve found that to be really helpful to put candidates at ease.”
Flexibility at the forefront
Staff at all levels continue to value flexibility, both in work hours and location, and in career paths.
“We try to be very flexible to all staff,” said Megan Sunthimer, partner at No. 4-ranked firm C&D, based in Solvang, California. “We see that a lot with women who have kids, trying to be flexible with needs that parents in general have with young kids.”
All the Best Firms for Women stressed that their flexible work policies apply to men and women, with or without children, to maintain the ever-important work-life balance. But many firm leaders also acknowledge the extra burden that can fall on women.
“From personal experience, for quite a few really great female employees, different life things come up, particularly in the accounting industry, that can be pretty stressful at times with other commitments,” said Sunthimer. “They have decided, based off family dynamics and needs, the accounting industry in general: Is that where I want to be, in public accounting? That’s been a struggle in retention, specifically. Recruiting has been a tough few years with COVID and a lot less people entering the accounting industry.”
“Females are typically the default parent when it comes to children,” said Perry. “Whenever there are sick kids, the ability to work remotely at a moment’s notice, they need everyone to be super understanding. The leadership here is two-thirds women, and it really sets a good example for the rest of the staff, that there’s a place in leadership for women. And I think the partners here really empower women and hear them out. A great maternity leave policy also contributes to the satisfaction for women.”
The Best Firms for Women offer hybrid and remote work options, with C&D and Realize both calling for core hours for staff when everyone must be available, with flexibility outside those time frames.
B.A. Harris has also adjusted its mindset around long hours. “As a firm, over the past two years, we have reduced that expectation of hours worked,” said Perry. “It’s more about workload, the projects assigned to you, if you get them done … We allow everyone to set their own schedule, even during busy season. A lot work more, but that’s their decision. If they come in on a Saturday, we buy lunch, and it’s a casual environment with no dress code.”
B.A. Harris also closes the office on Fridays from May 1 through Labor Day to give staff three-day weekends to look forward to during the longer hours of busy season.
Realize recently “beefed up the head count so there is enough people to spread the work around, which is really helpful,” shared Tottie. “A new woman joined not too long ago, from out of state. She said, ‘That’s the best busy season I’ve ever had.’ It breeds loyalty, when you feel rested and good at work.”
Carving new paths
Employees also value choice in career paths, especially women juggling family commitments.
“Each family dynamic is different, each woman’s responsibilities are different,” said Sunthimer. “They might have kids, might be married, might not have a partner. Those hour commitments sometimes can be overwhelming, stressful. It’s OK to have different tracks available. Sometimes you get into public accounting and envision one track of how to move forward, but start to develop other paths. Maybe you have a staff person that can only work 40 hours a week and can’t do overtime. That doesn’t mean you can’t get to the next level. Have different paths available — do not stick to this is how it has always been done.”
Sunthimer and the female leaders at the other Best Firms for Women all have personal experience with these varied trajectories.
“My goal, ever since starting at C&D, was to eventually become partner,” Sunthimer shared. “When I moved to Indiana, I thought that might permanently derail that; we never had a remote partner before. It was a big step for them to take. They really value the experience I bring to the team. Two other employees, both employees working remotely before COVID, both female, they did want to retain them because they valued them so much. The retention of the other female employees is because the firm values everything they bring to the table. When you work for a firm that shows appreciation and values you, genuinely cares about you, as this firm does, it makes you want to stick around.”
Tottie can also relate, having worked at Realize since 2016.
“I absolutely did have mentors,” she recalled. “I have two kids. At one point [I thought] I don’t think I’m going to be able to do it. They allowed me to scale back my workload for a couple of years, which was hugely beneficial. They also reduced pay, and I’m OK with that if it meant I could stay in the game. When the kids were a little bit older, I came back little by little and was able to stay in it. I’m a partner now, and it’s an amazing career.”
“We’re just in general really focused on giving everyone the right guidance,” Tottie continued. “It’s such a great career if you can have, early on, someone to navigate through the challenges, to allow you to stay in the business, allow you to grow, allow you to have empathy skills for other women coming in and growing through the same challenges.”
One of Tottie’s colleagues benefited directly from Realize’s determination to retain the best talent.
“One woman had a baby and felt very strongly — she’s one of our superstars — that she wanted to take half a year off to be with the baby,” Tottie shared. “She’s so good we said, ‘OK. We’re here, we don’t want you to go anywhere, you’re on the partner track.’ It presents a challenge for us to allow that flexibility, but we know long term it’s the right thing to do, we’re in it for the long haul with them. They know that, and it helps a lot.”
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Allinial Global president and CEO Mark Koziel has been tapped as the next president and CEO of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, succeeding longtime chief Barry Melancon, who is retiring at the end of this year.
Koziel has extensive experience at the AICPA, having worked in various roles there for over 14 years, most recently as executive vice president of firm services. He
“I am excited and honored to be appointed CEO of the world’s largest accounting membership body,” Koziel said in a statement Wednesday. “I look forward to playing a key role in leading the organization and the profession to new heights. The profession is well positioned to expand and continue to evolve the value it brings serving the public interest and addressing the challenges faced by economies, business, and society. I cannot wait to start working closely with members, candidates, volunteers, and staff to do just that and drive our great profession forward.”
Koziel began his accounting career in 1991 at the firm Lumsden McCormick in Buffalo, New York, later joining Dopkins & Co. and Joe Slade White & Co., two other firms in the area.
Melancon has been leading the American Institute of CPAs since 1995 and spearheaded its expansion into the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the AICPA & CIMA, after a deal with the U.K.’s Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in 2017. He has long been ranked by his fellow accountants as the most influential person in the accounting profession.
“Serving the profession over the last 30 years has been a great honor, and I have been fortunate to have played a part in its transformation,” Melancon stated. “I am thrilled to see Mark appointed to the role, knowing his passion and vision for the profession and AICPA & CIMA. Mark will do a fantastic job.”
The board of directors of the AICPA & CIMA announced Koziel’s selection Wednesday after an extensive search process.
“We are delighted to announce Mark as our new CEO for the Association,” said Simon Bittlestone, CIMA president and chair of the Association, in a statement. “The appointment follows an open and extensive global search that attracted a strong pool of candidates from around the world. Mark is a dynamic, values-led leader with extensive experience and knowledge of our profession. The board looks forward to working with him in leading our members, candidates, and the profession into the 2030s and beyond. I would like to thank Barry Melancon ahead of his retirement for his leadership of AICPA & CIMA and lifelong commitment to advancing the accounting and finance profession — a remarkable 30 years of dedication.”
AICPA chair and co-chair of the Association Carla McCall, added, “In a strong field of applicants, Mark was the standout candidate because of his knowledge, understanding, experience, and vision for the profession and the organization. These are transformative times for our profession. I look forward to working with Mark to seize the opportunities in front of us.”
For my entire 20-year career, the CPA profession has warned of the coming technological disruption. The need for digital transformation has been a topic at every conference I have attended and regularly finds its way to the cover of accounting publications. While we’ve come a long way from the paperless initiatives of the early 2000s, many of the core systems supporting firms today look very similar to what they did when I entered the workforce.
While other industries rapidly adopt data-driven solutions like artificial intelligence, many CPA firms still rely on spreadsheets and processes that merely digitize the traditional paper-based approach. These legacy systems haven’t prevented success and avoid the risks of retooling and reskilling employees, but staying in the past fails to capitalize on the incredible software available today.
That’s not to say firms haven’t tried or don’t understand the opportunities available to them. The historical reality is that the current systems work, change is hard, and many of the traditional approaches to digital transformation require a complete system overhaul all at once. However, those realities have changed dramatically in the last couple of years with new tools that simplify adoption, allow for small iterative enhancements, and create real threats to leave you behind if you ignore them.
It starts with culture
The technology available to support digital work today is nothing short of breathtaking as many of the promises of cloud technology are being realized. We’ve experienced a true renaissance with tools that are inexpensive, easy to adopt, and sometimes make you feel like a wizard.
However, the tools aren’t actual magic. We are still waiting for the technological discovery that overcomes poorly designed processes, and we continue to be grounded in the traditional rules and logic that require new skills and organizational alignment. Success requires changes to be embraced and celebrated across the firm, from support staff to partners in corner offices.
The shift in mindset is the most significant hill to climb, but it doesn’t have to be painful or even hard. When you show people a better way to work and an opportunity to be more effective, it’s easier to rally support. The conversation needs to be about more than higher margins and fear of being left behind — the real magic of a digitally driven professional services firm is that it empowers people to help clients and reduce stress.
Take inventory and find small opportunities
The initial challenge is recognizing the opportunity to expand technology use for everyday tasks and understanding where to begin. Numerous small, seemingly insignificant gains can collectively lead to a substantial shift in how we serve clients, enabling easier monitoring, asynchronous work and more accurate deliverables, among many other benefits.
These sorts of iterative and continuous changes can be hard, but being intentional about the systems you adopt and the types of experiments you conduct becomes your biggest asset.
Here are a few vital steps to help you get started as you adopt new technology in your firm:
- Address fears and challenges: Examine why your firm hasn’t embraced the innovations we’ve seen in the compliance space. Common barriers include fear of change, adoption costs and required knowledge, all of which can be overcome with the right approach and mindset.
- Start small: Begin by integrating the tools you’re already using, so they communicate with each other, and you can ensure data security at every transfer point. As you gain confidence, identify your firm’s biggest pain points and brainstorm the best ways to tackle them.
- Thoughtfully consider budget: While the cost of implementing new tools can be a deterrent, many modern solutions are more affordable than expected. With the tremendous software available and marketplaces offering consultants to help you get started, the barriers to entry are lower than ever.
Analyze the best tools for your compliance firm
Think holistically about your tech stack and how tools work together, from your email to the systems you use for research, documentation, and client collaboration. The number of tools available is vast, and while many do similar things, each typically has some nuance. It’s essential to know what you need and thoroughly research to find the right fit.
The best part is that most of these tools offer free trials and live demos, so you can see the product and ask questions, learn more, and try them out before investing time and money. For those who don’t feel comfortable implementing tools themselves, many great IT consultants can lead you through the selection process and potentially help you onboard and integrate new tools.
If you want to build the tools and knowledge internally and fully tailor your firm’s digital programs from scratch, AI can help significantly as you learn to write and debug code. If you have zero coding experience, that is no longer an issue with low-code and no-code platforms that do the tough programming part for you, allowing you to personalize and design tools specifically for your firm’s needs.
Implement technology smoothly
Adopting new tools and changing processes can be challenging, particularly for employees.
Here are some tips for smooth implementation:
- Introduce tools gradually: Avoid overwhelming your team with too many new tools at once. Be intentional and roll them out at a comfortable pace with clear instructions, expectations and documentation.
- Provide comprehensive training: Offer high-level group training followed by individual sessions with subject matter experts to address specific questions.
- Foster a supportive culture: Some team members may initially resist new tools, preferring traditional methods. Be patient because, over time, they will recognize the benefits and time savings, allowing them to focus on more interesting and valuable tasks.
- Document and iterate: Create clear documentation for new processes and be open to feedback and adjustments as your team adapts and finds new ways of working.
The journey to a truly digitally driven firm requires curiosity, patience and a willingness to embrace change. Be open to continuous learning opportunities, and as technology evolves, so should your firm. This transformation won’t happen overnight. It’s a gradual process that involves overcoming initial fears, making informed decisions, and fostering a strong culture that supports innovation.
By taking these steps, you’ll position your firm for gains in efficiency and long-term success. Embrace the journey, trust the process, and watch as your firm becomes more dynamic, innovative, and client-focused. The future of compliance is digital, and the time to start is now.
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