The Institute of Management Accountants is planning to increase its efforts to promote greater diversity in the accounting profession with a new director of diversity, equity and inclusion, Darryl Jackson.
As director of DE&I, he will lead the IMA’s efforts at creating more opportunities for all accounting professionals and closing a professionwide diversity gap. He also plans to develop ways to drive greater development, recruitment and retention in the accounting profession. Jackson most recently worked as a DE&I consultant for Marlon Moore Consulting. Before that, he was director of membership acquisition and engagement at the New York State Society of CPAs. He has been certified by Cornell University in diversity and inclusion, and plans to focus on four main areas: access, exposure, recognition and development.
The accounting profession has been moving slowly to expand its diversity and inclusion efforts, although the wave of Black Lives Matters protests last year and this year has been spurring commitments by more accounting firms and corporate America to increase their hiring and promotion of underrepresented groups. The IMA and the California Society of CPAs released a
Jackson hopes to encourage more companies to provide mentorship and sponsorship programs to provide a greater sense of inclusion for those who would otherwise leave the profession.
“I do see a lot of organizations creating or reviving mentorship programs,” he said. “In a lot of circumstances, a lot of organizations move to a mentorship program and then they create some type of employee resource group, where they allow employees who look alike and think alike to gather in these forums. Mentorship is great, but sponsorship is so much more important. I look at it as a mentor helps you build your brand, while a sponsor helps you sell your brand.”
Some companies are trying to encourage their employees to act as mentors and sponsors by offering financial incentives. “I’ve seen some companies tie sponsorship to bonus structures, where if you recommend someone who successfully completes a project, it’s reflected in your bonus,” said Jackson. “I think that’s key. When you start tying sponsorship and mentorship and the dollars, it makes everyone want to do it just a little bit better.”
He believes pay equity is important, but equity of opportunity is even more important. “We all know that talent and opportunity don’t go hand in hand, so it’s really important that there are equitable opportunities as well,” said Jackson. “That’s happening more and more. I think companies are beginning to see the perspectives of those that work there, the diversity of perspectives, and what we call diversity of thought is just as important as visible diversity.”
Diversity can mean different things, depending on the accountant’s perspective, but opportunity needs to be available for advancement. Accountant Cecelia Leung recently wrote a book, "Dear Accountant," in which she interviewed 20 accounting and finance leaders about their careers. “This book, 'Dear Accountant,' is a celebration of diversity in accounting and finance,” she said. “Initially, when I wrote the book, I really wanted to have a guide first not just in terms of ethnic background, but experience, because their experiences are going to be so much different for all of them. There are so many stereotypes for accountants. You look at someone who is a white male and you must think it’s so easy, but that has proven to be not true for most of them. A lot of people still struggle and have a lot of challenges. Diversity is a big part of it, but I think it all comes down to the individual, the determination to succeed and whether along the way there are people who help them get to where they need to be.”
Recruiting and retention efforts can be harmed when firms don’t seem to have a diverse staff and people at high levels. “We are seeing there is an issue specifically related to retaining and recruiting diverse talent, and it created an opportunity to dig a little deeper with organizations to really identify needs and challenges,” said Nikki Watson, senior manager of global accounts for Becker Professional Education, which recently introduced a DE&I certificate program. “Where are they having issues with reaching diverse talent and what are the issues with supporting and keeping talent? It created an opportunity for us to develop a series of courses that we thought would support organizations that would want to invest in DE&I initiatives and strategies within their organizations. I don’t think there is any secret that there is a diversity issue within the accounting profession, and I think it’s impacting all sizes of organizations from top to bottom. There are some issues as it relates to the hiring process, to onboarding, to career development, and it also relates to culture and whether or not an organization’s culture is inclusive and diverse.”
Jackson has plans to expand his work on diversity in the accounting profession at his new job at the IMA. “For me, the IMA position was so attractive because, in most roles, the director of diversity, equity and inclusion, or someone with a similar role, is normally stuck in the HR department, and they’re normally focused on recruitment and retention of diverse and underrepresented individuals,” he said. “While I think that’s really important, what was so attractive about IMA’s position is that it was externally facing. They wanted their director of diversity, equity and inclusion to really focus on the profession and not just the organization, and I think that’s really important. We look at the dismal statistics of representation within the accounting profession of different ethnicities and sexual orientations. I think it’s more important to focus on the profession as a whole rather than any individual organization. My mandate has been to create change, to change the world, and I’m really looking forward to that.”
One of his main focuses will be to improve access for underrepresented people to opportunities that can help further their career. He also wants to give them more exposure. “They aren’t exposed to development opportunities,” said Jackson. “They’re unexposed to promotional opportunities, and I think that’s very important as well.”
Along with access and exposure, he also wants to focus on promoting development and recognition. “Underrepresented people are historically not recognized for the great work they do,” said Jackson. “We can see that throughout our history where someone has done something great and helped revolutionize something, but not been credited for it. And then development is probably the most important because once we get these people in positions, once we get them recognized, once we provide them access, we want to make sure they have the skills to stay in these positions and continue to climb throughout their career.”
He plans to continue to partner with CalCPA on carrying out further studies on diversity in accounting, going beyond the U.S. to look at trends abroad. “That research was just the first step,” said Jackson. “That was very U.S.-centric. The next step is to expand that research globally, and that’s what we’re working on now in several regions around the world, mainly in Europe and the Middle East. I’m really excited about that as well, so we can get that same snapshot of what’s going on with diversity around the world.”
Besides CalCPA, he also plans for the IMA to work more with groups like the National Association of Black Accountants, the Association of Latino Professionals for America, and Ascend. “Partnership with other organizations is really important, and I look forward to partnering with other organizations such as NABA, ALPFA and Ascend to really do the hard work that needs to be done in the profession,” said Jackson. “I know it’s going to be a journey. It’s not going to be a sprint. It’s going to be more like a marathon. I tell everyone let’s not try to boil the ocean. Let’s do a few things great instead of trying to do a whole lot of things subpar. Do what we can to create some change.”
