'Limited pipeline' biggest challenge in advancing DE&I, survey finds

Accounting firms and corporate tax departments cited a lack of top candidates in the talent pipeline as the biggest hurdle in addressing diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I), according to a new survey.

Bloomberg Tax’s 2021 Diversity & Inclusion Survey — an update to its original 2017 survey — utilized feedback from 169 respondents from accounting firms (with more than 100 employees and $10 million in annual revenue) and 165 respondents from corporations (with over $500 million in annual revenue).

The survey concluded that despite an increased awareness of DE&I practices, there still hasn't been significant progress made in the tax industry — especially at the management level, which remains mostly White- and male-centric — which keeps in line with how the profession views itself.

Both accounting firms and corporate tax departments cited a limited talent pipeline as their biggest challenge in advancing DE&I within their organizations. The second biggest DE&I-related challenge was split among the two parties: Accounting firm respondents cited commitments and/or a lack of support for non-billable work as their other top roadblock on the road to diversity. Corporate tax respondents, meanwhile, cited a lack of diversity in senior leadership teams.

Both accounting firms and corporate tax respondents proposed that different recruitment strategies, increased cultural training and DE&I dialogue, and a general increase in organizational visibility on DE&I metrics as methods to remedy their DE&I woes.

Other highlights from the Bloomberg Tax’s 2021 Diversity & Inclusion Survey include:

• Men comprise the majority of senior roles (managers and directors) across firms and corporate tax departments, with the exception of manager-level roles in corporate tax departments, where women comprise roughly 50% of roles.
• Manager and director roles across both firms and corporate tax departments remain overwhelmingly White, in contrast to the current U.S. population demographics.
• Eighty-nine percent of corporate tax respondents say they have a DE&I strategy in place, up from 72% in 2017.
• Eighty-one percent of corporate tax respondents believe that advancing DE&I is important to their company.

For the full report, head to Bloomberg Tax's site here.