Today, NABA reports that there are more than 5,000 Black CPAs in the United States, as compared to 646,520 in total across the United States as of 2006, according to National Association of State Boards of Accountancy statistics cited in a newsletter published by the New York Capital Chapter of the Association of Government Accountants. Although that’s only good for .77 percent Black representation in the CPA ranks as opposed to the approximately 13 percent Black representation in the general U.S. population, it is clear that some progress has been made.
In an email to Diverse, NABA vice president of membership, marketing and communications Michelle Harris reports that the organization is active on a number of fronts in promoting diversity in accounting. NABA “is a stakeholder of the Howard University School of Business Center for Accounting Education, an entity that addresses unique challenges young African-Americans face when entering the accounting profession by offering programs and resources that prepare them to succeed,” says Harris.
According to Harris, NABA is also “a Supply Alliance member of The PhD Project, helping to spread the word by providing their members and/or alumni with essential information about a career in academia.”
Harris goes on to say that NABA “believes in the mission of The PhD project, which is to increase diversity in business school faculty, and gives The PhD Project access to its member databases, visibility at its national convention and other exposure.”
Last month, Ernst & Young, one of the “Big Four” accounting firms by revenue (along with Deloitte, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers), held its ninth annual Discover EY event and seventh annual Campus Diversity and Inclusiveness Roundtable, which both aim to boost the number of underrepresented minorities working in the professional services industry.
For Discover EY, Ernst & Young paid all expenses to bring more than 150 high-achieving, ethnically diverse college students from across the United States to New York to not only be exposed to the range of career options at EY but also develop the leadership capacities they can put to good use at other future employers.
