A commitment to DEI: Two platforms changing the way we view Accounting

What do you think about when you think of the Accounting industry? Someone to do your taxes? What type of professional do you think of; someone who sits at a desk crunching numbers all day, calculators, pocket protectors, and are they diverse or are they white? Traditionally the accounting profession has fallen victim to stereotypes of boring career options, long hours, and the requirements of being a math whiz, none of these things actually being representative of the job itself. As we have tried to improve our corporate listening over the last several years, many industries have identified a growing issue when it comes to diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) and have made major strides to combat implicit biases, along with barriers to entry within a profession. DEI is a major focus for 8 major accounting firms across the country, and of The Center of Audit Quality (CAQ), a nonpartisan public policy organization serving as the voice of the U.S. public company auditors. 

A commitment to DEI is easier said than done, as it’s roots grow much deeper than applying changes to corporate culture. To effectively commit to DEI, it is important to identify several roadblocks into the accounting industry itself; with this goal in mind, two initiatives were born: Bold Ambition and Accounting+ whose mission is to actually create significant and impactful changes, even from childhood. Our partnership with CAQ included branding, front and back end web design and development, copy, creative collateral, and identifying relevant tone and voice to deliver the messages across various backgrounds. The two initiatives serve not only the accounting industry, but reflect a growing need for change in our country, with an understanding communities, companies, and economies perform best with diverse contributions. When creating the platform for Bold Ambition the focus was on the firms, their efforts, and creating a full picture as to how the industry is coming together to create impactful change. Ease of use, tone for media, and thoughtful collateral are of high importance for the authenticity of the commitment to convey through a landing page and corresponding subpages. 

Accounting+ serves as a resource for interested teens, parents, and anyone within the Black, Latino, and Hispanic communities who are interested in learning the truth about accounting. Accounting+ shows future generations how accounting opens doors to a fulfilling, impactful career full of opportunities including travel, problem solving, and business ownership. Research into the target audience played a major role in crafting which spotlights should be featured on the platform. Tone, inclusivity, and an ability to reach a much younger audience remained at the heart of development when creating an easy to use, interactive website. 

Take a look at these websites we produced for CAQ - we could not be more proud of the results and all involved!

https://www.boldambition.org/

https://www.joinaccountingplus.com/