By Rebecca Kerr, OSCPA communications intern
Cassady Schiller CPAs was recently honored by Accounting Today and Best Companies Group as one of the “2018 Best Accounting Firms for Women.” In a ranking of 15 total accounting firms from around the country, the Cincinnati firm took the bronze, coming in at number three on the list.
“I’ve always known this is a great place for women to work so, in some respects, maybe I wasn’t super surprised that we made the list,” said Heather Bucher, CPA, chief operating officer for Cassady Schiller. “But, at the same time, it was a surprise because we did not know it was coming.”
To be considered for this honor, eligible firms “must have either a minimum of 25 female employees, or women must represent 25% of staff, and the female response rate to the ‘Best Firms to Work For’ anonymous employee survey must be greater than or equal to 50%. They are ranked in order of percent of positive female response, from largest to smallest.”
Comprised of a staff that is 58% female, the firm is sitting high on the list based on employees’ positive response. Whitney Fagin, HR manager for Cassady Schiller, credits an influx of talented candidates for their above-average number of female employees.
“We had a trend where we had really good female interns that have turned into really good female staff, that have then turned into really good female management,” Fagin said. “From there, it’s that growth we’ve had and that we’ve been able keep the women we have on our staff happy and wanting to continue to work for us.”
Bucher cited the firm’s flexible, nontraditional work schedules.
“If I go back to even 10 years ago, the firm has always been very open to women working flexible schedules and different schedules even before it was the norm,” she said. “We always looked at it as, ‘hey, we’d rather have a portion of their hours than no hours at all,’ because if you’re not open to some of these women that wanted to work less hours, you’re going to miss out on some really, really good talent.”
With the long hours the accounting profession requires, Bucher and Fagin stressed the importance of an enjoyable work environment and employees who protect and foster the workplace culture.
Bucher said although there is room for further progress, she has seen change throughout her career.
“I graduated from The University of Cincinnati in 1995 and I can remember, for a long time that if I was at a meeting or some sort of business event, that I was one of the few women there,” she said. “It’s been really nice to see that, as my career has progressed, that has changed. It’s still definitely weighted toward men, but I do feel like we’ve come a really long way.”