By Abigail Draper, OSCPA communication & engagement manager
The Ohio Society of CPAs earlier this year became the first CPA society to sign the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace.
“We support diversity and inclusion not only because it's the right thing to do,” said OSCPA President and CEO Scott Wiley, CAE, “but also because it's scientifically proven that a diverse group of employees leads to better collaboration and problem-solving.”
CEO Action was created by leaders from Deloitte US, EY, KPMG, PwC, Accenture, BCG, The Executive Leadership Council, General Atlantic, New York Life and P&G. It began when more than 150 CEOs from leading companies signed the pledge and has grown to almost 700 signatories.
Already this year OSCPA has completed several initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion in the accounting profession and throughout the business world, including:
Additionally, OSCPA Diversity & Inclusion Manager Sierra Austin, Ph.D., was a speaker at Central State University’s 24th Annual Communication Week, where she spoke about the Society’s D&I strategy.
The efforts will continue. For example, in September, OSCPA is partnering with Fisher College of Business to take minority students from OSU and other Ohio colleges and universities to the 2019 NABA Central Region Student Conference. Austin said Society staff will continue looking for opportunities like these to encourage diversity and inclusion in the CPA profession and across the state.
“We’ve come a long way, but still have more strides to make,” she said. “I’m very excited to see how we progress from here.”