Career Sustainability and Flexible Partnership Model Success Outlined in 2023 Accounting MOVE Project Report

Pinched between immediate capacity shortfalls and applying
talent to innovation, firms are crafting new ways to recognize
and reward women’s resilience.

[Reno Nevada, OCTOBER 27, 2023]—

You can’t go the distance on an empty tank. 

It takes pacing, re-fueling and constant systems checks to achieve long-term goals, for both accounting and advisory firms and women in the profession. Individual career sustainability is essential for firm growth – and vice versa.

In the 2023 Accounting MOVE Project report, released today, a talent-starved profession receives a fresh influx of strategies and inspiration for investing in the women it must attract and retain to achieve short goals and survive long-term. With nearly 75% of accounting firm leaders eligible for retirement, and accounting degree college enrollment continuing to drop, the profession is at a crossroads. It is more important than ever for firms to find ways to attract and retain employees to not only meet increasing client needs, but to simply survive. So, what are firms that are outpacing the industry doing differently?

The Accounting MOVE Project report finds firms embracing the new super skill of career sustainability are rising to the occasion. For women, career sustainability addresses the capacity to maintain motivation and energy at every step, while rebalancing the personal and professional with each engagement. For firms, it engenders a leadership culture, defining new capabilities, qualifications, and measurements for unmapped growth. And for both, this super skill is the ability to “skate to where the puck is” on slanted ice through upended physics. Through it all, mutual respect and collaboration remains paramount, the inescapable legacy of the workplace upheaval brought on by the pandemic.

“In today’s increasingly challenging talent crunch, it is important for firms to create opportunities for women to advance in the way that makes the most sense for them,” said Tricia Bencich, Inclusion & Social Responsibility Associate Director for Moss Adams. “We must work together to ensure clients get the attention they need, employees have the power to craft their ideal careers, and firms can continue to thrive.”

Along with this year’s report, the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance and Accounting MOVE Project released its two lists of exemplary CPA firms, based on the Accounting MOVE Project results: the 2023 Best Firms for Women and the 2023 Best Firms for Equity Leadership. Winning firms are listed below.

“We are excited to see firms embrace radical flexibility so women can create their own career path instead of being forced to stick to a rigid, and outdated, progression,” said Cindy Beets, Global Head of Marketing, SAPRO. “It is also encouraging to see so many firms introducing and expanding holistic well-being offerings so women can take care of themselves – as well as others – no matter where they are in their career journey.”

“When options abound, women want to work for firms that appreciate their talents and give them opportunities to advance at a pace that fits with the rest of their lives. That’s why programs like the Accounting MOVE Project are so important to identify firms that have a history of women in leadership and offer flexible career options,” said Cindy Stanley, Executive Director of the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance.

“When the 2023 Nobel prize in economics is awarded to a historian for her work unmasking the ingrained imbalance in wages and opportunities between men and women, we are in good company,” said Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk, Accounting MOVE Project president. “We are committed to identifying and sharing best practices so the profession as a whole can become more equitable and attract a more diverse slate of leaders.”

Contact:

Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk

Accounting MOVE Project

404.423.4433

bonnie@accountingMOVEproject.com

Cindy Stanley

Accounting & Financial Women’s Alliance

859.684.2275

cindy.stanley@afwa.org

The Accounting & Financial Women’s Alliance promotes the professional growth of women in accounting and finance. Members of the association benefit from opportunities to connect with colleagues, advance their careers, and become industry leaders. For more than 85 years, the organization has proudly upheld its mission to enable women in all accounting and related fields to achieve their full potential and to contribute to their profession. Visit https://www.afwa.org/ for more information.