Big Accounting's Glacial Pace to Racial Diversity
Long ago, in a galaxy far away, I started my professional career with one of the “Big” Accounting firms. It was long enough ago that you needed more than one hand to count the number of said firms. I worked in the tax division of the Denver office for 13 years before the Firm and I parted paths. During that time the tax division averaged probably 55 people and the audit division double that. Turnover at the Firm averaged 25-30 percent annually. In my years at the Firm I would estimate 900 to 1000 professionals passed through the Denver office. Of those hundreds of people I would not need my full allotment of fingers to count the Black and Hispanic professionals that walked through the double doors (A clue to my Firm). I was among the less than one handful who reached a management level. I frequently attended events with personnel from other firms and they had similar workforce profiles. I also frequently interacted with executive personnel at my clients and with attorneys and