The AICPA reports that during the last 20 years the proportion of women entering the accounting profession has grown dramatically from 45 percent in 1982 to 56 percent in 2002. However, women represent only 38 percent of the new hires and a mere 14 percent hold the position of partner, shareholder, or owner of their firm.

 

Promoting Your Talent by Professor Nancy Baldiga, associate professor of accounting at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, sheds light on this imbalance. The book features interviews with more than 50 successful women, human resource directors, and managing partners about the obstacles faced by women and the practices that both women and firms can adopt to help facilitate advancement in the accounting profession.

Through vignettes and direct quotes, Baldiga and the experts offer advice to both women and firms. Women can learn how to recognize and capitalize on their skill sets, project the right image, develop and maintain important relationships, identify new opportunities and how to network effectively. Firm executives can learn how successful firms have managed training, mentoring, flexible work arrangements, leadership development and communication. 

 

"Women's advancement is an extremely important issue for the Institute and for all of our member firms and companies," said William Ezzell, chairman of the AICPA board. "We all benefit from having the best and brightest in this profession. Addressing these issues is not only the right thing to do; it is the smart thing to do."

Promoting Your Talent can be ordered at www.cpa2biz.com