Recruiting, Retaining, and Promoting Women in CPA Industry - Essay Example

Research Proposal: Recruiting, Retaining, and Promoting Women in CPA Industry Introduction and Background This part of the research proposal provides an introduction and general background information on the stated problems. But first a short description of my company is given. The company I work for is Hein & Associates LLP, Human Resources department. It is a full-service accounting and advisory company with offices in Denver, Houston, Dallas, Southern California and Phoenix. Hein & Associates LLP has chosen close work with clients and at the same time independence and objectivity as its mission statement. In spite of the fact that the firm has been performing successfully in the recent years, it still has major obstacles on its path similar to other CPA company. Moreover, it can be stated that the same problems concern the whole CPA industry; that is recruitment, retention and promotion of qualified women accountants into managerial positions is hindered with inability of CPA companies to provide employees with a suitable work schedule offering the desired work-life balance. The following background information gives more detail on these issues. The role of women in CPA firms has changed significantly over the last 20 years. The whole new dimension that women have brought into accounting profession was about being more relationship-focused. But even more importantly, leadership roles are often taken by women at CPA firms now. "When I joined BK in 1982, we had no women partners or managers. Now we have five female partners and 21 women managers Clients also are more accepting of women in authority positions" (Burns 2003). Currently the traditional image of the leading man has been shaken with skillful women leaders at CPA companies. The statistics gathered by Stafford Specialized Information Services during its research of Women in Public Accounting 1992-2000 (2000, p. 4) shows that the Big Five auditors more than tripled ranks of women partners since 1992: there was 434 women partners in 1994 and 1,384 of them in 2000. At the same time women's share of partnership in big CPA firms has risen from 4,8% to 11,7% in 1992-2000. Although partnership is not always the most desired goal for every woman in CPA, still it is the most significant achievement for them. As statistics shows, more and more women become oriented towards leadership in CPA. Nowadays public accounting companies have also changed their view of women's role. "In addition to strong technical skills, firms now look very closely at the interpersonal skills of job candidates, too Approximately 50 percent of our entry-level hires are women." (Burns 2003). Meanwhile recruitment and retention still remains to be the most troubling concern for CPA firms. Finding qualified staff and developing future owners of CPA companies was identified as the first item in their top priorities list (The Practicing CPA 2003). Young professional women are now more acceptable with CPA companies than before, mainly due to more flexible scheduling. However, the old issue with work-life balance still remains the most challenging factor for women, who decided to bring career into their life. Studies of the past indicate that there are some positive changes, which is supported with an increasing number of women leaders in CPA firms. The research held in 1990 has revealed that one-third of 721 survey respondents "believe that their accounting work has had some negative affect on their opportunity to marry or on their marriage, while 28% of those who are unmarried believe that their job demands partly explain why they are not married" (Stockard 1990). According to Burns (2003) it is now possible for both men and women to have flexible work schedules and maintain a work-family balance. Nevertheless the problem of balance still remains to be urgent. Extensive travels to client offices, which may mean the accountant is away for several weeks, make it very hard to maintain a work-life balance for managers and partners. That is why women accountants pay attention to such issues as flexible scheduling, advancement of women and child-care options during their search of employer CPA firm (The Practicing CPA 2003). Resuming all that was said before, it is clear that the effective solution of the work-life balance problem will bring benefits to both CPA firms and employees. From the employees' side women will have better opportunities for career while not declining their family life. Eventually in that case CPA companies will be able to recruit and train more talented personnel, so finding qualified staff and succession objectives will be out of their list of concerns. Research Design Problem Statement The career development of women accountants in CPA industry is hindered with work-life balance issues. Various flexible work arrangements seem to be only partial solution of those issues (FWA will be examined more explicitly in the next part of the proposal: Secondary Data). Slowing down talented female specialists is not advantageous to CPA firms; therefore this problem requires more effective resolution than it has now. The aim of the proposed research is to bring clear picture on demands of women accountants and applicants relating to work-life balance issues. It will allow CPA firms to recruit, retain and promote talented women specialists into manager and partner positions more effectively. Additionally, other issues that hinder career development of women accountants should identified within the proposed research. Addressing the needs of qualified female employees is an effort every CPA firm should take. But before that we must make sure we are settling issues that are really important to women in CPA industry, and that is exactly proposed to do in this research. Design Strategies As the main purpose of this research is to provide CPA firms with information, therefore this research will use a descriptive strategy during the survey. At first the review of secondary data will help to gather as much information on the research problem as possible. It will help to prepare initial documents for survey and questionnaire forms. When the sample frame is determined and all the preparations for the survey are done the information from the participants of the study will be gathered. Then follows the analysis stage. The main tool of gathering the information from the sample frame will be questionnaire. It provides the information of quantitative nature which can be easily analyzed from the same descriptive viewpoint. The results acquired after the analysis of the information will be the base for recommendations to CPA companies on the improvements of work schedule. Population Determination Two aspects of the proposed research should not be mixed into one: recruitment and retaining. They should be viewed as separate issues. Therefore this research intends two different surveys to be made. The first one, which deals with retaining, will be targeted on 40 women accountants of the company to find out what issues, in their opinion, hinder their promotion into manager and partner positions. The second survey will have 40 applicants as its sample frame. Thus the information concerning recruitment will be gathered. The details on the data collection processes will be given in the next part of research design. Data Collection The main data collection tool that will be used in this research is the questionnaire. It will be used for both accountants and applicants. Though questions given in questionnaire forms will be different both groups will be offered to evaluate items of the questionnaire using the Likert scale. A Likert Scale is a rating scale that requires the subject to indicate her degree of agreement/disagreement with a statement. By rating scale we mean the scales that are usually used to measure attitudes, towards an object, the degree to which an object contains a particular attribute (like or dislike), toward some attribute, or the importance attached to an attribute. The scale that will be used in both questionnaire forms consists of 5 degrees: 4 (strong agreement), 3 (agreement), 2 (disagreement), 1 (strong disagreement), and 0 (no opinion). Questionnaire was selected for the anonymity it provides to participants, and ability to gather all the opinions in short period of time. Additional benefits of using the questionnaire will show up during the data processing and analysis. Data Analysis Once the information is retrieved the researcher will proceed to processing and analysis of the raw data. As the questionnaire provides the data of quantitative nature it requires less effort for interpretation than the qualitative one. The answers of respondents will be put into separate matrices for women accountants and applicants. Additionally data processing includes differentiation for married/unmarried women with/without children. After the information is put into matrices it will be possible for presentation in percentage score for each category. Afterwards main tendencies can be easily traced and recommendations will be developed. Secondary Data This part of the proposal will deal with the review of literature on discovering issues that hinder career development of women in CPA industry. But first of all it must be explained, why should we separate women from men when talking about career In other words, can we apply the assumptions reliable for women in CPA to men in the same industry This question leads us to the concept of gender reviewed in the work of British researchers Kyriacou and Johnston (2000). Specifically they mention the work of Oakley (1985), according to which gender is socially constructed in contrast to sex referring to biological differences. "One line of meaning draws on the idea of the differences between men and women from mainly biological stance. The second line draws on the differences within the category of 'woman' itself as well as within the specific social existence" (Kyriacou and Johnston 2000, p. 3). Differences in the attitude to career in general and in the career development in accounting follow from the gender differences illustrated in this study. Moreover, "the differences in social reality can be individual and highly personalized through differences between 'women' Difference can exist at different levels whether it be class based, culture based or social based" (Kyriacou and Johnston 2000, p. 4). In this highly differentiated social environment a researcher should make any generalizations with great caution. For example the work by Almer and Single (2004) clearly illustrates that flexible work arrangements, which are very helpful when retaining talented female professionals, cannot be blindly applied to men. Research has shown that FWAs improve the retention and job satisfaction of female professionals. But if employers want to more fully reap the benefits of FWAs by also making them attractive to men, they should be aware that men's experience of FWAs, and coworkers' perceptions of male FWA participants, are different. (Almer and Single 2004) This illustration clearly explains why we should study issues hindering the career development of men and women at CPA firms separately. Looking closer at the nature of those issues one should consider that most of the working women are strongly tied to their family life. "There seems to be agreement that women still tend to carry the bulk of childcare responsibilities. Working women are more likely to seek accommodations in their schedules" (Almer and Single 2004). That is why participation in firms' work/family balance program is seen by women accountants as a positive move enhancing their career. Flexible work agreements seem to be only a partial solution of the work-life balance problem. "Tired of trying to balance work and family demands, many CPAs wonder if flexible work arrangements are the answer. At the same time, many firms wonder if they really do benefit from offering their employees flexible work arrangements" (Almer and Kaplan 2000). The survey held by these researchers has provided important information on the FWA. For example, it is considered by many executives that FWA do not really improve retention. However more than 80% of Flex CPAs reported that if their flexible work arrangement had not been approved, they would have left the firm (Almer and Kaplan 2000). FWA works, but not perfectly. There are still improvements to be made in scheduling to offer female accountants the ability to live their lives and work without exhaustion. Sample Sampling Technique As the proposed research operates mainly with quantitative data it is suggested to use probability sampling techniques. They ensure that each sampling unit has a known likelihood of distribution. This gives unbiased selection of sampling units and proper sampling representation of the defined populations - another advantage allowing researchers to expand the results acquired from this study from one company on the whole industry. Researchers will use stratified sampling techniques, as they divide the population into subgroups, and then samples are drawn from each of them. This gives the researchers better likelihood of success during expanding the results on larger group. It should be noted that while some subgroups are mutual excusive (e.g. married/unmarried) the others are not (e.g. married and without children). Therefore we should simplify the subgroup structure, making the entire subgroups mutual exclusive, that is: married accountants with children, married accountants without children, unmarried accountants with children, and unmarried accountants without children. The same four subgroups will be used with applicants. In this case these subgroups represent discrete clusters with samples in each of them selected randomly. Researchers Note that the proposed research does not require vast financial or temporal resources due to its simple research design. The number of researchers holding questionnaires can vary from one to one on each cluster depending on the desired speed of the survey. The same researchers then will analyze the acquired data and develop recommendations on the basis of this analysis. Thus there are three main tasks for researchers: holding questionnaires, interpreting the results, and developing recommendations. Population Although the size of the population and its determination has already been provided in the Research Design section a little light should be shed on the justification of the choices made. The determination looks to be intuitive: it is women accountants and applicants whose problems are surveyed, so asking them looks to be quite logical. Sampling design has determined 8 clusters in the population of the proposed research. Taking 10 samples from each group will give the researchers high confidence in the research, at the same time larger population will be followed with unnecessary costs. It is also should be noted that the population is limited with only one company, Hein & Associates LLP. That is why 40 female accountants and 40 applicants will be selected for the proposed survey. Questionnaire Draft Although the data collection and the analysis of the acquired information has already been given in the Research Design section, this part of the proposal deals with the questionnaire draft (given as an example; targeted on the accountants' population): Please agree or disagree with each of the statements below by placing the following marks in the right column: 4 (strong agreement), 3 (agreement), 2 (disagreement), 1 (strong disagreement), and 0 (no opinion). 1. I like to work in this company. 2. I am satisfied with my career achievements. 3. It is easier for men than for women to make a career in our company. 4. It is easier for women than for men to make a career in our company. 5. If I had the opportunity I would gladly become a CPA partner. 6. My career leaves me enough time for my private life. 7. I think it is possible to become a CPA partner and devote enough time to family. 8. I feel that I am a valuable and trustworthy employer in the eyes of my superiors. 9. I feel support from my management and colleagues. 10. Workload expectations of my company are realistic, in my opinion. 11. My productivity would have increased if the company has lowered my workload. 12. Due to extensive travels to client offices I am unable to devote enough time to my family. 13. My family supports my decision to work for this firm. 14. My family would have been glad if I have become a CPA partner. 15. My private life leaves me enough time for development of my career. Please circle your marital status: married unmarried How many children do you have Please circle your age group: Under 18; 18-25; 26-35; 36-45; 46-55; 56-65; Over 65 Research Objectives To conduct a survey of women accountants and applicants in order to find out what issues obstruct their career development. To perform critical analysis of the information gathered during the survey and separate most urgent issues from the secondary ones. To develop recommendations for CPA firms on solving those issues basing on the information gathered during the survey. To present recommendations in a form of a detailed report. Summary and Conclusions The proposed research will bring benefits both to CPA companies and women employees. On the one hand, recommendations developed during the research will help CPA companies to resolve their most urgent challenge, i.e. recruiting qualified personnel and succession planning. On the other hand, results of the proposed research will help women in CPA industry to inform the authorities about the most vital issues they encounter. Talented women specialists can become the successors of CPA industry only if executives will listen to their expectations on their careers. References Almer, E.D. and Kaplan, S.E. (2000). Myths and Realities of Flexible Work Arrangements. The CPA Journal, Vol. 70, No. 4, p. 14. Retrieved September 10, 2005 from http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2000/0400/Features/f41400a.htm Almer, E.D. and Single, L.E. (2004). Career Consequences of Flexible Work Arrangements: the Daddy Track. The CPA Journal, Vol. 74, No. 9, p.56. Retrieved September 10, 2005 from http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2004/904/essentials/p56.htm Burns, G. (2003). Interview to Clare Fitzerald. Insight Magazine, November-December. Retrieved September 10, 2005 from http://www.insight-mag.com/insight/03/11-12/col-9-pt-1-QuestionTime.asp Kyriacou, O. and Johnston, R. (2001). A Review of Invisible 'Herstory' in UK Accounting: Minority Ethnic Women Accountants. Paper for Presentation at the European Accounting Association, 24th Annual Congress, 18th-20th April 2001, Athens, Greece. Retrieved September 10, 2005 from http://mubs.mdx.ac.uk/Research/Discussion_Papers/Accounting_and_Finance/review_of_an_invisible_herstory.pdf Oakley, A. (1985). Sex, Gender and Society. Revised edition, Gower (first edition: London, Temple Smith, 1972). Practicing CPA, The. (2003). Top CPA Firm Concern: Recruitment and Retention. AICPA. Retrieved September 10, 2005 from http://www.aicpa.org/pubs/tpcpa/dec2003/top.htm Stafford. (2000). Report: Women in Public Accounting 1992-2000. Stafford Publications, Atlanta. Stockard, J.B. (1990). The Woman CPA: Career and Family. The CPA Journal, June. Retrieved September 10, 2005 from http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/old/08570712.htm. Read More