Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts: Collaborating for Diversity

The Center for Accounting Education at Howard University partnered with public accounting firms, professional accounting associations, state CPA societies, and accounting academics to formulate recommendations to improve the advancement and retention of Black accounting professionals. Black accountants make up 9 percent of all U.S. accountants and auditors, but in public accounting firms they account for only 4 percent of professional staff and a mere 1 percent of partners (U.S. BLS 2019; AICPA 2019). An important indicator of the collaboration’s success is that public accounting firm leaders sought out its findings and are implementing its recommendations. This paper presents the formation, operation, and outcomes of the collaboration. It also describes the value each group gained from collaborating and provides recommendations for managing collaborations. Our descriptions are offered as a model for others to translate the results of academic research into industry action.