The Ten Best Accounting Firms for Women

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Woman and computerBy Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

According to the annual Accounting MOVE Project, created by the American Society of Women Accountants (ASWA) along with Joanne Cleaver, president and founder of the research firm Wilson-Taylor Associates, women account for over half (51.4 percent) of all accounting firm employees, yet, they rarely make it “to the top rank in their profession: partner or senior executive.”

A 2010 MOVE study, released in early April, revealed one reason why women hit the glass ceiling at the senior management level: firms neglect to build women’s skills in business development, forgoing new clients and revenue in the process. And this is just one of a few crucial oversights that make it hard for women to advance in an industry that is otherwise seen as supportive of them.

In conjunction with the findings, ASWA and Cleaver have also released – for the first time ever – a list of the Ten Best Accounting Firms for Women, based on the MOVE research. According to Cleaver, showcasing the best firms provides learning points and insight that other firms can put in place to increase their pipeline of women and help them reach the next level.

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The Changing Role of Finance: Business Partnering

Businesswoman holding presentationBy Elizabeth Harrin (London)

A new study by PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that finance functions are moving away from being transactional centres and becoming key strategic business partners, assisting with decision making. Nearly two thirds of participants in PwC’s benchmarking work said that their finance function primarily acts as a support group for the CEO and the strategic planning process.

PwC’s finance effectiveness benchmark study looked at the finance functions of 1700 businesses in over one hundred FTSE 200 and international companies. It shows that CFO’s have a tough job to do: balancing running an efficient division and providing proactive and insightful information to support business decisions. And of course motivating their teams as we come out of recession, when many of them will have seen colleagues pack up their personal effects in a cardboard box and leave.

Times have been tough for finance teams recently, and they now carry the demands of the wider organisation to steer them along the path to recovery. This is what has prompted adoption of a new model of working with the rest of the business: partnering.

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Advancing Women of Color: The NCRW’s Corporate Leadership Summit

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iStock_000002437760XSmallBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“If gender diversity, cultural and economic diversity is so important to cultural change, then why is there such a paucity of women and women of color in leadership?” asked Linda Basch, President of the National Council for Research on Women.

Basch, speaking at yesterday’s opening panel for the NCRW’s 2010 Corporate Leadership Summit, The Challenge and the Charge: Strategies for Retaining and Advancing Women of Color, continued with a set of statistics revealing the lack of women of color in leadership positions across corporate, non-profit, government, science, and research arenas. “In the second decade of the 21st century, don’t we all find these numbers unacceptable?”

Basch explained that the tide is beginning to turn – that diversity in corporate leadership is beginning to be recognized as a key to success. “We need to harness this moment.” She continued, “This is a time when those with bold dreams can animate bold dreams in all of us.”

The panel, moderated by CNN Anchor Soledad O’Brien, featured Glenda McNeal, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Global Client Group, Merchant Services Americas, American Express, Aynesh Johnson, Managing Director and Global Head of the Office of Global Leadership and Diversity, Goldman Sachs, Joyce Chang, Managing Director and Global Head of Emerging Markets Strategy and Credit Research, JPMorgan, Nellie Borrero, Global Human Capital and Diversity Lead, Accenture, and Carla Harris, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley Investment Management. The women discussed challenges faced by women of color in the corporate arena, and strategies for success.

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Movers and Shakers: Ann McCarthy, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Western Union

annmccarthyBy Tina Vasquez (Los Angeles)

In the 1960’s, Detroit, MI was an interesting place to live. It was during this time that Motown Records emerged, forever tying the city to the soulful sounds of Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, and Smoky Robinson – just to name a few. There was also the burgeoning automobile industry and The Detroit Riot of 1967, but despite all of this change, things remained rather traditional in the home of Anne McCarthy, current Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Western Union – traditional, though not boring or by any means quiet.

McCarthy grew up in a large Irish Catholic household that extended out to her neighborhood. She had 11 siblings and, according to her, everyone on her block either had two kids or ten, but at her Catholic school “if you didn’t have at least eight, we thought there was something wrong!” Her U.S. Marine-trained father father was definitely the disciplinarian, while her mother Cay – jokingly nicknamed “Chaos” by her father – allowed her children more flexibility.

In Detroit, McCarthy’s father had a growing consulting business and was able to send his kids to a college of their choice, though McCarthy was unsure of the path she would take. Thankfully, an emerging interest in writing forged a path that would eventually lead to her position at Western Union.

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Honoring Successful Women, Mentors, and Mentees: The FWA’s Annual Women of the Year Awards

Hauge, Peetz, and Barskaya

Hauge, Peetz, and Barskaya

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

Last night, the Financial Women’s Association held its Annual Dinner and Women of the Year Awards at the Grand Hyatt New York. Each year the FWA honors an outstanding woman in the private and public sectors. This year’s private sector honoree was Karen Peetz, CEO, Financial Markets and Treasury Services, BNY Mellon. The public sector honoree was Gail J. McGovern, President and CEO, The American Red Cross.

Trish Regan, anchor and reporter for CNBC emceed the event. Having hosted for the past two years, she always saw the importance of honoring women. But now, recently having given birth to twin girls, she said the awards took on further significance, causing her to reflect on “the challenges they’ll face entering the workforce.”

Additionally, many of the speakers of the evening reflected on the importance of nurturing and encouraging the next generation of financial women. Mentorship was the prevailing them of the evening, as the FWA’s new Volunteer of the Year award honored the Co-Chairs of its Mentoring Program. The awards honored two of the organization’s outstanding young mentees as well.

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Developing Future Leaders: The Importance of Succession Planning

succession planningBy Elizabeth Harrin (London)

The number of managers available to step into leadership roles will drop dramatically in the coming years, according to a recent study by Egon Zehnder International. The average company will be left with just half the talent it needs by 2015. Why? Demographics – there just aren’t that many people around with the right type of skills and experience. This means that companies are going to have to get a lot better at identifying and nurturing talent from within, as recruiting externally is going to get tougher and more expensive. This is the process of succession planning, and not many companies do it well.

“Historically, companies only considered leadership development a priority for top executives. Market issues are beginning to change this mindset and more and more organisations are starting to think more widely and deeply about their talent,” says Alice Snell, Vice President of Taleo Research, the research wing of talent management software company Taleo. “Unfortunately, there is no ‘restore previous settings’ button to get organisations back to pre-recession growth and success, but having a comprehensive talent management strategy that identifies and builds on critical talent throughout the organisation is a good place to start.”

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In Case You Missed It: Business News Round-up

Beth 005Contributed by Beth Collinge of CTG – a division of ILX Group plc.


US stocks moved to fresh 19-month highs. The euro fell to a one-year low against the dollar and a three-month low against the pound. George Papandreou, Greece’s prime minister, has made a formal request for the proposed European Union-IMF emergency loan package to be activated. President Barack Obama argued last week for a bill that would overhaul US financial regulation.

Economic Backdrop

  • On Friday, US stocks moved to fresh 19-month highs, with the S&P 500 up 0.7%, and the DJIA up 1.68%, following positive durable goods orders and property market data.
  • In the currency markets, the euro fell to a one-year low against the dollar and a three-month low against the pound following comments from Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF managing director, that: “There is no silver bullet to solve [the Greek budget deficit] in an easy manner.” This added to the fear that the eurozone would struggle to resolve the fiscal crisis.

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Voice of Experience: Niloufar Molavi, Tax Partner and U.S. Chief Diversity Officer, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Niloufar MolaviBy Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“Taking risks is not the way I looked at things. I thought of them as opportunities,” explains Niloufar Molavi, PricewaterhouseCoopers‘ Chief Diversity Officer, when describing her career progression. “You have to be willing to step outside your comfort zone.”

Having worked for PwC for nearly 20 years, Molavi has seized upon many opportunities. She began her career as a tax associate in PwC’s Houston office in 1991, and was admitted to the partnership in 2001, working in the firm’s energy tax practice. In 2006, she assumed the leadership role for PwC’s national energy tax practice.

Throughout her career at PwC, and particularly for the last several years, Molavi has championed diversity in the firm’s Houston office. Her efforts grabbed the attention of Bob Moritz, PwC’s chairman and senior partner, who last summer asked Molavi to take on a larger, national role leading diversity and inclusion initiatives as the firm’s CDO.

What most excites her about the new role is the one-to-one connection she is able to make with PwC’s people. “One of the things I’ve always loved about being a professional accountant is the ability to connect with people,” says Molavi. “Everything is about making sure we are building a much more inclusive organization. We want to make sure our people understand and are comfortable working and interacting with people who are different from them. It’s been a lot of fun so far.”

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The Busy Women’s Guide to Mobile Banking

mobile phoneContributed by Arah Erickson, head of Wells Fargo Retail Mobile Banking, a service that launched in 2007.

As all busy women know, time has become the most valuable commodity in our lives, more cherished than that corner office or, in some cases, extra vacation days. And, we are constantly trying to find ways to “multi-task” our way into gaining another 15 minutes in our day. Whether you are an entrepreneur, corporate executive, or a multi-tasking working mom, the common thread among us is that time is precious. We all get creative in how we “find” extra time in the 24-hour day to either fit in one more task or spend a little more time with friends and family.
 
In the quest to simplify our lives in small ways one important place to look is to your mobile phone – and more specifically to the mobile banking tools that many banks are now offering to customers that help manage day-to-day finances on the go.
 
There has been a revolution in what people are doing on their mobile devices and the way they are staying connected to the world through them. Whether it’s calling a taxi, getting driving directions, checking email, or using it for banking, personal mobile devices are the center-piece of communications and information. These days you can get a snapshot of your bank account details, make a payment while traveling by bus or train, pay your bills on your mobile device (even during the middle of the night if you have a fussy baby), or transfer money to a cash-strapped loved one.

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Movers and Shakers: Melody Rollins, Executive Vice President and Client Servicing Account Manager, PIMCO

rollins_melody_v3[1]By Pamela Weinsaft (New York City)

“People chase money or what sounds like a good job. They should be focusing on what their genius is,” said Melody Rollins, an executive vice president and client services account manager in PIMCO’s New York office.

Rollins, a native Northern Californian, went to Georgetown University with the intention to enter the Foreign Service upon graduation. She quickly realized that “to be an ambassador, I’d have to work for 30 years in the civil service all over the world. I wouldn’t really have a personal life, and I would never get to be an ambassador: they are all political contributors and celebrities.”

Following a near-failing grade in economics—“I did horribly in micro in my first semester”—she spent a lot of time in that professor’s office, attempting to understand the principles of economics and raise her grade. That same professor was clearly impressed, recommending that Rollins pursue an economics major, which put her on the road to Wall Street.

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