After four consecutive years of being named to the Accounting MOVE Project’s (MOVE) annual list of top firms for equity leadership, Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell (CBM) received that honor for a fifth year in 2023 along with first-time recognition as one of the best accounting firms for women. MOVE, which publishes with the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance an annual report highlighting firms that successfully demonstrate advancement of women at accounting and consulting firms, is the only benchmarking project that counts and advocates for women in the profession. This year’s report focus has been career sustainability for women and building a flexible model for partnership at their firms.
“CBM believes that supporting our employees’ personal growth and learning has provided an avenue for success in all stages of their career,” said Daniel L. Weaver, CPA, president of CBM. “This, in turn, has drawn an attractive slate of diverse recruits and talent to all levels of leadership including as partners, managers and future leaders. We promote work-life integration and flexibility while remaining open to changes when in the best of interest of the firm and individual team members.”
Participation on MOVE’s Best CPA Firms for Equity Leadership list requires firms to have at least 31% women partners and principals, which is widely recognized as the tipping point for members of a group to have an individual impact. (Forty percent of CBM’s partners are women.) The Best CPA Firms for Women requires a proportionate number of women at most or all levels of management and proven success with the MOVE factors, which are detailed below.
“As competition for talent in our profession continues,” added Reema Patel, manager and co-director of CBM’s diversity and inclusion group, D-PATH, “firms that provide new strategies and inspiration for investing in women to help achieve personal and corporate goals will reap the benefits of some amazing talent.”
The Accounting MOVE Project is based on the MOVE methodology, developed by research partner Wilson-Taylor Associates, Inc, which investigates the factors proven to be essential to women’s career success including (M)oney, or fair pay practices, (O)pportunity or advancement and leadership development, (V)ital Supports, or work-life programs that remove barriers, and (E)ntrepreneurship, or operating experience for managing or business ownership.
The Accounting & Financial Women’s Alliance promotes the professional growth of women in accounting and finance. Members of the association benefit from opportunities to connect with colleagues, advance their careers, and become industry leaders. For more than 85 years, the organization has proudly upheld its mission to enable women in all accounting and related fields to achieve their full potential and to contribute to their profession.
Click here to learn more about D-PATH, the firm’s diversity and inclusion group.
Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell (CBM) is a professional services firm delivering tax, accounting and business advisory expertise throughout the Mid-Atlantic region from offices in Bethesda, MD and Washington, DC.
