[neaux]

Hi everyone. This is my first post here. I have always appreciated the info that has been given from members on this site. My question is, What is the perception of African Americans in public accounting? It would be great if everyone could describe the representation of African American accountants at their firm including public or industry and size of the firm.

I am an African American student and I have a recruiting event coming up. I am simply prioritizing the firms at the event and I am keeping an open mind to industry companies. Any comment is appreciated; well, I can anticipate bad/discriminatory comments (so most comments are appreciated lol.) Thanks.

FAR - 81, 7/4/16
AUD - 77, 7/11/16
BEC - 83, 7/23/16
REG - 63, 8/12/16; 87 11/4/16

NINJA saved my working life!

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't worry about it. If you have good grades, are a hard worker and seem like your into the firm, I don't see why there would be an issue.

I wouldn't prioritize and instead just apply to everything. It will be difficult because it is so competitive, regardless of race.

My school had a National Association of Black Accounts chapter. (NABA). That could be something to look into to maybe give you a more direct answer. I think they have a convention coming up. It could be a great networking opportunity

https://www.nabainc.org

Good luck. If you really want to do it, don't give up and keep knocking on doors. Eventually one will open up.

I

[s2sylvir]

I don't think it's an issue, at least not at the firm I work for. If anything, my firm is trying to hire into a culture with more diversity :3 Also, from my experiences with college recruiting, none of the Big 4 cared too much about ethnicity.

BEC - PASS (79)
AUD - PASS (63, 71, 74, 74, 83)
REG - PASS (88)
FAR - PASS (58, 89)

Becker for all + FAR 10 Point Combo

[Martin]

Big 4 firms do not care too much about ethnicity. Here in South Florida if the girl interviewing at one of the big 4 is a 9 or a 10, they dont care if she is white,brown,black,yellow or red.

Through God all things can happen!

“You never fail until you stop trying.”
― Albert Einstein
When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people;as I grow older, I admire kind people.
“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

FAR= 72-84
Audit= 73-82
BEC= 74-75
Reg=77

[s2sylvir]

@Martin

Please explain, 9 or 10?

BEC - PASS (79)
AUD - PASS (63, 71, 74, 74, 83)
REG - PASS (88)
FAR - PASS (58, 89)

Becker for all + FAR 10 Point Combo

[Mjganier]

In my opinion, it can depend on where you're located. The firms in my area (South Louisiana w/ no Big 4) are terrible in hiring people of diverse culture, even if they have the grades, work ethic, or experience. From what I have experienced and have heard from others in firms in my area, diversity is nearly non-existent. Corporate and government, however, are on the other side of the spectrum hiring anyone as long as they believe they're the best candidate possible. Regardless, do your best and present yourself as best as possible. If they choose not to hire you because of that simple fact, then they're really not worth working for anyway.

FAR 8/18/2014--87
AUD 10/18/2014--78
REG 11/24/2014--76
BEC 2/28/2015--76

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"-Albert Einstein

Study Mats: Cpaexcel study text and EQ, Ninja MCQ, Ninja notes

[Anonymous]

@s2sylvir a 9 or 10 as in on a scale of 1 to 10 how hot is that person (1 being ugly and 10 being really hot). Pretty much saying that if the girl is hot, race doesnt matter

[Martin]

s2sylvir, Im sorry I was not more specific. I thought the 1 to 10 scale for women was universal knowledge. The following video should explain to you what a 9 to 10 is when it comes to hiring female accountants at the big 4 here in south florida.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKWmFWRVLlU

Through God all things can happen!

“You never fail until you stop trying.”
― Albert Einstein
When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people;as I grow older, I admire kind people.
“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

FAR= 72-84
Audit= 73-82
BEC= 74-75
Reg=77

[Anonymous]

LOL

[Jay_P_]

Hi there! I'm a Black Girl who got my start in public accounting. I absolutely hated it. (But that had nothing to do with race) As far as my experiences I interned 2 summers at a Big 4 in in a big city before starting full time there in Audit. Going off of statistics and my personal experiences, Big 4s have trouble with retention of African Americans. So we actually had a conference for all the Black new hires in the country. To me, and some other attendees, it was a little forced and unnecessary. But we did get a chance to meet with the few black partners (and I do mean few) and there was unlimited wine. With the actual work, in all honesty, there won't be too many other African Americans depending on what city you choose to work in. But if that's important to you, it would be a good idea to also join an affinity circle, NABA, or any other organizations targeting AA professionals. Just know a lot of public accounting firms are looking to increase their diversity numbers, so if your grades are good you will have NO problem at all. I'm in industry now. like it A LOT better, but that has more to do with the kind of work I'm doing and the hours.

[s2sylvir]

@cprv19

I was hoping there was a more scholarly meaning to it~

BEC - PASS (79)
AUD - PASS (63, 71, 74, 74, 83)
REG - PASS (88)
FAR - PASS (58, 89)

Becker for all + FAR 10 Point Combo

[neaux]

I'm aware of NABA but the school that I currently attend does not have a chapter. Also, the school I previously attended was private with not many African Americans and did not even have an accounting program. I guess I am a little worried because there isn't good representation. It's comforting to know that a black woman got into Big 4 with no issue because they face the most obstacles when it comes to social mobility.

@mjgainer…I agree and I guess that's why I'm so concerned in the first place. I'm in Houston, Tx.

Anyway, thanks for the comments. I'll be posting more when my CPA journey starts at the end of the year.

FAR - 81, 7/4/16
AUD - 77, 7/11/16
BEC - 83, 7/23/16
REG - 63, 8/12/16; 87 11/4/16

NINJA saved my working life!

[fuzyfro89]

The firms are desperate to retain minorities because it's embarrassing to have such poor retention rates. If you are qualified, they will fight the other firms to have you join.

[Mjganier]

As diverse as Houston is, I doubt it'd be much of an issue. I had 27 interviews here between firms and industry and was finally offered an Auditor job with the state. If I hadn't gotten this job, I would have moved to either Houston or Austin for better opportunities. I have a mixed background and didn't have the best grades due to working 30+ hour weeks and going to school full time so I had both kind of working against me. Point is, work hard, don't give up and someone will take you on.

FAR 8/18/2014--87
AUD 10/18/2014--78
REG 11/24/2014--76
BEC 2/28/2015--76

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"-Albert Einstein

Study Mats: Cpaexcel study text and EQ, Ninja MCQ, Ninja notes

[Anonymous]

I would say that the view towards minorities in public accounting is going to be super-similar to the view towards minorities in that city/locale in general. I live in a town/region with very low diversity and very high prejudice (socially, my region is 50-80 years behind often). Around here, I haven't worked with any African-Americans in any professional jobs; however, only 1.2% of the population in my county is African-American, and only 10.1% of the population have Bachelor's degrees, so statistically that would mean 0.12% of the population is African-Americans with Bachelor's degrees, or 38 in my county. So, of all the possible employers to work for and possible fields for them to study, the fact that I haven't worked with one doesn't mean they're discriminated against, just that I haven't yet met one who is in accounting and working at the same company that I am working at. However, if I was a young African-American professional in this area, I would want to consider options outside the region since it will probably be a few more years before this region catches up with the rest of the country. (Note: I recently started a job at the college in town which is the source of pretty much all the diversity in my county, and I know that there are many African-Americans on staff there as well as in the student body. However, I've only met a handful of people there, so don't “know” any yet.)

I would say if race hasn't been an issue to you personally much in your prior life in that city/region, then it probably won't be now either, so no need to worry too much about it. If, on the other hand, you're in a more prejudiced area (like where I live, sad to say), then you might want to consider your options elsewhere, simply because sometimes fighting for what's right is too stressful.

[Leach2587]

I worked in Public for 3 years and I can tell you race didn't matter one bit. Not only am I Black but I fit several stereotypes seeing as how I have 17 tattoos and I have tattoos on my neck. What I did do is show up to work everyday on time and work hard. I also kept all of my tattoos covered by wearing shirts and ties. All they see is your work ethic when in public accounting or accounting generally because all that matters is “Is the work being done and is it quality work.” As long as you are willing to work hard and not complain to the wrong people then you should do fine.

[Author]

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