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Why the Accounting MOVE Project Is Evolving to Reach a Broader Audience

Accounting MOVE Project 2025 is about understanding what truly supports sustainable success in accounting workplaces.

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By Donny C. Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation

Recently, “DEI”—short for diversity, equity, and inclusion—has become a lightning rod across corporate America. For some, it signals progress. For others, it evokes skepticism or resistance. In the accounting profession, which is already navigating talent shortages, regulatory pressures, and generational turnover, these tensions can be especially pronounced.

MORE: Donny Shimamoto | Accounting MOVE Project 2025 |

That’s why this year, as a partner of the Accounting MOVE Project (“MOVE Project”), the Center for Accounting Transformation (“Center”) is taking an important step forward: We’re evolving the research language from DEI-affirming to DEI-neutral.

This is not a departure from the MOVE Project’s founding principles, which since 2010 have been focused on creating greater opportunity and equity for women in the profession. Rather, it’s an intentional evolution to ensure it reflects the full spectrum of today’s workforce. By adjusting the language used in questions and responses, enabling, for example, analysis based on sex (including men) and ethnicity (including white employees), we can fully assess how firms are supporting all employees in areas like equal pay, advancement, and career development.
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Amy Cooper: New Research Unpacks Key Retention Factors | Know-How Korner

Study finds job embeddedness, not engagement, drives retention.

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Know-How Korner
With Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation

A new study by Dr. Amy Cooper, CPA, CFE, CGMA, an assistant accounting professor and program director at University of Alaska Fairbanks, challenges conventional wisdom, revealing that job embeddedness—not engagement—is the key to keeping accountants in public firms. 

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“I assumed smaller firms would foster stronger embeddedness, but my research showed the opposite,” says Dr. Cooper. “Larger firms offer more career mobility, specialization, and structured support, which increase long-term commitment.” 
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INNOVATION & CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Grow Leaders to Transform Accounting

letter blocks flip between the words "lead" and "learn"

Create a culture where leadership can be learned and practiced.

By Donny C. Shimamoto

Series note: This article is part of a series of articles inspired by “Joy, Inc.”, written by Richard Sheridan, cofounder and CEO of Menlo Innovations. While his book is about the software industry, there are many direct analogies applicable to the accounting profession. We must #transformaccounting and bring joy back into the work we do to sustainably address our profession’s people crisis.

When we talk about leadership in accounting, we often think about the partners in accounting firms, the controller or CFO of a finance department, or the chief audit executive of an internal audit department. We also talk about “young leaders” or “emerging leaders” when referring to those we think have “leadership potential” and could aspire to the positions described above.

MORE: Transform Accounting by Fighting Fear and Embracing Change | Tear Down Towers of Knowledge to Transform Accounting
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However, I have always held the belief that everyone in an organization can be a leader, and we need to equip people within our organizations to lead when an appropriate situation arises. Part of empowering employees is enabling them to take action or make a decision, even when “the leader” isn’t present. The organization’s values, policies and culture should help employees make the right decisions – or know who to escalate an issue to make the decision. What we don’t want is total inaction.
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INNOVATION & CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Transform Accounting by Fighting Fear and Embracing Change

smiling man facing camera while seated at table with four colleagues behind him

Focus on actual risks, not artificial fear.

By Donny C. Shimamoto

Series note: This article is part of a series of articles inspired by “Joy, Inc.”, written by Richard Sheridan, cofounder and CEO of Menlo Innovations. While his book is about the software industry, there are many direct analogies applicable to the accounting profession. We must #transformaccounting and bring joy back into the work we do to sustainably address our profession’s people crisis.

“Fear is one of the biggest killers of joy,” says Richard Sheridan. This is viewed as so important by Sheridan that he dedicates an entire chapter in his book to explaining why we must fight fear and embrace change. That’s how important these concepts are to create joy in a company.

MORE: Tear Down Towers of Knowledge to Transform Accounting
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Accountants are often stereotyped as being afraid of change and behind the times, and even as killers of joy. But I will contend that we are ahead of many of the other major professions like doctors, lawyers and teachers. People also often stereotype our work as boring and mundane – not work that would bring joy to people. But all of us who have had successful careers as accountants, and other professionals who are a part of the accounting profession, know that we do very meaningful work that helps people prosper and communities thrive. We help bring joy to people’s lives.
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PRO Member Exclusive

Tear Down Towers of Knowledge to Transform Accounting

Why sharing beats hoarding.

By Donny C. Shimamoto

Series note: This post is part of a series inspired by “Joy, Inc.”, written by Richard Sheridan, cofounder and CEO of Menlo Innovations. While his book is about the software industry, there are many direct analogies applicable to the accounting industry. We must #transformaccounting and bring joy back into the work we do to sustainably address our industry’s people crisis.

A “Tower of Knowledge” (“Tower”) is a person on your team who has vast technical knowledge that no one else has. This knowledge could be about a client or about the project itself. This person is often seen as the center of the team or as a key person who holds the project together.

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For high achievers – which many accountants are – this probably sounds like a good thing. Being a tower of knowledge reinforces our worth and makes us feel important. “Yes, I’m critical to this project. Yes, the team needs me. Yes, I know a lot. Yes, I am important.” Yes, being a Tower can be very validating and make us feel good.
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