Belonging or Bust: Talent Crisis Deepens as Firms Retreat from DEI
Belonging, not perks, is the deciding factor in public accounting’s talent future.
By CPA Trendlines
STAFFING & RECRUITING
Elliott: Embrace the ‘Dimension of Possible’ | MOVE Like This
The profession’s newest partners may be the most vulnerable.
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MOVE Like This
With Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk
For CPA Trendlines
MOVE Like This host Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk sits down with Sarah Elliott, CPA, co-founder of Intend2Lead, to unpack what conscious leadership looks like in accounting—and why the profession’s newest partners may be the most vulnerable leaders in the firm.
Elliott, a former audit partner who left public accounting in 2014 to become an executive coach, argues that real change happens in a precise order: mindset, then skill set, then habits. Her “conscious leader” model centers on leaders who share power, elevate others, and stay curious, even when uncertainty invites fear.
“Our best leaders are human-centric first,” Elliott says. “In a world of accelerating tech and change, we have to start with people—always.”
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Intend2Lead recently surveyed 110 newly promoted partners (2023–2024). The results spotlight avoidable gaps that push rising leaders toward burnout—or out of public accounting altogether.
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Toxic Partners Kill Your Firm’s Future | Accounting Influencers
Gen Z won’t fix your firm culture problem – they’ll leave it.
This is a preview. The complete video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
Sponsored by Poe Group Advisors: Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms. See Today’s Special Offer
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Accounting Influencers
With Rob Brown
When the youngest professionals in accounting start saying “no,” leaders should start listening.
In this episode of Accounting Influencers, the conversation turns to the one thing that could make or break your firm’s future: how you treat your people, specifically, how you treat Gen Z.
They’re qualified. They’re confident. And they’ve watched what the generations before them endured—burnout, long hours, micromanagement, and “be grateful you’ve got a job” culture. Their conclusion? “No thanks.”
This isn’t softness. It’s a strategy.
Gen Z values mental health over martyrdom, meaning over money, and culture over compensation. They’ve seen the toll that toxic leadership takes, and they’re unwilling to sacrifice well-being for tradition.
Ten Questions for Potential New Hires
Plus four considerations before you start screening.
By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud
Before our firm became a distributed company with a remote workforce, our hiring was naturally limited to a small geographical location – Fort Wayne, Indiana.
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When we really started to grow, we knew we needed to bring in more senior-level accountants to be able to handle the clients we were bringing in at such a rapid pace.
Virtual Accounting Firms Have Hidden Costs
Save by combining a retreat with CPE.
By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud
With a brick-and-mortar company, there are a number of standard costs that you would expect to have, such as rent or mortgage, utilities, building repairs, furniture, technology, etc. The total amount of these kinds of costs typically falls in the range of 3-4 percent of the company’s annualized revenue. That amount can be pretty significant for a lot of companies.
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Some business owners may think they can save the company all of that money by going remote, but I personally believe that’s a terrible idea. While it’s true that a distributed company doesn’t have the costs that come with having a physical space, the very nature of a remote work environment results in a completely different and unique set of needs that should be considered in the company’s annual budget.
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Make Your Leadership Team Meetings More Effective
Three steps to use.
By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud
Doing the DiSC Assessment with our team, we learned that some people love meetings and some people despise them. The “D” (Dominance) personality on the DiSC scale tends to be direct, very results-oriented and less collaborative in meetings. The “I” (Influence) personality enjoys meetings because they provide an opportunity for social engagement and collaboration.
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The “S” (Steadiness) personality may not feel comfortable speaking up in meetings unless they are called upon. The “C” (Conscientiousness) personality may need to rally more energy within themselves for meetings because they tend to value working independently over collaboration. Knowing the personalities of your leadership team members will help you run more effective meetings.
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Emerging Pros Need More than Tech Training
Two ways to close the skills gap.
By Rebekah Olson, CPA
CEO, Maryland Association of CPAs
Big 4 Layoffs Reveal New Jobs Reality | Accounting Influencers
Industry turbulence opens doors for smaller firms, but only those that clearly define and communicate value.
This is a preview. The complete video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
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Sponsored by Poe Group Advisors: Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms. See Today’s Special Offer
Accounting Influencers
With Rob Brown
Between June 2023 and September 2024, several of the largest accounting firms announced significant workforce reductions and structural changes. KPMG disclosed a deeper round of auditor layoffs in mid-2023. Grant Thornton cut approximately 3% of its U.S. staff (about 350 employees) in May 2024. In September 2024, PwC announced one of its most significant reorganizations in years, resulting in the elimination of approximately 1,800 positions in its U.S. operations.
Since then, further reductions have continued. In May 2025, PwC laid off approximately 1,500 more U.S. employees (around 2% of its U.S. workforce), primarily in its audit and tax lines. Meanwhile, KPMG pursued additional cuts, including a round impacting roughly 4% of its U.S. audit workforce later in 2024. Grant Thornton also followed the earlier reductions with more targeted layoffs after its private-equity deal, trimming about 150 U.S. roles (1.5% of its domestic workforce) in late 2024.
These moves are not isolated. They signal a broader industry recalibration, leaving thousands of accountants uncertain about their future.
At the same time, some major firms are doubling down on mandatory office attendance. Industry observers say the combination of job insecurity and rigid workplace policies could push professionals to seek more flexible and stable opportunities.
Create an Accountability Chart for Your Firm
It beats an org chart and here’s why.
By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud
“Getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats – these are all crucial steps in the early stages of buildup…” – Jim Collins, “Good to Great”
When Adam and I first started the company, we didn’t have much organizational structure. We didn’t need it. But as the company grew, it became necessary to develop an organizational structure. There’s a great quote by Michael E. Gerber in his book “The E-Myth Revisited” that says, “Without the Organization Chart, confusion, discord and conflict become the order of the day.”
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We got to a point where we realized that Adam and I didn’t have clarity around our individual roles, and we were overlapping one another. We needed to have clearly defined roles for one another as well as the people who were working for us. Lack of clarity can cause a loss in production.
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DEI Pullback Risks Pipeline | Accounting Influencers
Firms scale back initiatives even as governing bodies warn diversity is key to the profession’s future.
This is a preview. The complete video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
Sponsored by “It’s NOT Just the Numbers: How to Move Beyond the Numbers and Deliver REAL Value for Your Clients.”
by Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead. See Today’s Special Offer
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Accounting Influencers
With Rob Brown
The accounting profession is facing a turning point as major firms scale back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, raising concerns about how the shift could affect talent recruitment, retention, and competitiveness.
KPMG recently discontinued its “Accelerate 2025” program, which aimed to expand leadership diversity. Deloitte pulled back last year, joining other global corporations—including Goldman Sachs, Meta, and Google—that have pared down similar efforts.
The shifts come as political and legal pressures mount. States such as Florida and Texas have rolled back DEI policies in higher education, and a Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action has sent ripples across corporate America. Firms that once championed DEI are now weighing compliance risks and financial implications against potential reputational and workforce consequences.
How Smart Firms Handle DEI | Accounting Influencers
Accounting leaders face pressure to choose a path that could reshape talent pipelines and firm culture for years to come.
Sponsored by “It’s NOT Just the Numbers: How to Move Beyond the Numbers and Deliver REAL Value for Your Clients.”
by Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead. See Today’s Special Offer
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Accounting Influencers
With Rob Brown
Deloitte’s decision to dismantle its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program for 173,000 U.S. employees is sending shockwaves through the accounting profession, exposing deep divisions on a global scale and forcing firm leaders to weigh politics against talent priorities.
The move—ending DEI goals, disbanding related departments, eliminating annual reporting, and ordering staff to remove pronouns from email signatures—came just hours before Deloitte UK issued a memo affirming its commitment to DEI.
Are Automation and AI Killing Entry-Level Jobs?
By CPA Trendlines Research
The tax and accounting sector is shedding more jobs, with women and nonsupervisory workers feeling the brunt of the decline.
MORE STAFFING & RECRUITING | How DiSC Profiles Help Remote Teams | Meet Your New Boss: Gen Z | Accounting Influencers | Kassi Rushing: Leadership Gaps, Not Motivation Gaps, Hold Firms Back | Gear Up For Growth
A new analysis by CPA Trendlines reveals the profession may be holding headcounts near historic highs but gradually reshaping itself. Women hold 62.1 percent of jobs, down from 63.4 percent a year ago — the sharpest one-year drop in female workforce share since 2010. Supervisory staff, meanwhile, make up 9.7 percent of total employment, up from 9.3 percent last year, reflecting a slow but steady increase in managerial presence, while nonsupervisory employment is down 3.6% year over year. READ MORE →
How DiSC Profiles Help Remote Teams
Work together effectively with better understanding.
By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud
Working in a remote environment can be great, and it can also have its challenges. Communication is one of the biggest hurdles distributed companies have to overcome. To tackle this issue head on, Summit CPA has implemented many initiatives.
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One of our favorites is the DiSC profiles. Let me start off by telling you a little bit of the background on the DiSC profiles.
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