By Amanda Iacone
Feb. 3, 2022, 5:01 AM
- NABA taps partnerships to expand resources, and opportunities
- CEO envisions a marketplace offering diverse connections
One of the country’s largest professional organizations for minority accountants and financial professionals has broadened its mission as the group aims to better support and grow, the Black business community.
The National Association of Black Accountants has joined forces with the Diverse Organization of Firms, which represents minority owners of CPA and financial services firms, to better connect advisers and managers with prospective clients, the groups said Thursday.
The alliance is one of several partnerships in the works for NABA as the 52-year-old group takes a fresh approach to how it supports and develops accountants in what remains an overwhelmingly white profession.
Guylaine Saint Juste, who joined NABA as its CEO a year ago, envisions a marketplace where Black business owners can connect with Black audit partners or other professional advisers, providing in-demand services while at the same time elevating the careers and earnings potential of all those involved.
She wants to grow the number of Black-owned firms and other Black-run businesses that “have an economic value and add to the rich tapestry of enterprise in this country,” she said. “That’s why we are not serving accountants only. We want to broaden the field.”
Such partnerships, like a hiring and office-sharing arrangement announced last year with CliftonLarsonAllenLLP, are key to giving NABA members access to more resources and opportunities, Saint Juste said.
The association also inked a partnership with Financial Executives International, a group that includes among its members’ corporate controllers and CFOs of some of the largest companies in the world, offering NABA members free subscriptions to career development programs plus networking and mentoring events aimed at students and young staffers.
“Meeting other people and learning from them and building your network is critical to anyone’s success,” said Andrej Suskavcevic, President and CEO of FEI. His own personal network, which includes the chair of NABA’s board, Herschel Frierson, helped launch the effort, also announced this week.
The work with NABA offers another avenue to help develop the careers of future finance leaders by giving them a chance to meet and learn from current executives, and possibly fill jobs at those companies. That’s good for the members and the profession, Suskavcevic said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Amanda Iacone in Washington at aiacone@bloombergtax.com
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Patrick Ambrosio at PAmbrosio@bloombergindustry.com; Butch Maier at bmaier@bloombergindustry.com
