VSCPA joins CEO Action’s Day of Understanding to facilitate candid conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion
April 29, 2021
For Immediate Release
Tina Bates, VSCPA
(804) 612-9416
[email protected]
Twitter: @vscpanews
Richmond, VA (April 29, 2021) — As part of its strong commitment to increase dialogue and awareness surrounding issues of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA) joined organizations across the U.S. to participate in the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ Day of Understanding to promote ongoing and thoughtful engagement and courageous conversations about important topics such as race, gender, sexual orientation and mental health.
In its third year, the Day of Understanding is an opportunity to facilitate collective dialogue across the coalition’s 2,000 organizations. CEO Action signatories engage in these conversations in their workplaces regularly and throughout the year to inspire positive change. The VSCPA signed the CEO Action pledge in 2019.
A Day of Understanding for VSCPA staff, held April 20, 2021, included training on having open and honest communications in a DEI landscape from the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, as well as a session for staff to share personal stories.
“During our first Day of Understanding, our goal was to listen and learn with each other and build a deeper understanding of our unique differences, challenges and experiences,” VSCPA President & CEO Stephanie Peters, CAE said. “We are encouraging all VSCPA members to implement their own Days of Understanding at their organizations to promote open and honest communication among team members to build stronger relationships.”
The VSCPA is also launching Day of Understanding Listening Sessions for its CPA members, a series of free, one-hour virtual events led by the VSCPA and a guest speaker and followed by a facilitated Q&A. By listening to participants’ authentic stories, the Society hopes to lay a foundation to create a more diverse and inclusive CPA profession. Sessions will be held monthly beginning June 18.
The VSCPA has long held diversity as a core organizational value, and this is our latest initiative to shine a light on DEI issues within the CPA profession. The Society released its Statement on Racial Injustice last year at the outset of our national focus on issues related to diversity, and has since formed the VSCPA Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council, created a special ethics course just on DEI to explore the impact of ethics and preconceived bias, modified its vision statement to include inclusivity, added a focus on increasing DEI in the profession in its bold organizational strategies, and much more. Find all our efforts in the VSCPA Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Resource Center.
For more information on the Day of Understanding and CEO Action pledge, visit www.ceoaction.com/dayofunderstanding.
ABOUT THE VSCPA
The Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA) is the leading professional association in the Commonwealth dedicated to empowering CPAs to thrive. Founded in 1909, the VSCPA has more than 13,500 members who work in public accounting, corporate finance, government and education. For more information about the VSCPA, visit vscpa.com, email [email protected] or call (804) 612-9416. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram. To search for a CPA in your geographic region, visit vscpa.com/FindaCPA.