#004 How to leverage diversity to improve the bottom line with Jenny Okonkwo

Jenny Okonkwo MBA FCMA CGMA CPA FPA CMA, is based out of Toronto, Canada, and is the founder of Black Female Accountants Network (BFAN) who’s purpose is to create opportunities for female accountants of black, African and Caribbean origins to share knowledge and empowering their experiences of diversity & inclusion through a process of engagement and personal reflection. She’s also a women’s leadership ambassador for CPA Canada, a CPA Mentor, a member of the FP&A Certification Development Committee, a DECA Judge, as well as giving back to her local community through her numerous other volunteer roles. Key Points Covered: To move forward in accounting & finance, align yourself with other successful people, choose your networks carefully, choose your circles carefully. Align yourself with other people who want to move forward. If you have gender diversity your firm’s productivity goes up by 15% if you have ethnic diversity, the productivity impact to the bottom-line of that firms jumps up to 35%. [Source: McKinsey] Our value tomorrow as accountants won’t come from the fact that we know how to put a budget together or that we know how to manage a P&L, because the business are already doing that for themselves. So it’s for us to understand what our role tomorrow is going to look like and to carve out those opportunities to make sure we get there. It’s no longer enough to be a good accountant, you must be a more rounded person, goes through the opportunities to build your career so you standout in this global competitive market. Got to full show notes at sitnshow.com/podcast/004

Om Podcasten

The #SITN Show (www.sitnshow.com) is a popular accounting & finance podcast listened to in over 150+ countries around the world. Getting an accounting qualification or finance certification is one of the best things to do to make a difference in our society. It potentially gives us a position from which we can help businesses make better decisions for the good of their customers, suppliers, communities, colleagues and yes owners and other financiers too. We can help increase the opportunity for all. So #SITN was established to leverage the value of mentoring: 1. To elevate the influence, impact, value, and difference we make for our organisations; and 2. To have more fun, rewarding, and meaningful careers in accounting & finance. In this way we make it more accessible to everyone in our profession, regardless or geography, professional affiliations, status, gender, etc… The fundamental premise of #SITN is that despite for all the challenges our profession is facing into, the seemingly accelerating rate of change, the new digital technologies and business models, we still have the ability to share with each other practical advice & experiences on what works well and what doesn’t, so that we can all plot better paths forward. Every Thursday we release a professionally produced podcast with a 30- to 40-minute interview that has been recorded with a guest mentor relevant to the finance & accounting profession. These guest mentors share their real success stories and hard-won lessons which are not found in any textbooks or on LinkedIn profiles. Together with the interviewer they deconstruct their experiences into the key strengths, qualities and practical ‘baby’ steps that others can also follow. On Mondays there is the popular #SITN Monday Memo which is a 5-minute debrief on a topical issue or useful piece of practical advice in accounting & finance. The show is accessible via: iTunes; Stitcher; Spotify; YouTube; and Soundcloud, with detailed time-stamped show notes, key quotes, resources & ways to connect with guest mentors at www.sitnshow.com.