The Glass Ceiling, Shattered.

In May of 2003 my column was entitled ‘The True & Fair Sex’ and it featured the growth in female entrants to the public accounting profession.

‘It’s all very well entering the accounting profession, but what about making it to the top? I am a young (27) female CA who aspires to be a partner in a public accounting firm one day – are there any success stories that might inspire me?’ Wrote one reader of my column in The Bottom Line, shortly after ‘The True & Fair Sex’ article was first published.

I received a number of other emails from readers – all positive – asking if there will be a follow up article, and yes there is. Here it is.

Smith Nixon & Co. LLP is a ten-partner firm of chartered accountants, established in 1962, operating out of a beautiful office on the 19th floor of an office block at Bay and Queen in the heart of downtown Toronto.

Out of 49 professional staff, 22 (44.9%) are female. Of the ten Partners, 4 – Gail Weiler, Judy Moore, Susan Maynard and Rhonda Klosler are female, the highest proportion (40%) of female partners (sole practitioners and smaller firms excluded) that I have come across so far.

I contacted them and asked if the female partners would be willing to grant me an interview to discuss the firm’s approach to retaining their female talent, and they were happy to oblige. Here’s what they told me.

‘As a firm, we are very family-focused. Most of our partners, male or female, have children, so everyone appreciates the fine balancing act that is needed by any professional these days.

We have developed long-standing relationships with clients, mostly family owned and operated businesses, who themselves feel a very close relationship with the firm. We also give a lot of client contact to our staff, just in case the Partner is not available when a client calls. There is usually someone available who knows the client pretty well and who can answer their question.

It also helps our students, at an early age, to see how what they learn in theory can be applied in practice, which makes for a better training ground for our students.’

Gail Weiler became the firm’s first female Partner in 1980. ‘When I qualified at Deliotte’s I was the ONLY woman CA in the Toronto office. I joined Smith Nixon shortly after qualifying - as a Senior Manager.

‘A few years later I was approached by two former Deliotte colleagues, and we set up our own firm. When Smith Nixon wanted me back, I was already a Partner, and so the trend was set.’ But Gail had an ‘open secret’: to see another female Partner at the firm before she retired.

Although she’s a long way from retirement yet, she now has three other female Partners at the firm, in Judy Moore, Susan Maynard and Rhonda Klosler.

So I asked them why they feel their firm was so successful at attracting, retaining and promoting female talent.

The Partners unanimously agreed: ‘Flexibility is the key to keeping female talent.’

Susan Maynard took the point further. ‘Being a downtown firm, young people often find it difficult to afford a home in the City. As such, some opt to buy a home outside Toronto, such as Burlington or Mississauga for example, and take the ‘Go’ downtown. After a while that can grind you down, so we will occasionally lose a valuable team member to the commute, but as people grow in seniority, they are usually able to afford to return to Toronto as a homeowner, as I did myself, and if they make it through to that stage, we rarely lose people.’

I asked her for some examples of being flexible, and she obliged: ‘As our young female students grow up, qualify and become more senior in the firm, if we are to retain them, we have to be flexible over working hours, and we’re open to short weeks, short days, almost anything if it works for the firm and the individual. It’s also important to provide remote access to our computer system so that they can work from home if need be. But we have to balance that with being available for clients. We’re here for their benefit, and we never forget that.’

And Susan should know – with twin daughters in Grade six and a working husband (also a CA) the family took on a full-time Nanny to cover most child care issues, but the day before the interview Susan was off work, as her Nanny had to take the day off to look after her own sick child! But she could still keep up to date on her workload at home. ‘You do need an understanding husband too’, she commented.

Judy Moore qualified with what is now Ernst & Young and spent some time in Industry before joining Smith Nixon: ‘We’re a lot more sophisticated than our size would indicate. We have staff and partners from the bigger firms, excellent support staff and are able to deliver a very personal service to our clients.

Gail emphasized that Ron & Harry’s (Smith & Nixon) philosophy is as relevant today as it was when the firm was founded in 1962. The firm is based on the tripod principle – one part a business, one part a profession and one part a training ground.’

Rhonda Klosler is Smith Nixon ‘born & bred’ – joining them at 18 as a co-op student, qualifying with them and becoming a partner three years ago, at the ‘tender’ age of 31.

‘When the firm approached me about becoming a Partner, they knew I was newly married (as everyone sitting around this table came to my wedding) and would want to be able to take time off to have a family. So they approached me with a flexible package that would allow that. A male partner worked with me on the committee that came up with the solution. ’

I then asked them why they thought more women were entering the accounting profession. Their explanation makes good sense: ‘Many of the female Baby Boomers have University Degrees and careers, so when their daughters grew up, it was the ‘norm’ – to go to University and have a career. Just look at the Medical Profession, where over 50% of new entrants are female. Look at the law profession, education, the public sector – there are more opportunities these days.’ Good point.

But why the Accounting profession?

Gail took up the case: ‘The Accounting profession is an excellent business training ground. You see lots of different businesses in many different situations and a smaller firm, like ours, gives you a much better breadth and depth of experience at an early stage.

In a National firm, a student can spend six months on one audit, and then only see ‘receivables’! In a firm like Smith Nixon, you’ll get to see the big picture, apply more of the theory in practice and get a wider range of experience. It also helps student to decide if Accounting really is the career for them at an early stage.

We make a commitment to our co-op students, to see them through to the final exams, and we provide a lot of support for a firm of our size. We don’t just market ourselves to find new clients, we also have to market ourselves to find the best talent.’

Judy interjected at that point: ‘And our staff often find great people for us, recommending us to their friends and colleagues at University.’

The final word on that particular topic went to Gail: ‘We form strong bonds with our Alumni, holding an annual event for them, and we make a point of keeping in touch. As a result, several Alumni are clients of ours, and we’re very proud of that.’

To close, I asked them if they had any advice to give female readers who want to make Accountancy their chosen career.

Rhonda: ‘If you want to be in the business world, obtaining your CA is a great stepping stone.’

Gail: ‘Bookkeepers are traditionally female, so why not CAs?’

Judith: ‘It’s a very satisfying career – great variety of work, security and reasonable compensation.’

Susan: ‘It is only your own preconceptions that hold you back. I always thought that CAs were men in dark suits who went to the club and smoked cigars.’

© 2004, MFA Group Inc