Top diversity employers 2002: PricewaterhouseCoopers

Black Collegian, Oct 2002 by Dagberg, Leigh

PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS

A thirst for responsibility, a great attitude, and enjoying what you do spell success at this professional services company

Do you remember your first day at PwC? I do, actually-I started January 16, 1991. I remember trying to get my bearings. It was right in the middle of what we call "busy season" for the tax profession; I remember thinking how busy everyone was and how out of the loop I was my first day. But what really impressed me was the amount of time that people took with me at that very busy point in the year to help me get up and going. It kind of set the tone for the rest of my career at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The traditional image of an accountant is not very exciting, is it?

I would say that from that perspective the industry is very much misunderstood. The things we do in accounting range from tax planning to mergers-andacquisitions work to forensic accounting. If there is a large transaction going on, you can be sure that the accountants are involved at some level. What should be obvious from the recent media attention is that the role we play is vital. If you are interested in a career in an industry where the decisions you make are critical to the success of our clients and of the business world, then accounting is where it's at.

PwC is such a large, international company. How would you respond to students' concern that they would feel like small fish in a big pond working there?

I grew up in a small community and went to a small university for undergrad school, so I too had some of those concerns coming into the firm. We are large, but we are made up of a lot of small communities. Each office takes on its own personality and is the interface with its clients-but behind any single office is a worldwide organization.

PwC ranks 13th among the companies that minority students would most like to work for. What do you think makes PwC so attractive to students of color?

I think first and foremost that students of color, like any other students, want to set the mark as high as possible by working for the best firm and getting the best training. I also hope that they see that within PwC we recognize that it is absolutely necessary to have a diverse workforce. I understand that it's an easy thing for companies to say "We want to be diverse," but we have action steps and are continually working to make that environment a real thing. People want to go where they are wanted, and I hope students feel that PricewaterhouseCoopers provides a welcoming environment for them to fully participate in the organization.

In your time at PwC, have any of the firm's diversity initiatives or programs impacted your career development?

Yes, definitely. Most recently I was involved in a partnership mentoring program. This program reinforced the firm's commitment to diversity. It also helped in understanding the partnership process.

How would you complete this sentence: People who succeed at PwC are...?

Team players, hard-working, with great attitudes and a long-term view. When you walk in the door no matter where you go, there is so much learning to be done-I think the only things you really bring, besides your raw talent and education, are your attitude and approach. The people at PricewaterhouseCoopers have great attitudes.

What does the future look like for PricewaterhouseCoopers?

I am excited about the future-and not just because I recently made partner. The industry is changing, and change, where needed, is a good thing and poses great challenges. And I think that our firm is in the best position to tackle those challenges, to embrace them, to help our clients understand and get through them.

A newer employee discusses building a career at PwC

As a relatively young employee, do you feel that your contributions have a real impact on the business?

I do. I actually have had the opportunity to work within a very specialized area within our practice group that hadn't really been addressed before. So I've been able to be sort of a trendsetter, and able to make a direct and vital contribution more immediately than one probably would have in the normal course of business. You also have a lot of situations where you are interfacing directly with the client at an early stage in your career. Your own development accelerates very quickly, because you are given a lot of responsibility early on.

In your time with PricewaterhouseCoopers, have you participated in any programs or events around the issue of diversity?

For the first two years that I was here, I was very active in a local diversity council that we initiated internally. Essentially, we would sponsor various modules to raise awareness of issues pertinent to women and minorities in the firm, for instance, or highlight mentorship and coaching programs that paired junior staff with more senior people of color or women in the firm. There are also numerous recruiting initiatives that we put on to meet with minority groups on campus.

Since 1990, the firm has also sponsored what's called the Minority Scholarship Program, which I've attended several times as a facilitator. Each year we offer annual, renewable scholarships of $5,000 to undergraduate students from our target schools. The scholarship recipients are flown to New York to participate in a week-long Minorities in Business Leadership conference, where they'll meet with leaders in the firm who are from similar backgrounds as they are, and go through modules, such as interviewing skills, to help prepare them for their fulltime careers. And typically the conference provides a one-on-one opportunity for students to develop relationships with senior individuals in the firm, essentially giving the students a pathway into the organization that can help break down some of the initial difficulties that most new hires have transitioning into a new organization.