Firms invited to attend program addressing retention of women CPAs.

The AICPA and its Women's Initiatives Executive Committee are launching a pilot program to address a key element to the CPA profession's staff retention and succession planning concerns--the retention and advancement of women. The workshop is designed to help participating firms assess their current processes and hiring trends, calculate the cost of losing valuable staff and make a "business case" for implementing programs to improve retention rates. Once the case is made, firms will have help creating a customized strategy, including a timeline, implementation plan and other resources needed to build a successful program.

Women make up 52% of accounting graduates and new hires but comprise only 23% of partners, despite being nearly 50% of the profession for more than 20 years. And while women are entering the profession in greater numbers, they...