GUEST BLOGGER
Liza Ayres
Contributing Writer

Among the various political, social and environmental tumult that you’ve had to navigate this past year, the world has had to examine and reinvent what we call “normal” and what we need to adjust or change.

Among these reckonings is an assessment of the workplace and how to cultivate a sense of belonging for all people in the anti-fraud profession. Recently, the ACFE hosted a webinar titled, “Keeping the Conversation Going: Practical Steps to Improve Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Anti-Fraud Profession.” The webinar is free and available to view for all ACFE members.

The webinar opened with reminding viewers of the significance of the current political moment, including how we are reckoning with institutional racial injustices during the midst of a pandemic that has spurred emotional challenges and further highlighted economic and social inequities. The webinar then shifted from the ideological to the practical and offered concrete steps anti-fraud professionals can take in their workplaces and in their communities to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Lisa Walker, a leadership psychologist, moderated the panel. She spoke with Bradley Nesmith, CFE, CPA; Rumbi Bwerinofa-Petrozzello, CFE, CPA/CFF; and Arunabh Singh, MBA.

What do organizations need to do to effectively address DEI?

Organizations are at various stages in their DEI work. Bwerinofa-Petrozzello noted that some organizations have been working on it for years, some are just starting and still others don’t think it’s something they should consider or prioritize. Panelists suggested that organizations need to push these discussions further and understand that it is an inevitably messy process. Bwerinofa-Petrozzello likened it to her experience as a runner, saying that this work is a marathon, and there will be obstacles and uncomfortable moments, but that doesn’t mean you should give up or not even try.

Organizations must be intentional and continuous in their DEI work, and they should expect to get messy, Walker echoed. She remembered a time when she posed certain questions for a company’s DEI workshop and received feedback that her questions were too uncomfortable for many team members. The company’s team asked her to modify her questions, but she invited them to consider the discomfort as the beginning of the conversation and as a crucial step in moving forward. Nesmith continued by saying people are used to doing things flawlessly and having a perfectly thought-out first step, but if corporations expect to make progress, they need be ready for complexities and discomfort.

Moreover, Nesmith spoke on the significant role each individual has within their organization, counseling, “Your company has a role to play in the progress that we need to make as a country and as a world, and if you feel like your company isn’t aligned to that…you have to reflect personally as an individual if that’s the right organization for you to stay at.” In an effort to not lose this turning point in history, he pressured every anti-fraud professional to think critically about how they will make productive changes within their workplaces.

How do we successfully include everyone in this work?

Discover your own unconscious biases

For this work to be successful in the long term, conversations around it cannot be momentary or fleeting. Instead, the panelists advocated a shift in mindset. Singh acknowledged that there will always be unconscious bias in these discussions, and in order to include everyone in this work, we should bring our self-awareness of these biases into the conversations. Instead of hiding or ignoring the prejudices we have been taught, we should bring them to the table and learn how we can break them down.

Start a conversation

Furthermore, in Nesmith’s experience, “If you’re passionate about this, you’ll be surprised who is listening to you, so start talking about it.” This simple call to action can encourage conversations in groups where you have direct influence, thereby creating a safe environment for people who historically have been nervous or unable to speak up. He said you can’t force this conversation, and if you are working with someone who is not ready to engage, that’s okay. What’s significant is that you are exposing people to new perspectives that they will continue to ponder.

Acknowledge the power of allyship

Additionally, Singh reminded viewers, “We are all allies in some way or another for any other diversity that exists.” For example, Singh, as an ethnic minority, is an ally to the LGBTQ+ and veteran communities. He pays attention to how he is an ally to those groups, so when he goes back to his ethnic affinity group, he knows what to ask allies so that they can best support his community. Because of the various forms of diversity that exist, there are many opportunities to step up and strengthen workplace teams by including everyone.

How do organizations ensure they are taking a proactive rather than a reactive stance to the problem?

It’s one thing to make a broad statement in support of DEI, but anti-fraud organizations should strive to go beyond the theoretical and implement proactive and practical steps toward inclusion. Walker recalled a scene from her first year teaching at the University of Texas at Austin: The front row was always filled with students of color who enthusiastically stayed after class and talked with her. Eventually, she questioned why they always sat up front, and they told her it was because she was the first professor of color they’d had during their collegiate careers. This experience made her realize the importance of having diverse people in all levels of positions in the anti-fraud industry. Organizations, she suggested, could sponsor school programs, youth organizations or mentorship groups in order to be proactive in recruiting diverse talent. This suggestion comes at a time when many organizations are realizing their teams are not highly diverse and are taking reactive measures to ameliorate that. By recruiting diverse team members early on, organizations will already be on the right track.

Another proactive measure organizations can take is using metrics to help understand how to move forward. “Data,” as Singh put it, “is considered the digital oil of our economy.” Data can help organizations become aware of something about which they might not have even known previously. Once organizations reach this awareness, they can make assessments and find ways to more effectively manage their efforts and improve. Bwerinofa-Petrozzello continued by noting that the cost of reacting to a disaster is much higher than the cost of establishing DEI initiatives early on, so there is a business imperative to supporting diversity, equity and inclusion.

How do we continue the movement?

In Walker’s call for final thoughts on what to take from this conversation, a strong theme emerged: We need to rethink how we recruit and manage our coworkers. Bwerinofa-Petrozzello explained that we have been operating under a narrow version of success, and we need to reimagine our value system and how we recruit and advance the people on our teams. Nesmith appealed directly to hiring managers, telling them to be deliberate in their hiring decisions and urging everyone to be intentional in letting others know you are an ally. Similarly, Singh encouraged DEI initiatives to include all levels of positions within a workplace so that junior employees and upper employees are working together to make change.

Walker concluded by pressuring everyone in the anti-fraud industry to move beyond general awareness to taking practical steps. How organizations hire, support, nurture, promote and expand need to function within a DEI framework so that we move to a point where DEI is imprinted in the organization’s DNA. Creating diverse and inclusive workplaces benefits all of us. Promoting growth and a sense of belonging leads to higher retention, quality of life and workplace happiness.

ACFE members can access the webinar for free.

Watch the Webinar

Featured