6/18/2020

We wanted to take a moment to address the racial tensions that are impacting our country, our cities, our communities and our personal lives. The tragic deaths of several Black people have thrust a spotlight on racism and the continued inequitable treatment of our citizens. LGA has and always will be committed to the fair and equal treatment of all people, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or any other characteristics that are used in society to define a group of people.  The lack of racial equality within our country heightens our responsibility to do more and to act swiftly. Here's what we're doing:

CEO Action:  In recognition of the lack of diversity within the accounting profession, LGA signed the Diversity and Inclusion Pledge with CEO Action last Fall. We signed this pledge to take a proactive leadership role in changing the composition of our workforces within the accounting profession, and eventually, within organizations across the country and in all industries.

MSCPA/Bentley D&I:  We are in the early stages of our journey in evolving our recruiting strategies and tactics to ensure that the team members of LGA reflect our commitment to diversity and inclusion. Our D&I team is participating in a program sponsored by the MSCPA and Bentley University. This program provides education and discussion forums on the challenges that we face in becoming more diverse and inclusive, including understanding our unconscious bias and increasing our awareness of how this impacts the efficacy of our commitment to D&I. We have begun working more closely with the colleges and universities that we recruit from, including their Deans, faculty and students, to develop alternate recruiting strategies to gain access to a more diverse student base from which to recruit from.

Nonprofit Contributions: LGA has committed to supporting organizations who fight for racial and social justice, including those organizations who focus on education and advocacy, as we believe that equality for all is paramount to our country’s future. LGA will be making systematic contributions to social justice organizations including   The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. and The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation.

D&I Training: LGA will be launching D&I training for the entire firm, to do our part to spread education and to provide forums for others to get more involved. We continue to work with the MSCPA on how we as a firm and as a profession can be better and do more.

We continue to explore other ways to get more involved and be a catalyst for positive change. We aren’t taking any political stances, but merely standing up for what’s right and wrong. Our silence and inaction would deter the advancement of racial and social equality so we must work together to ensure that our future generations will judge a person solely based on their character and actions, and not any prejudice that results in disparate treatment and a lack of opportunity.

We will continue to listen, learn and strive for continuous improvement. Without open mindedness and a desire to listen, we have no hope of understanding the impact of racism, its prevalence and the challenges that Black people and other people of color encounter everyday within our society.