BDO joins Stronger Together Leeds City Region Network
Accountancy and business advisory firm BDO is the latest professional services firm to join the Stronger Together network. Its professionals will support events and initiatives across the city of Leeds.
A 2024 study by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy found that the potential benefit to the UK economy from full representation of race across the labour market, is estimated to be £24 billion a year, representing 1.3% of GDP. But progress for boardroom diversity alone remains slow – meaning the country is missing out on a major economic boost.
The professional services sector in the Leeds City Region is one of the largest outside London. Looking to make the most of the Yorkshire city’s diverse population, the Stronger Together network aims to promote and encourage best practice across the sector and show that diverse and inclusive leadership is a driver for positive change. Earlier, this saw Grant Thornton sign up to the network, and now it has inducted another big name from the professional services world into its group.
With BDO’s arrival in the network, Dan Brookes, tax partner at BDO’s Leeds office, will also join Stronger Together’s executive committee to focus on the strategic direction of the network and its key objectives of retention and attraction of minority ethnic talent in the Leeds professional services sector. Meanwhile, Natalie Jones, financial services advisory manager, will join the Stronger Together junior committee, working with a peer group from member firms to organise inspiring events, reverse mentor more senior colleagues, deliver training, run insight days for Leeds City Academy and represent Stronger Together at networking events.
Brookes commented, “We’re thrilled to be joining Stronger Together, working collaboratively with other like-minded firms in building a more inclusive professional services sector. At BDO, we have a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion by encouraging people to ‘Be Yourself’. We believe that by bringing together our people and fostering a diverse and inclusive culture, we can truly help each other succeed in line with our core purpose as a firm. This aligns with the objectives of Stronger Together and our membership will support our existing EDI activities in Leeds.’’
According to co-founder of Stronger Together, and partner at PwC, Arif Ahmad, the network is expanding quickly at the turn of the year. Having recently opened up a career development briefing on ‘impostor phenomenon’ to other professional services firms in the region, he noted the network is “planning more events in 2025 to continue to drive the change.”
Ahmad added, “I’d like to welcome BDO to Stronger Together and look forward to collaborating with them to drive forward our objective of encouraging more people from ethnic minority communities to the professional services sector. Our ambition is for the Leeds professional services sector to be fair and just, that recognises and embraces people’s different needs, situations and ambitions. An environment where the barriers that limit what people can do will be removed, and everyone will be enabled to be their best. For this to happen, we all need to take responsibility for our actions and behaviours and contribute positively to change.”