Unlocking business potential: The strategic role of inclusion and diversity

Panelists advocate for embedding inclusion into core business, moving beyond its HR perception.

Organizations are increasingly recognizing the importance of inclusion and diversity as key drivers of success, according to a group of finance and accounting experts at the Life Sciences Accounting & Reporting Congress.

Stephen Rivera, former vice president, global technical accounting advisory services and policy, Johnson & Johnson, said, “It affects our decision making, financial performance, and risk management.”

Stephen Rivera, former vice president, global technical accounting advisory services and policy, Johnson & Johnson

However, many organizations still struggle to move beyond viewing these concepts as cultural initiatives and truly embed them into their core business strategies, he said.

According to Rivera, who moderated the panel session, “Enhancing Organizational Performance: How inclusion is a key indicator that your team is set up for success,” in life sciences, inclusion is already present in innovation and clinical trials, ensuring diverse representation from different demographics. Moreover, in finance, inclusion can offer diverse perspectives and better decision making, he said.

Diverse perspectives

Rivera asked the panelists, which included Rita Karachun, former senior vice president finance, global controller, Merck; Tiffany Stokes, chief audit officer, Integra; and Sandra Patterson, senior vice president, corporate controller and chief accounting officer, Gilead Sciences, how can companies lead the way in embedding inclusion into their business strategies.

“I think DEI as a strategy is not really what it’s about. It’s about making sure you have all the perspectives that you need,” Karachun said. She noted that DEI has a “bit of bullseye on it now.”

Rita Karachun, former senior vice president finance, global controller, Merck

She highlighted the challenge of recruiting for diverse perspectives, noting that appearances can be deceiving.

“Just because we are both white females may not mean that our experiences are the same and the perspectives we bring to something are the same,” she said. “I think the point is how do you get those differing perspectives, and that’s hard to recruit for.”

Prioritizing diversity in hiring practices offers significant advantages, Karachun. “There are good aspects of making sure you are hiring to bring diverse perspectives. Naturally there are some experiences that you will have based on certain characteristics you have that other people aren’t going to have. I think that’s important to make sure you’re thinking about that,” she said.

Ultimately, she said as a leader of an organization, it’s their responsibility to create an environment and safe place for people to bring their perspectives forward.

“It’s important to create that environment where people can feel that their perspectives are valuable. But to me, I think it comes down to is that you’re hiring to bring perspective. Don’t judge a book by its cover. Not everyone is going to have the same perspective or the same life experiences just based on how they look,” she said.

Stokes, who echoed Karachun’s sentiment, agreed about the importance of creating a space where people can share their opinions. She explained how every three weeks she has a “way of working” meeting that gives her direct reports an opportunity to voice their needs and challenges.

“From an internal audit perspective, I want team members who want to dig deep and want to share what they find. If I don’t create the space for them to share, it’s very easy to then check the box and to not dig deep, [and] to not get to the root cause.”

At Integra, business resource groups play a vital role in fostering inclusion and driving business impact, she added. Stokes views these groups not just as community-building tools but as strategic assets.

Leadership

Patterson highlighted the importance of inclusive leadership that values diverse communication styles. She said that while some employees are extroverted and readily share their ideas, others are more introverted and may not speak up without prompting.

Sandra Patterson, senior vice president, corporate controller and chief accounting officer, Gilead Sciences

“As leaders, I believe that we need to in order for us to have a complete response and to really consider all of the elements in order for us to be inclusive, we also need to think about those people who are introverted, who might have amazing ideas that we are going to miss if we don’t walk to them,” Patterson said.

Stokes added, “As leaders, it’s important to look at our teams and be aware of the makeup of our teams and try to have diverse teams.” When engaging third-party support, she advocates for selecting providers that demonstrate diversity.

“I want a provider that has diversity. I want them to have diversity of thought,” Stokes said. Furthermore, “There’s many things that you can do from a hiring perspective, but in addition to hiring, think about where you spend your dollars,” she said.

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