Zanesha Williams |
Women’s History Month comes on the heels of Black History Month, creating an opportunity for the continued celebration and recognition of the accomplishments of Black women.
This March not only hosts International Women’s Day, but also marks the second anniversary of the arrival of COVID-19 in California and the unprecedented shutdown of the state in an all out effort to curb its spread in the early days of the pandemic, impacting life as we know it before the arrival of the virus.
The shutdown
It’s been two years since California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a mandatory stay at home order on March 19, 2020.
At an evening news conference Newsom declared the shut down order would go into effect immediately and expressed his confidence “that the people of the state of California will abide by it . . . will do the right thing.”
During the live streamed event he stressed the importance of slowing the spread of the virus to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed with patients and opined, “Let’s not regret. Let’s not dream of regretting, go back and say, ‘Well, you know what, we coulda, woulda, shoulda.’ Not when the data all points to where I think most of us know we’re going.”
Although there was no time frame provided for how long the order would be in place many Californians assumed things would be back to normal in a couple of weeks. Those two weeks quickly became several months of uncertainty and uncomfortable adjustments. Small business owners providing services that required close contact had to confront how the mandates would keep their doors closed and put their means of income on hold.
Small businesses of all kinds had to look closely at how the global pandemic would affect their futures.
Nefertiti Long, President of the Alliance of Black Women Accountants [ABWA]shared, “[F]rom time to time we offered financial literacy workshops and partnered with other organizations. That’s when we realized there was a huge need [for small businesses] to get help in accounting and finance”.
Black Women to the Rescue
Nefertiti Long is the COO/CFO of Alta Loma Enterprises and President of the Alliance of Black Women Accountants (ABWA). With much enthusiasm, Long looks at accounting like an investigative story waiting to be told, and the financial impact COVID-19 had on small businesses was no different.
When government assistance to businesses became a topic, Nefertiti analyzed a glaring discrepancy, “What I acknowledged right away was that businesses that were already large and thriving were given the information to apply for funding first. The crime in it was that the businesses that needed it the most, like the hairdressers and small sandwich shops, didn’t get the memo. By the time a lot of them started applying for it, the money was going and going.”
As mentioned before, Long sees accounting as an investigation. She approaches financial processes by questioning: who, what, why, and how? So, how could small businesses truly in need not be the first informed? Nefertiti identified, “They didn’t require proof of impact! Something as simple as ‘show me your sales during COVID time versus last year,’ that right there is a recording.”
Long’s passions expand beyond accounting. In alignment with her success she makes it a point to pay it forward by supporting young Black women. She happily elaborated, “My philanthropic endeavors are centered on my passions for the Inland Empire, women and of course helping Black people—Black women in the region particularly.”
Reflecting on her own upbringing, Long credits her accomplishments and who she is today to education. She was exposed to the intricacies and reporting required in accounting as a student in junior college. That’s when she knew what career path she was ready to take.
The Alliance of Black Women Accountants [ABWA]
ABWA’s north star is creating awareness for Black women early on about the possibility of accounting and finance to be a career option.
They start by debunking myths about what a career in accounting is and is not such as “…they might think of bank tellers and bookkeeping, but that’s not the accounting profession.”
Nefertiti’s dedication to Black women throughout the Inland Empire made her an obvious point of contact when business owners in the area needed financial guidance. As the pleas reached Nefertiti’s inbox, she knew just where to look for accessible and available support for as many businesses as possible.
Serving the community by partnering for success
“In the last year, I talked to my [ABWA] board because we had gotten an influx of emails from businesses saying ‘Hey, I need an accountant’ or ‘Hey, can you help me?’”
She recalls, “Basically, the aha moment for me, came aboard because from 2016 to now, we had been building our membership. We’re up to about 50 members and then I took a step back and looked at the talent we have in our membership pool.”
Long had the brilliant idea to partner established accountants and post-graduate mentees with businesses in need of accountants and financial help.
Pairing seasoned accountants and new graduates with small businesses and nonprofits was only the beginning of Nefertiti’s idea, “We have quite a few seasoned professionals that have critical knowledge where they can help businesses get off the ground. From that end, I developed a plan to really start going at that.”
At this time, the Alliance of Black Women Accountants is partnering with organizations globally to tackle the scarcity of Black women in accounting and finance and supporting small businesses.
“ABWA’s goal is really to connect to the community, and we really want to connect with our young people and bring awareness to our profession,” Long concluded.
Follow this link to connect with ABWA and/or to learn more about the organization and its programs.