Message from Bruno Suppa, CEO
At BDO Canada, we strive to bend the arc of possibility for our people, our clients, and our firm. Fostering an environment that is inclusive, accessible, and barrier-free is core to this commitment and to our firm’s values. Since the publishing of our Accessibility Plan in 2023, we have worked to improve accessibility at BDO Canada and ensure that we are promoting a workplace that is supportive and welcoming to people of all abilities.
In the past year, we have made progress in every priority area of the Accessible Canada Act while also adhering to provincial regulations in every province where we operate. We changed the language of our firm’s inclusion efforts from “diversity, equity and inclusion” to “diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility” to stress the importance of accessibility for persons with disabilities at BDO. We rolled out mandatory firm-wide accessibility training for all BDO employees across the country. We worked to improve our processes for providing timely accommodations for employees with disabilities. We implemented new ways to track and analyze feedback from persons with disabilities so we can do better at implementing changes and understanding themes over time. We updated our hiring and onboarding practices to remove barriers for persons with disabilities. We also made changes to our office spaces to make them more accessible for all.
Our employees have shared that there has been a shift in our culture towards becoming more inclusive of persons with disabilities. I am very proud of this and of the meaningful changes we have been implementing across the firm.
Our journey towards greater accessibility is ongoing, and we are committed to making continuous improvements. We will continue to build upon our current progress and work towards being a fully accessible firm for our employees and clients.
Bruno Suppa
CEO, BDO Canada LLP
General
About BDO Canada
BDO Canada LLP (“BDO Canada”) is a member of BDO International Limited, which is a network of independent member firms. BDO Canada is a Canadian limited liability partnership, while BDO International Limited is a UK company limited by guarantee. BDO Canada provides assurance, accounting, tax, consulting, and business advisory services across Canada. The firm is made up of over 450 partners and more than 4,500 staff.
Accessibility at BDO Canada is a community effort driven forward by multiple teams:
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Leadership Team
- Sustainability Services Team
- Persons with Disabilities Pillar
- The BDO Accessibility Consulting Team
- Employees whose roles are related to the priority areas of the Accessible Canada Act
Contact information
BDO Canada values and appreciates feedback regarding our Accessibility Plan and our accessibility practices in general. If you require an alternative format of this plan or would like to provide feedback, we invite you to contact us through the following channels:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 416-865-0111 (National Head Office)
Mail:
BDO Canada LLP
Accessibility Consulting Team
180 Kent Street, Suite 1700
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 0B6
We offer alternative formats upon request, including:
- Large print
- Braille
- Other electronic formats that are compatible with adaptive technologies
Governance and culture
Our commitments
We will continue to build accessibility into our positions, structures, and metrics.
Status: On track
Progress: We placed a renewed focus on sharing information and trends related to accessibility across the organization. By improving visibility of relevant data and insights, we are helping teams stay informed and engaged in ongoing accessibility efforts.
We strengthened our Talent Acquisition processes by designating a dedicated team member to align recruitment practices with our diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) goals. This role helps ensure that accessibility remains a consistent consideration in how we attract, hire, and retain talent.
We will establish more opportunities for input and feedback from partners and staff with disabilities.
Status: On track
Progress: We continued to leverage feedback mechanisms developed for employees and clients to support ongoing improvements. These tools are actively monitored to ensure they remain effective and responsive to user needs. This ongoing review helps us to continuously identify trends and opportunities for enhancement and removal of barriers.
We will build accessibility awareness and expertise across the firm.
Status: On track
Progress: We continued to strengthen our accessibility and inclusion efforts through a range of awareness, education, and recognition initiatives:
- Added accessibility to all references of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the firm.
- Designated a Senior Manager of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility.
- Developed and launched mandatory annual accessibility training for all staff across the country.
- Recognized as a Purple Star Employer by Western University. This recognition reflects our ongoing commitment to inclusive hiring and creating equitable opportunities for persons with disabilities.
- Hosted a company-wide webcast to celebrate Disability Employment Awareness Month in October 2024.
- Over 3,000 employees attended a session called “Neuroinclusion Includes You: Unlock Strengths and Build an Inclusive Workplace” as part of our firm-wide SkillUP Summit.
- Offered multiple mentoring sessions on neurodivergence in the workplace.
- Began early discussions to develop mental health training for new managers with the goal of launching the program in 2026.
We will work to enhance the accessibility of our firm’s policies.
Status: On track
Progress: The BDO Accessibility Consulting Team began reviewing BDO’s policies through an accessibility lens.
We have reviewed all current and draft accessibility standards released by Accessibility Standards Canada to align our policies and practices with these standards.
Employment
Our commitments
We will improve our data collection processes, metrics, and key performance indicators related to disability.
Status: On track
Progress: We launched two campaigns to encourage employees to review and update their self-identification information related to having a disability. These efforts help build a more accurate understanding of disability representation and inform ongoing inclusion work.
We will continue to enhance the effectiveness of our accommodations processes.
Status: On track
Progress: We began tracking accommodation requests through the firm’s internal ticketing system. This allows us to monitor trends and generate reports on accommodations being requested.
We developed a new form for Human Resources (HR) to facilitate regular accommodation check-ins with employees. The form includes space for feedback on accommodation, helping us better understand the employee experience and identify opportunities for improvement over time.
We will continue to make our hiring, recruitment, and onboarding processes more inclusive of persons with disabilities.
Status: On track
Progress: We updated our recruitment and onboarding messages to ask if accommodations are needed and encourage accommodation requests.
We also added a question to our onboarding survey to ask whether employees’ accommodation needs were met. This will help us identify opportunities to improve our accommodation processes.
We formed a cross-functional team to meet regularly and streamline our processes for software-related accommodation requests.
We will ensure that all internal training is accessible.
Status: On track
Progress: We updated our standards for online learning to include considerations for neurodivergent learners. These updates are based on feedback received from our recent accessibility training.
The built environment
Our commitments
We will update and refresh our emergency response information and procedures for employees with disabilities.
Status: On track
Progress: We created a new individualized emergency response plan template and guide to better support persons with disabilities during an emergency. Once fully approved, we will communicate this update to the firm.
We will create a plan to regularly assess the accessibility of our office spaces.
Status: On track
Progress: To further align with federal accessibility standards, we are updating the accessibility checklists we use to evaluate our office spaces.
We will develop mechanisms to communicate with our people and clients about the accessibility of our physical spaces.
Status: On track
Progress: We are starting to incorporate accessibility information into our workspace booking system so employees with disabilities can easily choose office spaces and meeting rooms that fit their needs.
Information and communication technologies (ICT)
Our commitments
We will look for ways to incorporate feedback from our people and clients with disabilities into the web accessibility process.
Status: On track
Progress: Our website team continues to conduct weekly accessibility reviews on our external website to help maintain and improve accessibility as new content is added.
We explored opportunities to involve persons with disabilities in conducting manual testing of our website to ensure our digital platforms are inclusive and meet the needs of all users.
We will improve communications about accessibility-related tools available to our people.
Status: On track
Progress: We developed prompts for employees to use in their interactions with artificial intelligence (AI) to create more accessible outputs.
We are updating our accessibility SharePoint site to include information about accessibility features in Microsoft 365 and other platforms.
We will further embed accessibility in our IT strategies and processes.
Status: On track
Progress: We are shifting away from PDFs and moving toward the primary use of web pages. This approach will make content easier to navigate for all users.
Communication other than information and communication technologies
Our commitments
We will expand our consideration of accessibility within communication guidelines.
Status: On track
Progress: We added guidance on our internal Brand Resource Centre to help employees consider accessibility in their materials.
We will continue to enhance the accessibility of our templates.
Status: On track
Progress: We began reviewing our standard contracts, PowerPoint slide deck templates, and firm-wide email communications for accessibility. We are incorporating best practices to ensure firm-wide communications are accessible to all employees and clients.
We will improve processes for providing documents, events, and social media posts that are accessible.
Status: On track
Progress: We reviewed firm-wide publications for accessibility. For example, the Annual Sustainability Report was built for screen reader compatibility, included alternative text, and was made available in alternative formats.
We added the opportunity to request accommodations on our firm-wide event registration forms. A process has been created to manage these requests. We will continue to assess our event accessibility based on the feedback from persons with disabilities.
The design and delivery of programs and services
Our commitments
We will seek feedback from our clients on the accessibility of our programs and services.
Status: Completed June 2024
Progress: We improved how we monitor feedback from persons with disabilities. We are now analyzing trends in the feedback and have a plan in place to address the feedback we receive.
We will ensure that our clients with disabilities are aware of available accommodations.
Status: On track
Progress: We organized a cross-functional team that meets regularly to identify ways to improve our accommodation process. This includes finding ways to better communicate about accommodation options for employees and clients.
The procurement of goods, services, and facilities
Our commitments
We will continue to develop our knowledge and expertise into best practices in accessible procurement.
Status: On track
Progress: We embedded accessibility-related features in all decisions related to real estate.
We will consider how we can better incorporate supplier diversity into our process for choosing vendors.
Status: Not started
Progress: We explored ways to better incorporate supplier diversity into our vendor selection process. While this work is in the early stages, it remains a priority as we look for opportunities to strengthen inclusivity and representation within our supply chain.
Consultations
BDO is committed to consulting with persons with disabilities on our accessibility journey. Over 200 employees provided valuable insights and contributed input and feedback related to accessibility that informed this progress report. All feedback submitted by BDO clients has been thoroughly reviewed and considered.
Our consultation process included:
- Firm-wide survey sent to all employees to gather feedback on their experiences related to accessibility.
- One-on-one interviews available to all employees.
- Meetings with the Persons with Disabilities Pillar to learn more about their lived experiences at BDO.
- Discussions with subject matter experts across all Accessible Canada Act priority areas to gather feedback on progress made and identify new or emerging barriers.
- Ongoing monitoring of the accessibility inbox to collect feedback from employees and clients.
The BDO Accessibility Consulting Team led consultations with persons with disabilities and the creation of this progress report. The team is made up entirely of persons with disabilities, ensuring lived experience was central throughout the process.
Feedback
The following key themes emerged from employee and client feedback:
- Growing a culture of inclusion: Many employees described a noticeable shift toward openness, where requesting accommodations is met with understanding and support and accessibility is increasingly part of day-to-day conversations.
- Greater awareness through training: Mandatory firm-wide accessibility training, periodic accessibility-related mentoring sessions, and targeted events are helping to build awareness and understanding of accessibility and disability-related topics.
- Improvements in physical spaces: It was mentioned that some offices have upgraded accessibility-related features, such as automatic door openers, adjustable sit-stand desks, ergonomic workstations, improved lighting, and designated quiet spaces.
- Need for greater consistency across locations: While some offices and leaders have accessibility in mind, others have room to strengthen their implementation of accessibility initiatives and adopt accessible design standards.
- Opportunities to embed universal design: Accessible materials are often provided upon request, but employees see value in designing all resources to be accessible from the outset.
- Addressing sensory and environmental needs: Open-concept layouts, bright lighting and high noise levels can create challenges for some employees. This highlights the need for quiet rooms, adjustable lighting, and other environmental adjustments.
- Streamlining the accommodation process: Some employees experienced delays in the accommodation process and uncertainty over points of contact during the process. They noted administrative requirements that make the process more challenging.
- Expanding digital accessibility: While some training and documents are being checked for accessibility, there are not consistent practices across all digital content.
- Integrating accessibility into all business practices: Employees want accessibility considerations embedded into all aspects of our work, from leadership training and conference content to client-facing materials. They would also like more communication about follow-through on commitments.
We take feedback seriously and use it to identify areas for improvement. By listening to our clients, the public, our partners, and our employees, we strive to become a more accessible and inclusive organization.