March Meeting - Cultivating a Bias-Free Workplace

IMA Winnebagoland chapter will be presenting IMA®’s Diversity and Inclusion Workshop: Cultivating a Bias-Free Workplace

This workshop is designed to increase our awareness of the different factors that generate all kinds of biases in the workplace and how they hurt the workplace. We will also discuss personal and organizational strategies for reducing workplace bias. For companies to succeed in the global marketplace, leaders must fully leverage the skills and attributes of a diverse team. In the quest to attract and retain the right skills, best minds, and the strongest talent, companies must create an environment that embraces diversity and inclusion.

Learning Objectives:
After this session, attendees will be able to:
• Define bias and identify how cognitive reasoning and stereotypes impact biases.
• Describe unconscious bias.
• Explain the value of diversity and inclusion.
• Recognize bias and its effects in the workplace.
• Discuss strategies for overcoming biases.

Presenters: Bernice Jenkins and Roopa Venkatesh, IMA D&I Committee Members

Bernice F. Jenkins
Bernice Jenkins is a native of Montgomery, Alabama. She received a B.S. in Accounting from Tuskegee University in 2001 and a joint MAcc/MBA from Samford University in 2009. She earned the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation in 2013 and the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation in 2014.

Jenkins began her career with the General Electric Company (GE) in 2001. She is a graduate of two of GE’s premiere financial leadership development programs: Financial Management Program (FMP) and Corporate Audit Staff (CAS). Both programs consisted of global rotational assignments across different finance functions for multiple GE businesses. She also obtained GE’s Six Sigma Green Belt & Black Belt Certifications.

Since moving to Birmingham, Alabama in 2005, Jenkins has worked in a variety of management accountant roles as a consultant with The Siegfried Group, LLP and a senior accountant for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama (BCBSAL). Her most recent role with BCBSAL consists of managing operational accounts within the Provider Billing area. Prior to this, Bernice led the cost allocation process for the administrative service agreements with BCBSAL’s government subsidiaries.

Jenkins is an active member for both the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) & National Association of Black Accountants (NABA). She is a member of IMA’s Global Board of Directors and also serves on two of IMA’s standing advisory committees - Diversity and Inclusion Committee & ICMA Exam Review Committee. Jenkins was also recently appointed as Financial Literacy Director for the Southern Region of NABA. Her focus will be to revitalize NABA’s financial education programs across the southern region. In her personal time, Bernice enjoys fitness, cooking, and spending time with her family.

Roopa Venkatesh 
Roopa Venkatesh is an associate professor of accounting at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). She is the recipient of the 2020 IMA R. Lee Brummet Award and the 2020 IMA Champion Award, IMA Faculty leadership Award in 2017, and serves IMA at various levels, including serving on, the global board of directors, the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, the Committee on Academic Relations and is one of the founding board members of the IMA Platte Valley Chapter in Nebraska.

Dr. Venkatesh teaches managerial accounting and managerial accounting for supply chain management, and her research draws from theories in psychology, organizational behavior, and economics. Her research has been published in The Journal of Management Accounting Research, Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting, Journal of Theoretical Accounting Research, IMA Educational Case Journal, Strategic Finance, and Ethics & Behavior.

Her accomplishments in research, teaching, and service have been recognized with two IMA grants from the Foundation for Applied Research (FAR) in 2009 and 2016, the William C. Hockett Professorship, the UNO Dean's Citation Award for Excellence in Service (2018), UNO Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award (2017), Dean's Citation Award for Excellence in Teaching (2016), College of Business Administration Summer Teaching Fellowship (2015), and the UNO University Committee for Advancement in Teaching Curriculum Development Grant (2014-2015).

Moderator: Amy Renner, IMA Community Relations Team
Amy Renner is a Community Relations Manager at IMA Global supporting chapters and councils in the Central U.S. Region. This includes the IMA Winnebagoland chapter and IMA Mid-America Regional Council. 


CPE Credit: 2.0 NASBA CPE credits

Delivery Method: Group-Internet

Field of Study: Personnel/Human Resources

Level: Basic

Prerequisites/Advanced Preparation: None

For more information about IMA official NASBA sponsor, refund/cancellation policy, and complaint resolution policy, please click here: IMA CPE Info

Registration is mandatory to participate. Please click "register" below OR click here.

IMPORTANT: To ensure accurate CPE reporting to your IMA member transcript, please register with your accurate IMA member number as listed in your membership profile. If you're a non-IMA member, simply put "N/A" in member number field. The spelling of your first and last name when you register is how it will produce on your CPE certificate of attendance so please be mindful of this when completing the registration form.