MANKATO — Accounting firm Eide Bailly has been named in the 2025 Accounting MOVE Project’s lists of Best CPA Firms for Women and Best CPA Firms for Equity Leadership.
This marks the fifth and sixth times, respectively, the firm has received recognition for its efforts to advance women in the profession and foster equity leadership, said Heather Thielges, a market leader at the firm’s Mankato branch.
With between 80 and 90 employees locally, she said Eide Bailly’s recognition on these lists reflects the firm’s efforts to embed equity and inclusion into its core values and operations.
“Our core values as a firm center on caring for people, doing the right thing and embracing change.” she said. “What has kept me with Eide Bailly for my career is that we really are a culture-first firm. We prioritize belonging and flexibility, knowing that retention and engagement really start with feeling valued.”
The Accounting MOVE Project is an initiative that uses demographic analysis and assessments to “drive greater inclusion in the accounting profession,” according to its website. To be included in the lists, firms must have women making up at least 31% of partners and principals.
Eide Bailly surpasses this benchmark in Mankato and overall — with women making up 31% of partners and 53% of all staff — through its succession planning, pay equity efforts and leadership development programs.
The Accounting MOVE Project’s 2025 report also emphasizes “belonging” as a critical factor in retention and performance, providing firms with a roadmap for cultivating resilient, inclusive cultures.
“I am very intentional in making sure everyone has a seat at the table, and they also have an opportunity to contribute,” Thielges said. “I’m very thoughtful about who is missing from a discussion, who is missing from an initiative or who isn’t raising their hand, and then I’m very strategic about getting them engaged.”
Thielges said the firm’s Employee Resource Groups, coaching opportunities and flexible work models are part of its comprehensive approach to inclusion. According to the firm’s 2025 impact report, the resource groups are voluntary and employee-led to “foster inclusivity” by “creating a welcoming space for employees who share a common identity to support one another.”
Thielges said Eide Bailly’s commitment to employee well-being and career development is also evident in its focus on providing career pathways for all professionals and recalled ways the firm has changed in her 24 years with the company — with equity of underrepresented groups in the field and even back to when paper and pencils were used, rather than computers.
According to the impact report, based on voluntary and self-reported data, just over 75% of more than 3,500 employees are white. When Thielges thinks about the future, she envisions intention and accountability to an even “deeper integration of equity into every business decision.”
“There’s been lots of changes,” she said, noting how proud she was to be a leader in the company. “I feel like it’s my responsibility to carry that forward, pay it forward, lift others up and ensure that we continue to focus on equity as a firm and as an office.”