How Accounting Firms Can Reduce Bias in Performance Reviews by Fixing One Common Step

Performance reviews are meant to be objective. Yet even the most well‑intentioned processes can unintentionally reinforce bias, especially in professional services environments like accounting, where evaluations affect promotions, pay, and long-term career trajectories. 

One seemingly neutral step stands out as a hidden culprit: asking employees to rate themselves before their manager does. 


The Hidden Bias in Self‑Assessments 

Recent research by Iris Bohnet, Oliver Hauser, and Ariella Kristal examined performance reviews inside a global financial services firm. Their findings: 

- Women consistently rated themselves lower than men. 

- Women of color gave themselves the lowest ratings of all. 

When managers viewed these self‑ratings before submitting their own evaluations, their scores were pulled downward.  A textbook case of anchoring bias. 

Anchoring bias is a cognitive bias where people rely too heavily on the first piece of information they receive—the anchor—when making decisions, judgments, or estimates. 

Once an anchor is set, all subsequent assessments tend to be made by adjusting away from that initial number or detail, but often the adjustment isn’t big enough, leading to skewed or inaccurate conclusions. 

If an employee rates themselves a “3 out of 5,” a manager who sees that score first may unconsciously adjust their own rating toward that number, even if the employee’s actual performance deserves a 4 or 5. 

A Telling Exception: New Employees 

For new hires, employees with no previous self-ratings or ratings history, managers rated women of color on par with white women and men. Without an anchor, the bias disappeared. 

A Simple Fix With Big Impact 

The firm implemented a straightforward change: 

Managers now submit their ratings before viewing employee self-assessments. 

Why This Matters for Accounting Firms 

Accounting firms rely heavily on performance evaluations to influence compensation, promotions, and the leadership pipeline. Even small biases can accumulate over time. 

Design Processes Where Fairness Is the Default 

Bias isn’t always about attitudes or beliefs—often, it’s about systems. By removing anchoring, firms can create fairer and more accurate reviews. 

Source:  Harvard Kennedy School

Link to full Research:  https://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-research/policy-topics/gender-race-identity/self-ratings-and-bias-performance-reviews