Archive for the ‘Partner topics’ Category
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
If your CPA firm, like so many others across the country, is facing the succession challenge try this simple Retirement Timeline Exercise and use it as a tool at your next management retreat.
Do you have too many clusters of partners reaching retirement age? How many younger partners are also in clusters?
I suggest doing two time-lines – one based on the year that partners reach age 65 (in many firms this is when you have to sell your stock) and one based on when the individual partner thinks he/she will actually “retire.”
One of the major issues you will be facing is that many partners will reach retirement age, sell their stock and then want to stay active in the firm for many years to come. You have to decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. It’s often a downer for the young partners and future partners in the firm in that they are looking forward to their chance to take over and do things their way.
In years gone by, firms have been able to keep the founder on the payroll and provide an office and other support. However, now you might be facing many Baby Boomer partners wanting to keep working. Does it make sense to have four or five over-65, former partners around the office indefinitely? Be sure to examine, discuss and decide what is really best for the firm.
Here’s a sample of the Retirement Timeline:
Thursday, January 12th, 2012
Do all the partners in your CPA firm have meaningful goals for 2012? Has your managing partner met with every partner individually to talk about and document their goals? Have you made them public?
Many firms wait until early in January, after all of the year-end frenzy, to establish their current year goals. If you haven’t performed this important step yet for 2012, here’s a link to Gary Adamson’s Five Tips To Get More Out Of Your Partner Goal Setting from his Adamson Advisory December newsletter.
- Committed Leadership
- Hygiene vs. Goals
- Firm Wide Goals/Objectives and Compensation Plan
- Don’t Hide Them
- Outside Assistance
Follow the link above to read about each of the five topics.
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I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacation with better care than they do their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change.
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Jim Rohn
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
In Aquila Global Advisors‘ January newsletter, August Aquila offers this advice:
- Beef up your sales and marketing efforts.
- Look for new niches.
- Think merger.
- Add new services.
Read his explanation of each one and the entire article. As he notes – - Don’t play defense. Make it happen in 2012.
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Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.
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John F. Kennedy
Thursday, December 29th, 2011
The title, above, might not apply to some firms but I certainly hope it applies to the vast majority.
My advice when it comes to interns is, if you can possibly use one – hire two. If you think you might need 3, hire six. Most of you know by now that hiring for the public accounting profession has evolved to hiring from your intern pool. The best and brightest almost always accept offers from the firm they interned with. The stiffest competition in hiring on campus is for the best intern candidates.
When the interns arrive, make them feel special. I often ask groups of managing partners how they felt on their first day working in public accounting. I get some very consistent answers such as: I felt dumb. I felt lost. I was clueless. I was scared.
Now that you are more experienced, keep in mind how all new hires in the CPA world feel. And remember, use positive talk. Sometimes, people in CPA firms tend to dwell on the negative. When you describe your firm and public accounting, in general, to new hires (and to anyone) don’t forget to brag it up!
In January, when new hires and interns arrive, it is a perfect time to talk about the wonderful opportunities in public accounting. As a firm leader, take the time to talk with each one privately about the wonderful world of public accounting. I suggest comparing public accounting to being a doctor – CPAs are highly trained physicians (specialists) treating patients – sometimes you are focused on preventive medicine and sometimes you are an emergency room doctor. Sometimes you even need to provide psychiatric help (like me in the picture, above).
Here’s an example of an intern speech for you to use, just insert the name of one of your all-stars.
“You know, Nate, the reality of the CPA profession and what makes it so important to you, is the fact that it is absolutely the BEST place to TRAIN for the business world. Public accounting teaches you how to think in ways that have never entered your brain before now. Being an auditor forces you to look past what is obvious. Taxes teaches you how to be cunning, creative and forces you to think proactively. You could say that working in the tax area is like planning the strategy for an important battle.
What’s more, public accounting is like the emergency room for all business owners. YOU are the DOCTOR and PATIENTS come to you when they have a painful problem. You strip them of their clothes (so to speak), see them for what they humanly are, do x-rays, CAT scans and all kinds of tests to be sure it is a thorough examination. You see into their personal life like no other person. Then you diagnose and treat them.
Also, Nate, if you keep your eyes, ears and mind open during your time with them, you will see how successful businesses are run and how true entrepreneurs think. You might also see how mistakes and poor judgment can take a business down. What a training ground!”
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The nice thing about being a celebrity is that if you bore people they think it's their fault.
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Henry Kissinger
Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
I get a lot of questions about the value of client feedback surveys. In fact, I’ll be writing a more focused look at the variety and style of client surveys used by firms in an upcoming newsletter article.
For today, here’s a method you might want to try. I call it “save the whale” and I learned it from a CPA firm marketing director many years ago.
Client feedback is just one part of the “building the client relationship” journey. To build a true, strong relationship you need face time.
Select a few of your huge, important-to-the-firm “A” clients, maybe two from each partner’s responsibility list. These are the “whales.”
Schedule a meeting with the owner or CEO and the firms managing partner/CEO, promising only to take 30 minutes of the owner’s time just to obtain some information about the firm’s relationship with the client. It is best if the MP actually calls the client directly rather than delegate it to an assistant. The MP does not have to know the client personally. In fact, this is a great way to give clients the chance to meet another partner level contact at the firm.
The MP takes a few standard questions along to ask the client, in person. And then just lets the client talk about their relationship with the firm, how it feels to them and if there is more the firm could do to better serve their needs. Of course, the MP explains how this feedback helps the firm to improve and provide even better service.
The MP returns to the office, debriefs with the partner-in-charge of the client relationship and records the answers to the 4 or 5 standard questions so all the data can be analyzed later.
Managing Partners, make this a routine, quick and easy practice. Do one or two a month on an on-going basis. This type of activity is what a managing partner SHOULD be doing – listening to the firm’s client base and providing important feedback to each of the firm’s partners.
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He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.
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Chinese Proverb
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
I meet and get to know some pretty great people associated with the CPA profession. That’s the case with Dustin Hostetler. I met and talked with Dustin at several CPA management conferences over the last few years, we’ve met for lunch (he lives in Ohio, too) and keep in touch digitally.
Hostetler is the founder of Flowtivity and the practice leader and lead consultant for LeanCPA. As a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt with extensive experience working inside a large regional CPA firm, he has taken proven Lean techniques from the manufacturing floor and tailored them to bring ground-breaking value to public accounting firms. His innovation and passion has brought true efficiency to accounting — helping accounting firms unleash the potential of their professionals.
I’m sharing all this with you because of an article Hostetler wrote in his recent newsletter. How far does a plane go without pilots and how does that relate to CPA firms? He’s right on target with this engaging story.
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Example is leadership.
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Albert Schweitzer
Tuesday, November 29th, 2011
Are you a bully or a wimp?
Most CPA firms contain a cast of characters similar to what you might find in some of the most successful TV shows. After all, you are living an adventure, a comedy, a drama, a mystery and a reality show every day.
When it comes to confrontation, you might notice that your cast of characters contain one, maybe two, bullies and a whole bunch of wimps.
Everyone in the firm can identify the bully and tolerate the person. The interns find this character especially amusing. Sometimes the bully is necessary to stir things up and keep the firm moving forward. However, usually, they are acknowledged as the “wild card” or “loose cannon” who ignores most of the rules and does not lead by example.
As for wimps…. I really don’t like to call CPAs wimps because that doesn’t really describe them. What they are, are really honest, caring and NICE people and who don’t like the discomfort of confrontation. Mostly, because they have not learned how to use positive confrontation.
Often CPA owner groups avoid confrontation like the plague and end up in the procrastination world. What I am talking about is not avoiding confrontation, I want you to face it head-on and use it to your advantage or you might find your firm losing ground in the battle for talented people and profitable clients.
Here are some tips from an article on Women Grow Business site by consultant, Libby Wagner.
Prepare and set the stage for a productive confrontation conversation by considering the following elements.
- In person, in private
- Positive nonverbals
- No excess emotional baggage
- Using “I” messages
- Focus on desirable behaviors
- Focus on positive consequences and results.
Be sure to follow the link above to read the details about each of the six elements.
Conversation from Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie:
Rowley Jefferson: My mom said to just be myself and everyone would like me.
Greg Heffley: That would be good advice if you were somebody else.
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If there's one thing I learned from Rodrick, it's to set people's expectations real low so you end up surprising them by practically doing nothing at all.
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Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
In this world of individualism, which has directly impacted how we manage our CPA firms and our people, I often feel like many accounting firms have lost something valuable, something I have always called “the common good.”
What is best for the group, the community, the whole (the firm) is not alway the best for each individual team member. So, firm leaders are often caught in the trap of changing this and changing that for no other reason than one, single person questioned a decision or complained. In some firms it feels like a steady diet of whiplash.
Here’s a brief excerpt from Aligning the Stars – How to Succeed When Professionals Drive Results by Jay Lorsch and Thomas Tierney:
“The strength of the firm overall lies in its ability to shape the behavior of its individual professionals such that, on average, they put the interests of the firm ahead of their own needs. The larger the proportion of partners who are willing to do this, the more aligned the firm will be – and the higher the odds that it will achieve its objectives over time, even though any single individual may fall short. Conversely, the smaller the proportion of professionals who put the firm first, the greater the likelihood that sooner or later the firm will fail.”
Maybe this is why so many firms have found it appealing to move to a closed compensation system for partners. Most partners are extremely happy to find out that at the end of the year, their reward is $302,000 until they find out that Bob, the partner in office down the hall, made $304,500. How could Bob possibly be .8% better than me?
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I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.
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Marilyn Monroe
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
What do you think of the title to today’s post? I find it fascinating and full of meaning.
These three words are not mine but I am sure adopting them. They come from Jason Blumer, CPA, CITP in his September article in CPA Practice Advisor. You have probably read a lot about Blumer. He seems to be everywhere these days. He is the founder of THRIVEal+CPA Network, a place where “cloud people” build community, collaborate, focus on technology and innovate for the future……
In the article, Blumer explains 3 Things You Must Do Now. His goal is to take away your comfort as you lead your professional practice into the future. He suggests that you look away from that tax return or audit, and seek to decipher the future that is taking us all over. For sure, the future will involve the traditional services you offer now, but it will involve so much more.
The three things:
- Get a coach
- Join a community of change agents
- Set goals
Follow the link to read the entire article.
While many firm owners intend to keep doing what they have always done (because it is comfortable and they are making great money), they will soon be feeling the pressure from the CPA profession change agents who are steadily gaining momentum.
As year-end approaches and 2011 fades into the past, it is the perfect time for you to introduce a real, live partner goal-setting and improved partner performance plan inside your firm. Show your next generation of partners, your millennials, and your entire team that accountability is part of your culture and it begins at the top.
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Action is the real measure of intelligence.
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Napoleon Hill
Monday, October 24th, 2011
This Monday morning, as he does every Monday morning, Alan Weiss shared a one paragraph post he calls Alan’s Monday Morning Memo. If you sign-up, it comes to your mailbox every Monday morning.
It especially interested me this morning because it mentioned David Maister. Here’s Alan’s post:
This week’s focus point: Business growth superstar David Maister was my guest at my annual Thought Leadership Workshop in Palm Beach last week. Among his gems: “How much you really want something will determine how hard you work to achieve it. Most of us know what to do, we just don’t do it.” That’s why passion is so important in our personal and working lives. Don’t try to make money and become passionate about it. Find your passions, engage and help others, and you’ll earn a wonderful living.
If you know me or have heard me speak, you know I use many Maister’s quotes, advice and thoughts. If you play a role in managing a CPA firm, please give every new hire a copy of Maister’s book, True Professionalism.
The following is from Maister in the opening of True Professionalism:
There are relatively few new ideas in business, if any at all. “Listen to your clients, provide outstanding service, train your people, look for and eliminate inefficiencies and act like team players.”
Professional firms expend immense efforts trying to get their people to do the “right” things through systems, structures and monetary incentives. Not only have all of these frequently failed to create excellence, but they also leave a bad tast in the mouth. “Do it and we’ll pay you” smacks more of prostitution than of professionalism.
When things are presented as a management tactic, it is easy to argue with and dismiss. It is harder to argue with a matter of principle. Principles (or values) are the most effecive management tools a firm can use. Successful firms are clearly differentiated by a strict adherence to values, i.e., to professionalism.
Here are some of my prior posts mentioning Maister:
November 4, 2010 – More on Strategic Planning for CPA Firms
October 19, 2010 – Top Quality Work Is A Given
February 8, 2010 – Are You Getting Paid?
Check out the Maister quote below. Is this how it sometimes feels to you as you work in the public accounting profession?
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I did tolerable work for tolerable people because they paid me.
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David Maister
