Archive for the ‘Partner topics’ Category
Thursday, July 11th, 2019
The majority of people in the accounting profession operate at Levels I and II. – Gary Boomer
There is a good article by Gary Boomer via Accounting Today – Leadership, Management, and Administration: What’s the difference”
Here are some tidbits:
Boomer refers to Jim Collins’ five levels of leadership from his book “Good to Great.” He defines the levels as:
- Level I: Capable individual
- Level II: Contributing team member
- Level III: Competent manager
- Level IV: Effective leader
- Level V: Executive
Administrative personnel are often expected to have all the skills, especially in smaller firms that have a part-time managing partner or CEO. This is a monumental task, and often people are set up to fail in the role of firm administrator. People in these positions require professional development, peer networks, and management resources to succeed. The biggest risk is they are viewed by many accountants, including some partners, as overhead, rather than as a strategic asset.
It’s a great article – Read the entire article here.
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People leave firms because of bad managers, not because of the firm.
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Gary Boomer
Tuesday, July 9th, 2019
“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” – Jack Welch
The following passages are from the book Leading Professionals, Power, Politics, and Prima Donnas – by Laura Empson:
Many professionals have no ambition to become leaders, and they are equally reluctant to view themselves as followers.
“Compared to a corporate, we need a softer style of leadership, you know, arm round the shoulder, gently nudging people in the right direction.” – Senior Partner, Consulting Firm
In such a context, where authority is contingent and power is contested, leadership is a matter of guiding, nudging, and persuading. So, what can the so-called leaders of professional organizations do with the highly driven, highly demanding, and sometimes highly insecure prima donnas for who they are responsible?
Any of this sound like your partner group? It all sounds very familiar to me!
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The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets people to do the greatest things.
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Ronald Reagan
Tuesday, July 2nd, 2019
I read the following quote yesterday and it inspired my comments for today:
“Everyone wants to DO what the great ones do but very few are willing to do what they DID to become great!” – Jon Gordon
I talk to various firm owners. Many tell me they want to grow. They want to be more profitable. They want to become completely paperless. They want to move to the cloud. They want to have a better system for providing feedback to their people. They want to attract top talent. They want to develop future leaders to take care of succession issues.
They have heard and read about some of the leading firms in the profession, firms that have accomplished all of the above. They want to be like them.
BUT…. read the quote again.
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Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner.
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Les Brown
Thursday, June 27th, 2019
“Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable.” – Mark Twain
The Rosenberg Survey is so valuable to me as I talk with CPA firm clients throughout the year. Don’t forget to take part in this year’s survey. The deadline is July 15th.
Why is The Rosenberg Survey Valuable?
- Customized comparison of like-sized firms in similar markets for participating firms.
- Accurate and valid results reviewed by three CPAs.
- Reliable year-over-year comparisons with a return rate of 82% from previous year’s participants.
- A robust pool of 360 participants makes our data relevant to firms of all sizes.
- Clear cut data displayed by firm size for comparison.
Click the link below today to take part!
to participate in the Rosenberg Survey!
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Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business.
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Zig Ziglar
Wednesday, June 26th, 2019
“You’re not learning anything unless you’re having the difficult conversations.” – Gwyneth Paltrow
Maybe you have already had your annual partner retreat. Did you talk about the elephant in the room?
Maybe your annual retreat is coming up soon. Will you talk about the elephant in the room?
I have been involved in and facilitated many retreats and often, as the old saying goes, it is like pulling teeth to get partners to be completely honest and talk about the elephant.
Whether you are in a partner meeting or in a performance feedback session with a team member, it can be difficult to address those elephants.
Marlene Chism has some great advice for discussing the undiscussables in her article via SmartBrief. She gives some specific, practical advice on how to:
- Get out of your head
- Get out of the story
- Own your stuff
- Set a positive intention
Read the article and begin to practice these helpful tools.
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Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.
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Ambrose Bierce
Monday, June 24th, 2019
“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.” – Harvey Mackay
Last week I read the tweet below from @AccountingEdit (Dan Hood). He was attending the Rainmaker Superconference in Atlanta. So much is said in just these few words. Read these few words and apply them to your CPA firm.
Wastes to look for (in your firm and at your clients):
Defects: In which areas are things not right the 1st time?
Waiting: Where can time taken be reduced?
Over-engineering: Do too much for money charged
Process: There’s no process or a flawed process
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I wasted time, and now doth time waste me.
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William Shakespeare
Wednesday, June 19th, 2019
“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up somewhere else.” – Yogi Berra
Here is a simple message for today:
“I remember saying to my mentor, ‘If I had more money, I would have a better plan.’ He quickly responded, ‘I would suggest that if you had a better plan, you would have more money. You see, it’s not the amount that counts; it’s the plan that counts.'” – Jim Rohn
Your partner and/or management retreat is coming up. Make sure you come out of it with a plan. Don’t waste two days of your time and then not take action.
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A goal without a plan is just a wish.
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Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Tuesday, June 18th, 2019
“Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.” Jack Canfield
Great news for your future CPAs. In case you haven’t heard, continuous testing for the CPA Exam has been approved.
Be sure you are constantly encouraging your new hires to take the Exam! Here’s some information released by the Ohio Society of CPAs:
Soon CPA exam candidates won’t have to wait until the next testing window to retake a section, thanks to a revised NASBA rule.
In April the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy approved the Uniform Accountancy Act Model Rule 5-7(a)(2) rule, stating “…a Candidate can retake a Test Section once their grade for any previous attempt of the same Test Section has been released.” The news was announced in the May board report.
“It’s one of those things that everyone has always wanted,” said Laura Hay, CPA, vice president of The Ohio Society of CPAs. “It’s just now the administration and technology have all caught up.”
Most states, including Ohio, will have to change their rules to permit the revision, but Hay predicted most states will be in favor, and it will be a question of resources and how quickly they are able to make the change.
For future test-takers, this means saving valuable time on that 18-month countdown that begins once candidates pass the first section. According to the AICPA website, with the current system, if you take a section of the exam on July 20, you would have to wait until October to take the next section, despite receiving your score on August 6.
The plan is to roll out continuous testing by July 2020.
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Exams test your memory, life tests your learning; others will test your patience.
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Fennel Hudson
Thursday, June 13th, 2019
“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” – Mother Teresa
I work with a lot of smaller firms. They are always looking for ways to stay competitive and to take advantage of as much technology as possible. Sometimes small firms assume they can’t compete with what the big national and regional firms are doing.
In a recent article via The Journal of Accountancy, Samantha Bowling, CPA, CGMA tells the story of how her 15 person firm is using artificial intelligence to identify high-risk transactions as part of its auditing process.
One line caught my attention. It is an important issue for small CPA firms. Do you still have servers on site? Bowling says, “We used to have seven servers on-site. Now everything is in the cloud. We used to be able to remote in to our servers before, but it was slow. The remote access is much better in the cloud. It’s night and day. I’m excited because I’ve never had access to this much technology.”
Just because you are a small firm doesn’t mean you have to think small! Read this article!
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Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.
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Vincent Van Gogh
Tuesday, June 11th, 2019
“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” – Albert Einstein
Have your merged up? Are you considering merging up? Here’s something to think about and understand.
It comes from a post by @SkipPrichard about a book written by Kevin Kruse – Great Leaders Have No Rules: Contrarian Leadership Principles to Transform Your Team and Business. Read the reviews on the book. It might be one you should have on your summer reading list if you are a leader or aspire to be one.
Yes, this whole book came from a crazy Post-It Notes story. About 20 years ago I had sold my company and joined the new company as a partner, VP, and I reported to the CEO. He had me very excited and committed to the future of the new combined organization and how we would build it together. But then the CFO docked my first expense check by about four dollars. He told me they won’t reimburse my Post-It Notes because it was a wasteful expense. It was a rule—no Post It’s—that I didn’t know about. In that moment, that one rule, suddenly made it clear that this was “their” company, not mine. They were in control, not me.
Many practitioners have learned the hard way that a so-called merger is not what they thought a merger would be like. For the most part, I believe CPA firm mergers work out well. But, not always. Just be prepared for a new way of life.
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Highly successful people take immediate action on almost every item they encounter.
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Kevin Kruse,
