with 18 key clauses and 24 essential ingredients.
by marc rosenberg
cpa firm management & governance
a partnership agreement contains clearly defined terms and conditions of the firm including, but not limited to, each partners’ responsibilities, their pay and their roles within the business. it also includes rules and regulations that are to be followed by the partners in the business. it is essential for a cpa firm to have a partnership agreement, regardless of how collegial and friendly the partners are with each other.
more cpa firm management & governance: how the structure of an accounting firm changes through the years | congratulations! your firm needs a human resources director | the 19-point marketing director job description | checklist: how the best managing partners and firm admins work in concert | 21 questions for managing the managing partner | no partner vote needed: 17 decisions best left to the managing partner alone | new rules: 13 items that should be in your managing partner’s job description | when is it time to shift your firm from partnership-style to corporate-style governance? | not every firm needs a general patton |
a partnership agreement can prevent potential future disagreements that could occur pertaining to the objectives and responsibilities of the firm.
a number of years ago, i was engaged by the managing partner of a firm to draft their first-ever partnership agreement. the firm had three partners: the 57 year old founder, who was a dominant, rainmaking managing partner, and two other younger partners who performed at a much lower level than the founder. read more →
the dysfunctional partner team and three ways to get them back on track.
you’ve tried management by committee. and by now, you know it doesn’t work. in a new analysis of cpa firm management practices, marc rosenberg finds, “management by committee rarely works.”
there must be a better way. and, yes, there are a few. here is a five-point spectrum of approaches that firms use to make decisions. one of them may work for your firm.
when to re-organize your firm’s management structure.
by marc rosenberg
cpa firm management & governance
firms may operate for years without much structure, enjoying happiness and profitability. then, seemingly overnight, the firm “hits the wall.” growth slows or stops. staff turn over. systems become inefficient. profits stagnate. for many firms, the “wall” is at the $6 million to $8 million annual revenue mark, while others don’t experience the slowdown until revenues approach $10 million.
roberto goizueta, ceo of coca cola in the ‘80s and ‘90s, described this perfectly: “challenging the status quo when you have been successful is difficult. if you think you will be successful running your business in the next 10 years the way you did the last 10 years, you’re out of your mind. to succeed, we have to disturb the present.”
the cure for this malady is to get organized.
in this report:
the right way and many wrong ways that firms handle non-equity partner strategies.
a new analysis of data in the current rosenberg map survey shows that the number of firms adopting non-equity partners is surging. some 78% of firms over $20 million now have non-equity partners, as well as 61% of firms from $10 million to $20 million.
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|
percentage of firms with non-equity partners
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|||
|
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> $20m |
$10–20m |
$2–10m |
all firms |
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2012-2013 report
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78% |
61% |
39% |
46% |
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2008-2009 report
|
47% |
33% |
37% |
|
in this report by marc rosenberg:
now what?
that’s what a lot of successful firms are asking these days.
as more firms grow, merge and consolidate – and as hr and payroll rules and regs proliferate – it’s no small decision.
after studying hundreds of cpa firms and distilling their best practices, marc rosenberg, author of “cpa firm management and governance,” compiled this handy 15-item checklist of responsibilities and duties for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.
more strategies for growing firms: 12 best practices for a cpa firm compensation committee | the 19-point marketing director job description | billable hours for partners: how much is too much? | charting the evolution of the firm administrator | checklist: how the best managing partners and firm admins work in concert | 25 managing partners list best profitability ideas in 7 key areas | two cpa firm committees that need explaining: management and executive | ten-point job description for the firm administrator or coo |
with more firms adopting a compensation committee system to sort out a partnership’s touchiest issues, marc rosenberg provides a 12-item checklist of best practices.
the list covers how to frame the committee’s mandate (“full reign”) to how its decisions should be treated (“no appeals. no approval needed.”). read more →
the post of marketing director is fast evolving in the accounting business. it is becoming more essential and more professionalized. but few firms have experience in marketing and so find it challenging to determine exactly what they need and want – and what to expect. here marc rosenberg, cpa, author of “cpa firm management and governance,” provides a checklist of the duties that the best firms in the business routinely consider. read more →
from personal assistant to true coo: how firms are delineating the job.
sophisticated cpa firms are adding the position of firm administrator at an increasing rate. but there is still little consistency in what that entails. some firm administrators have the authority and responsibility of a chief financial officer or chief operating officer. others may be little more than personal assistants to the managing partner.
after years of study at hundreds of cpa firms, practice management consultant marc rosenberg has formulated a 16-item checklist by which to gauge an fa’s role within a firm. in “cpa firm management and governance,” where his findings are spelled out, he plots the 16 criteria along a three-point scale of authority, showing how an fa’s duties evolve from the lowest level of authority to the highest level.
some things are predictable. it’s clear that one key measure of an fa’s role is the relationship to the managing partner (mp). at the lowest level, he or she is an aide de camp. at the highest, she operates as a coo alongside the mp as ceo.
but other things are less predictable, and this is where rosenberg’s study breaks new ground. rosenberg, for instance, has been able to chart the evolution of the fa role using more subtle criteria, such as their activities in mergers, partner meetings, budgeting and strategic planning.
here is his analysis, plotted on a grid: read more →
in a 43-item checklist based on surveys of the best-run firms in the nation, marc rosenberg, author of “cpa firm management and governance: the managing partner’s guide to running a cpa firm like a business,” details the allocation of duties and responsibilities that distinguish the separate roles of the managing partner as ceo and firm administrator as coo.
it’s easy to see why the managing partner should be the executive most responsible for holding partners accountable. but other questions are not so clear: who manages the banking relationships? who works with partners to set goals? who’s responsible for profitability?
the answers may surprise you. if they don’t, then you’re already doing everything right.
here’s the checklist:
by marc rosenberg
author of what really makes cpa firms profitable?
at a monthly roundtable of 25 managing partners from most of chicago’s largest local firms, several highlights emerged, including insights into:
what to do when democracy no longer works.
when firms are still small or just starting out, the partners often share a culture of democracy, shared burdens, personal freedom, and the opportunity for high earnings. but all that changes if the firm becomes successful.
in this article, marc rosenberg, author of “cpa firm management and governance:”
the position of firm administrator or coo is quickly gaining in importance, and just as quickly evolving.
according to marc rosenberg, author of “cpa firm management and governance: the managing partner’s guide to running a cpa firm like a business,” there are at least ten duties that are both critically important to the firm and that define the job of the coo.
they are:
10 important factors to be taken into consideration.
by marc rosenberg
author of “cpa firm management and governance.”