the partnership

best practices for executive committees

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six people meeting around a table

how many people? what do they do? and more.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

“a group of the unprepared, appointed by the unwilling to do the unnecessary.” – fred allen

when firms are small or newly formed, the firm’s management philosophy is characterized by some or all of the following:

  1. “we all have a vote, and we make decisions as a group.”

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  1. partners share profits and duties. “if we all pitch in and take responsibility for a certain area of the firm (admin, staff, quality control, marketing, etc.), our firm will be well managed, and we can save the cost of a firm administrator.”

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how to evaluate managing partners

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plus some thoughts on alternative management and perfectionism.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

evaluating the managing partner is really an upward evaluation. like all upward evaluations, evaluating the managing partner should be limited to those people who can offer input based on actual experience, not hearsay.

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this means that at firms of fewer than 10-15 partners, all the partners will probably participate. but once a firm gets beyond 10-15 partners and has multiple offices, an increasing number of partners may not have enough direct contact with the managing partner to evaluate the person. firms with executive committees may wish to limit the evaluation to those on the committee.
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what millennial managing partners face

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man seated at laptop talking on phone

plus six tips for those aspiring to the role.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

cpa firm managing partners often serve for long periods of time. a tenure of 20 to 25 years is not uncommon. for managing partners to serve that long, they command the unwavering respect of the partners, often cling to old practices and, toward the end, may not be the visionary they once were.

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when a new managing partner takes over, this presents the firm with tremendous opportunities to change and improve the firm. the worst mistake is for the new managing partner to carry on just like their predecessor.
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twelve nuggets of advice for the new managing partner

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seated man wearing suit looking straight ahead

plus some thoughts on compensation.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

in an ideal world, a new managing partner will have been groomed and mentored by the existing managing partner for two or three years. a great way to do this is by executive committee participation. but alas, many things at firms under $30 million are not ideal. unfortunately, we have seen many firms anoint their new managing partner with relatively little training and mentoring.

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so, our first piece of advice is to provide for a two- or three-year process of gradual transition from the current to the new managing partner. regardless of the effectiveness of the transition period, here is advice that we always give to prospective managing partners:
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why have a managing partner?

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businessman giving advice to female coworker

and how they should spend their time.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

“you call it ‘nagging.’ i call it ‘listen to what i said the first time!’” – anonymous

after deciding on a management style for the firm, the next issue for the partners to decide is how the firm will be managed.

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the first question is: do we want the firm managed by a leader, which for a cpa firm is the managing partner, or managed by one or more committees of partners?
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what to do when a partner becomes disabled

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man seated at desk in front of empty chair

what does the partnership agreement say? oops …

by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice

question: my partner has been out sick for the past 3½ months, and he has been continuing to get his draw. it looks like he will be out for some time more, but not sure how long.

more: do as little as possible | want to merge? here are 23 things to request | i’m just starting out; why join an association? | don’t blame the client for your location | realign partners with monthly meetings | i’m 76. should i slow down? how? | who to hire when it’s time to grow | hourly billing doesn’t cover the value; now what? | ask for what you’re worth | the top tip for reviewing tax returns | you have to start somewhere | two options for collecting past due fees | you can’t win with lowballing | nine reasons not to specialize | when board service gets tricky
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he does make some calls from home, but isn’t really doing any work. is there anything i can do?
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partner comp earnings gap: what’s the right spread?

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people standing on stacks of coins, representing income gaps

how do you get it right at your firm?

by kristen rampe
partner comp: art & science

there are many reasons for a sizeable spread in partner income at a cpa firm. for example, at a firm with both a founder nearing retirement and a first-year partner, the spread would be wide. some firms are the opposite, with two to four founding partners agreeing to share all profits equally. there is no spread there.

more on partners: thirteen traits of partners you’ll want to keep | six rules for keeping partners happy and productive | five keys in compensating new managing partners | top 20 tough choices for the partner comp committee | voting on ownership basis? three better methods | what partners do and don’t deserve | tell potentials what partnership takes | five steps to transition to partnership
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for most multipartner and multigeneration accounting firms, the situation gets more complicated. you’ll have some high performers and some who are on cruise control. you’ll have ones contributing notably more dollars to the bottom line and more to future leaders’ development.

but what about two partners who contribute relatively the same? should their income allocation be similar? how similar?
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help! a partner wants to retire really early

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six shocked coworkers

how big should the buyout be?

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

question from a reader: we didn’t contemplate an owner leaving before normal retirement age unless it was because of death or disability or we had to fire them. however, as we were discussing hypotheticals at a recent partner meeting, we came to the uncomfortable conclusion that, currently, there’s nothing to stop owners from accumulating large buyout balances and just walking in one day and offering up their resignation pursuant to our partner agreement, thus entitling them to receive substantial buyouts as long as they give us a one-year notice. our vesting provision has a very limited penalty for early retirement: the buyout is reduced by 2 percent a year for every year before 60 they leave.

more: thirteen traits of partners you’ll want to keep | six rules for keeping partners happy and productive | five ways to separate accounting winners from losers | core values: why your firm needs them | voting on ownership basis? three better methods | fifteen big questions for your next strategy session
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no matter what, we need to modify our agreement so that if someone wants to leave early, they can do so, but they must know there will be a stiff penalty. we don’t want our partners to see their vested buyouts as large savings accounts that can be withdrawn at any time. instead, we want them to see our buyout as a true retirement plan, one that is redeemed close to or at a normal retirement age. my current thinking is that we restrict it in a similar way to an employer-funded retirement plan. the first day you can withdraw is the day you reach 55½, subject to vesting provisions and stiff penalties for early withdrawal. we think there should be a minimum number of years as a partner in order to receive any buyout.
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