the partnership

don’t let exiting partners double dip

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senior businesswoman in officewhy pay if the firm doesn’t get the clients?

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

here’s a question that frequently arises in my consulting engagements: what are your thoughts on partners wanting to work for the firm in a non-partner role after they retire, who continue to control “their” clients while receiving deferred compensation and a salary for their work?

more: the 13 signs you have a partner problem | covid-19, adversity and innovation | is mandatory retirement a best practice? | merging in sellers: what you need to know | take yoda’s advice on strategic planning | 15 amazing organizational tactics to manage a cpa firm | how to develop a truly progressive nextgen culture
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the answer is rooted in the maxim: “no transition … no goodwill.” this means that retired partners should not have the inalienable right to deferred comp without actively and effectively transitioning their clients. if they don’t transition, then the remaining partners, at their sole discretion, should be able to reduce the deferred comp payments.
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the 13 signs you have a partner problem

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businessman holding two papers with happy and angry face each on themand seven ways to fix it.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

in my experience, roughly 60 percent of all cpa firms (below the top 100) have either major partner conflict or a pronounced lack of effective partner communication and/or relations.

more: covid-19, adversity and innovation | how covid impacts partner retirements |  three tough questions in partner buyouts | is mandatory retirement a best practice? | covid-19: how your firm can respond | reward partners for performing like partners
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this is a huge problem because unless the partners of a firm work reasonably well together, it is very difficult for their firm to be truly successful. i’ve always been a believer of the adage “partners who play well together do well together.”
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an effective board begins with an effective process

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senior businessman with his team at office

decide what you need, then look for the right people.

by steven e. sacks

in discussing how to select your firm’s board, the issue was that you want to have the proper board composition with the people, right values, philosophies and a shared commitment to the success of the firm.

more: how to select your firm’s board | confronting leadership: not such a bad thing | new opportunities for a ‘new normal’ | is trust elusive? | working remotely shouldn’t mean feeling isolated | how engaged are your employees? | managing difficult personalities in the workplace
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

as a firm leader, a matter you think needs immediate attention could simply be a symptom of a larger problem. it’s common sense that you would not visit your doctor to treat your broken leg with a band-aid, so why look for a fast, ineffective and incorrect solution as a way to fix an operational or cultural problem? this is why those who are on the board are selected for their acumen and belief in the why the firm or company exists and how it can be improved.
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retired cpa partners face pay cuts from covid

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facing the fallout from the covid crisis, 10 percent of small and midsized firms are already trimming compensation for retired partners.

firms target annual net profit caps, early retirement provisions, and mandatory retirement ages.

by domenick esposito

with profits likely to take a short-term hit, retired partners at many cpa firms are facing cuts to their payouts, according to our straw poll of 30 leading firms.

more from dom esposito:  keep your firm from biting the dust | the six ingredients for firm value | four ways to add $100,000 in new business fees every year | eight steps to small firm survival | no partner candidates? whose fault is that? | prune your firm: ‘rightsize’ managers and partners | how partners fail | ineffective management is hazardous to your firm’s health | profitability requires discipline |

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

coronavirus crisis updates: start here for a guide to all our coverage.

with covid-19 hurting revenues and bottom lines, firms of all sizes are reconfiguring their staff loads and renegotiating their space requirements.

but we haven’t heard much about what firms are doing about their obligations for deferred compensation partner retirement plans. until now.

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how to select your firm’s board

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overhead shot of eight businesspeople meeting around a table5 questions that go beyond the eeny meeny miny moe.

by steven e. sacks

the old saying that a camel was a horse created by committee has an element of truth to it. if you think that everyone on a board or executive committee shares the same opinions, philosophies and vision, then think again.

more: confronting leadership: not such a bad thing | new opportunities for a ‘new normal’ | working remotely shouldn’t mean feeling isolated | 4 ways to boost job satisfaction
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the eeny meeny miny moe may be a little tongue-in-cheek, but the question is how deliberate a cpa firm should be in choosing its board or executive committee members.
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eleven ways to jump-start your covid comeback

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because covid-19 punishes the complacent.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

there are some products that are so iconic and popular that it doesn’t seem possible that their success could ever be in jeopardy. oreos. the new england patriots. microsoft office. it must be wonderful to own and manage businesses like these that seem to run themselves.

more: how covid impacts partner retirements |  three tough questions in partner buyouts | reward partners for performing like partners | 7 points of a well-crafted partner buyout agreement
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

cpa firms enjoy no such advantaged status. but with the covid-19 crisis, firms need to short-circuit the natural processes of maturity and stagnation and think about how to get re-set right now.
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do you have the guts to beat the covid crisis?

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five tough questions to ask about your firm’s leadership in these tough times.

by bill penczak

in times like these, firms should be challenging themselves with the tough question, “what do we want to be, today and into the future?”

more: re-thinking today’s firm with five global leaders | 5 things your firm should do differently this summer | do you have the guts to beat the covid crisis? | how to inoculate your firm against covid competition | ‘found money’ delights clients | the three r’s for beating the corona crisis
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if maintaining the status quo and “serving clients,” whatever that really means, are the only responses your partner and leadership teams can muster, then perhaps it’s time to evolve from being a lifestyle firm to being one with a vision and the guts to achieve it.

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how covid impacts partner retirements

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how long do you want your firm to last?

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

two-thirds of partner agreements include a mandatory retirement provision. this provision usually requires partners to give up their equity but allows them to continue working in some fashion. a common stipulation is that if a “retired” partner wishes to continue working, either full- or part-time, this must be approved annually by the other partners. but with the covid crisis, annually may come sooner than expected.

more: three tough questions in partner buyouts | is mandatory retirement a best practice? | merging in sellers: what you need to know | take yoda’s advice on strategic planning
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

here are two opposing viewpoints on a mandatory retirement provision to consider the next time you review your partner agreement:
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three tough questions in partner buyouts

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when firm investment hits your own wallet.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

partner buyout plans can be difficult to navigate. we want to be fair to our partners, and we want to be treated fairly in return. in the process, differences of interpretation inevitably arise.

more: is mandatory retirement a best practice? | covid-19: how your firm can respond | 8 ways comp systems get partners to do what the firm needs | buyers name 20 big merger turnoffs | why governing by partner ownership is bound to fail
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

here are three queries we’ve recently received you may find instructive:
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are executive performance reviews dangerous?

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people seated in board room in near silhouette… or would you rather maintain the status quo?

by steven e. sacks

just like the uncertainties surrounding a client loyalty assessment, so, too, do questions surround the performance of a managing partner. one of a firm’s board responsibilities concerns the development and implementation of an executive review process.

more: trust is a key organizational ingredient | new opportunities for a ‘new normal’ | is trust elusive? | working remotely shouldn’t mean feeling isolated | how engaged are your employees? | managing difficult personalities in the workplace | set your staff on the right course | the lost art of the interview
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if one is lacking, this indicates that there is no mechanism to collect timely and relevant performance metrics, which leads to the lack of hard and accurate data. this prevents honest feedback between the managing partner and the board.
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in these turbulent times, leaders must lead!

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m.g005e.comsix things you needed to start doing yesterday.

by allan koltin

in the face of this unprecedented global pandemic, leaders must lead! we need to fill our days with talking to our people, clients, and our families and engaging them in the reality of the situation while at the same time stressing the positive things going on.

related: all 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 special coronavirus coverage

i was on a call this morning with a client and i was sharing how wonderful it was to have all three kids back home (they would have been studying abroad, at college, or going to high school) and how nice it was to have family dinners together again. i was also sharing the positives with the kids that their grandparents were healthy, safe, and getting calls from so many family members and how important this was to them. as i was walking the dogs this morning it occurred to me that i heard birds chirping and that i had been “so busy being busy” for the past four decades that beautiful sounds like this or the smell of the morning air were never on my mind. at a deeper level, and to equate it to a sporting event, i feel like the proverbial “scoreboard” has malfunctioned and there is now a new way to keep score, and it is becoming the new normal.

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reward partners for performing like partners

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piggy bank on scale with dollar signspartnership is no time to coast.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

any of you who started out as sole practitioners surely remember that it was you – no one else – who made your firm successful. you brought in the business. you did top-notch work and delivered it on time. you nurtured and grew your client relationships so they came back asking for more. when you hired staff, you who were responsible for keeping them busy and training them how to do the work.

more: merging in sellers: what you need to know | 8 ways comp systems get partners to do what the firm needs | buyers name 20 big merger turnoffs | why governing by partner ownership is bound to fail
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

if you took days off from these activities, guess what? no one did it for you and your firm suffered as a result.
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merging in sellers: what you need to know

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businessman wearing glasses, suit and serious expressionbuyer beware. seriously.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

dramatic changes have swept the cpa firm merger market in the past few years. because of the avalanche of sellers in the market, as well as the changes in strategic direction many buyers are taking, buyers are being much more selective than in the past.

more: 8 ways comp systems get partners to do what the firm needs | 7 points of a well-crafted partner buyout agreement | take yoda’s advice on strategic planning | buyers name 20 big merger turnoffs | smart tech tips from top cpa firms | 15 amazing organizational tactics to manage a cpa firm | why governing by partner ownership is bound to fail
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this means that sellers who always thought that their fallback exit strategy was to sell to a larger firm may be in for a rude awakening.
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