strategy

cpa firm performance assessments: 15 core competencies, 21 questions

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reeb-and-cingoranelli-with-cpatr-si-logo-200checklist: how to fine-tune your own firm’s performance management systems.

by bill reeb and dominic cingoranelli
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 / succession institute

when evaluating people within a firm, “relative importance” is a way to differentiate expectations regarding the same competency for various levels within your firm. we decided the best way to drill down even further into a competency model was to share some of the details of our competency model with you.

more on performance management:how to target what skills to develop now | what having your employees’ backs means | 5 harmful management attitudes (and how to fix them) | do cpa firms need management or leadership? |  job 1 for the practice owner: client management

it considers the following six levels within a cpa firm (each firm needs to choose whatever breakdown works best for them):

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who should participate in a retreat?

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overhead view of five businesspeople discussing something at a table with an open laptop nearbyinclude the relevant folks – but no more than 15 unless you plan on breakout groups.

by marc rosenberg
cpa firm retreats

what to discuss at a retreat is important, but so is who will be doing that discussing.

firms naturally tend to limit participation to key people – the partners, plus professional staff such as the coo, firm administrator, marketing director and hr director – so that sensitive and confidential issues are more easily discussed. also, keeping the group small lends itself to better group participation and more fruitful discussions.

more on retreats: retreat logistics: how long, what kind? | what should cpa firms discuss at retreats? | why do cpa firms conduct retreats?

on the other hand, there are benefits to involving others in the firm beyond the key people… if the objectives include five key items:
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how to target what skills to develop now

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reeb-and-cingoranelli-with-cpatr-si-logo-200bonus checklist: 12 competencies everyone in the firm needs.

by bill reeb and dominic cingoranelli
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 / succession institute

in discussing how to become a more effective people manager and developer, the first question we ask is, “what skills and aptitudes are you trying to develop?”

more on performance management: what having your employees’ backs means | 5 harmful management attitudes (and how to fix them) | do cpa firms need management or leadership? |  job 1 for the practice owner: client management

in other words, just saying to someone, “you need to improve” is weak advice.

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retreat logistics: how long, what kind?

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happy business professionals giving high five hand slaphow often you gather plays a role.

by marc rosenberg
cpa firm retreats

the great majority of retreats i have facilitated over a period of 20 years have been one-and-a-half to two days long.

more on retreats:what should cpa firms discuss at retreats? | why do cpa firms conduct retreats?

consider these six factors when deciding the length of your retreat:

1. timing. resist the temptation to convene the retreat beyond a 9:00­-5:30 or 8:00-5:30 work schedule. even though you may work many more hours than this back at the office, a retreat is different. most adults are not used to sitting in a classroom all day, and many find it quite draining.  participants should be able to spend every minute of the retreat refreshed, sharp and engaged.  so in planning your retreat, don’t count on more than 7.5 or 8 meeting hours per day. be sure to provide for an hour for lunch and two 15-minute breaks.

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what having your employees’ backs means

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why failure is a value proposition.

by bill reeb and dominic cingoranelli
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 / succession institute

i want to start by talking about the phrase “having your employees’ backs.” so what does this mean? simply that, as the boss, you will take the bullets publicly for your people’s mistakes. this is such a rare phenomenon that many of you have never experienced what i am referring to – a boss taking the heat for his or her people.

more growth & succesion: 5 harmful management attitudes (and how to fix them) | do cpa firms need management or leadership? | job 1 for the practice owner: client management

most of the time, when problems are uncovered, company cultures are “at the ready” to quickly identify someone to blame regardless of the situation. in these organizations, those with exceptional cya skills are the most highly valued. no, i did not misspell this acronym as it was not meant to be cia (as in the government intelligence agency or certified internal auditors), but rather those good at covering their butts (i guess i should have referred to it as cyb).

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5 harmful management attitudes (and how to fix them)

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how common management pitfalls hurt firms and employees.

by bill reeb and dominic cingoranelli
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 / succession institute

how do attitudes, misconceptions and bad habits get in the way of our learning to be better managers?

related: do cpa firms need management or leadership? | job 1 for the practice owner: client management

here are five common attitudes, practices and perceptions we find:

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re-learning the lingo of the accounting business

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new tech solutions require new thinking.

by hitendra patil
pransform inc.

it’s tough enough to keep up with the new technical developments in taxes and accounting, but practitioners are also grappling with a whole new vocabulary in technology.

if you’re not speaking the new lingo, you risk losing the millennials you work with and mystifying some of your clients and prospects.

for instance: in the distant past, you “bought” a “software license,” “received” a cd and then “installed” the software on your “desktop.” but now, you go to the “cloud” to “activate” your “subscriptions” to the “software as a service.”

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why do cpa firms conduct retreats?

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work, business, holiday.team building is great, but the benefits don’t have to end there.

by marc rosenberg
cpa firm retreats

management retreats are one of the best ways to accomplish the wonderful things that the so-called management gurus tell us our firms should be doing:

  • communicating
  • planning/thinking
  • empowering
  • focusing on objectives
  • problem solving
  • shifting our paradigms
  • doing first things first
  • being proactive
  • changing with the times

… all designed to achieve success in our organizations, whether success is defined by profits, growth, survival, happiness, challenge or all of the above.

but what are the benefits of partner retreats?

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how the “1099 economy” will transform accounting

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‘uberization’ disrupts the cpa business model.

what’s the success formula for an entrepreneurial accountant?
join the survey. get the answers

by hitendra patil

in “four signs the uberization of accounting has already begun,” we analyzed the opportunities and threats for cpa firms’ operations. after some more research into the “1099 economy” or the “contingent workforce,” the evidence all seems to point in one direction: transformation in the business model of accounting firms. the us dept. of labor notes that employers are seeking new ways to make employment more flexible with contingent work arrangement, and the dol recommends that the definition of employee and that of employer should be standardized and grounded in changed economic realities:

  • 53 million workers in the us are now “freelance workers.”
  • 2 million workers are “contingent workers” and this number is estimated to double by the year 2020.
  • more millennials freelance than any other age group.

these and many other findings indicate key impacts on how accounting firms will do business in future. here are some of our thoughts:

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do cpa firms need management or leadership?

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differentiating between the two, and the two most common styles of management.

by bill reeb and dominic cingoranelli
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 / succession institute

let’s start out with a straightforward question. what is the difference between management and leadership?

from one point of view, leadership is far different than management. for example, leadership might be all about developing a vision for the organization, being innovative, motivating others, empowering those around you, focusing on developing the people around you instead of just developing yourself, looking for positive ways to change, doing the right thing, and keeping the forest in view and not just see the trees.

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make radical connections

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you don’t define your brand, your customers do. by jody padar the radical cpa social media is great for connecting with clients and prospects, but it also makes it easier to get published in the real media and that will … continued

what cpa firms could learn from google’s alphabet

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illustration of gears turning in brain13 lessons in strategy and innovation from google’s founders.

next question: the essential traits for success as an entrepreneurial accountant.
join the survey; get the results.

by hitendra patil
pransform inc.

google’s creation of a new spin-off called alphabet, a new umbrella company that includes google itself, should raise some thought-provoking questions for cpa firms.

more for pro members on the entrepreneurial accountant:  summer reading list: five great books for the five lives of a busy accountant   |   four signs the uberization of accounting has already begun  |   the one word that can make accountants rich  |  management guru chester elton on success  |  savvy cpas focus on the constants  |  10 things that accountants didn’t need to worry about 10 years ago  |  three amazing cpas who want to do tax returns for free  |  can accounting firms lead with work-life vision?  |  why accountants could be the happiest people on earth  | more…

founders sergey brin and larry page remind everyone in the alphabet announcement (at the iconic url http://abc.xyz) what they said 11 years ago, “google is not a conventional company. we do not intend to become one.”

let’s start there. read more →