leadership

why accounting? your clients want to know

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“people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

by hitendra patil
pransform, inc.

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we are used to getting asked “what do you do for living?” but when someone asks “why,”we have to dig deeper to answer that question.

celebrity author simon sinek wrote a revolutionary book called “start with why.” he says, based on complex research results, “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” he further adds – “those who know their why are the ones who lead.”

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six reasons you’ll wish you had a partnership agreement

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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 →

shocked? most wall street professionals are crooked

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or, so say their own colleagues.

more than half of all professionals in the financial services industry say they know of crooks and cheaters in their business.

screen shot 2013-07-16 at 10.01.29 ambut what are they doing about it? or, a better question: why should they do anything about it?

“wall street needs to take the first step toward recovery and admit that it has a corporate ethics problem, or main street should brace itself for more scandals,”  says jordan thomas, partner at the law firm that conducted the study.

see the 13 key findings, and get the full report in an instant download: read more →

eight new metrics to measure managing partner performance and potential

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aquila
aquila

essential duties currently missing from most job descriptions.

most of the usual responsibilities of a managing partner can be captured in two paragraphs:

  • general responsibilities: report directly to the governing committee and the firm. responsible for the firm’s overall management and practice. supervise overall marketing and business development effort. manage the professional staff and provide guidance for the support staff.
  • specific responsibilities: coordinate the firm’s practices among the different offices and departments. implement the partnership agreement. appoint heads of various committees. represent the firm in community and professional organizations. supervise governing committee. oversee standing and ad hoc committees. provide guidance on financial policies and work with the governing committee to develop personal and administrative policies.

these are, without doubt, all good and necessary functions. but are they the ones managing partners should focus on?

august aquila, doesn’t think so.

his studies, documented in “leadership at its strongest” and “how to engage partners in the firm’s future,” show there are at least eight other areas that can make or break a managing partner and the firm.

– rick telberg

more for partnerships: the six challenges crippling progress in today’s multi-partner firms   |   the debilitating effects of denial at accounting firms    |   the five psychological hurdles that cpa firms must confront today   |   the managing partner’s secret weapon in change management    |   the 10 basic ways to boost profits at an accounting firm    |   12 must-do items for your partner retreat agenda   |   seven signs you’re working in a firm where the partners don’t trust each other   |   seven tactics to stand out from the crowd   |   achieving partner unity: the competitive advantage   |

in this report: see how you or your managing partner might compare on a new eight-point questionnaire.

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why good accounting firms make bad decisions

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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.

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how the structure of an accounting firm changes through the years

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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:

  • five reasons no two firms are exactly alike.
  • nine keys to strong cpa firm organizational structures.
  • how cpa firm governance structures change as firms grow larger.
  • sample cpa firm org charts for three sizes of firm.
  • the 13 forces of departmentalization. read more →

the six challenges crippling progress in today’s multi-partner firms

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how to engage partners in the firm's future

before you work on improving firm performance, you need to work on partner commitment.

by august j. aquila and robert j. lees
how to engage partners in the firm’s future

no one would ever question that a firm’s success is ultimately tied to its partners’ performance. and yet, increasing partner performance, getting the partners to work across practices, is one of the key issues facing the majority of firm leaders today. read more →

the debilitating effects of denial at accounting firms

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patrick j. mckenna
patrick j. mckenna

and four other hurdles today’s accounting firms must overcome.

by patrick j. mckenna
professional services firm consultant and author

many firms are in denial, and the few that aren’t move very slowly.

if your firm gets caught behind the curve, it wasn’t because critical trends weren’t visible; it was because they were ignored. the huge challenge remains that for too many firms, unless there is acute “pain,” there is little incentive to change. history proves that laggards only grab for the new once they are totally convinced the old doesn’t work anymore.

adapted from the introduction to “how to engage partners in the firm’s future: the secrets every leader needs to know,”
by august j. aquila and robert j. lees

and the old doesn’t work anymore!

when does a firm’s strategy change? usually only in response to a crisis or because of the initiative of a new managing partner. in many firms we have a generation of stewards rather than entrepreneurs.

read more →

the managing partner’s secret weapon in change management

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august-aquila-headshot-large-copy-150x150
august aquila

by august aquila
 author of “leadership at its strongest”
and “how to engage partners in the firm’s future“

research shows that managing partners and marketing directors are still facing some major challenges when it comes to getting their firms to implement change. why?

here are four key issues firm leaders today face.

1. getting partners to buy in.
2. creating a firm vision that gets all partners on the same page.
3. helping develop a culture of accountability.
4. being asked to accomplish too many goals.

when the managing partner and the chief marketing officer work together they have a better chance of being successful in these areas. you may ask what do these four factors have to do with the marketing director? and i would answer – everything.

overcoming these four issues will make the firm more competitive, efficient and profitable. here’s how the best managing partners work with their marketing directors: read more →

seven signs you’re working in a firm where the partners don’t trust each other

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especially in these trying times, partners must show leadership by accepting the consequences of their actions – or their inaction.

aquila

accountability is the essence of your success, according to management consultant august aquila, author of “leadership at its strongest: what successful managing partners do.”

“i don’t think that the average partner takes accountability seriously,” aquila says. “if they did, they would take their individual goals more seriously and not let their fellow partners down.” read more →

achieving partner unity: the competitive advantage

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august j. aquila
august j. aquila

by august j. aquila
author of “leadership at its strongest”

everyone knows that partner unity is one of the keys for success. and we know the benefits of having greater partner unity than the next firm – better client service, less employee turnover, superior profitability.

the problem that many firms face is this: they don’t know how to create partner unity.

this article shows you:

  • ways to create partner unity.
  • what it is and what it isn’t.
  • five steps to take.

read more →