strategy 2012: succession solutions
what are your critical challenges for 2012, and what can do you about them? a number of the profession’s leading lights have been sharing their thoughts with accounting today. here’s one:
larry g. autrey
whitley penn
the aging of partner ranks. older partners want to continue when they’re in good health, while younger staff sees that as preventing their career progression.
staff development, partner relations and competition are emerging as key issues for firms in 2012. join the survey, get the results. in an informal canvass of partners and managing partners, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 is finding a few themes emerging for 2012 … continued
strategy 2012: battling for market share
what are your critical challenges for 2012, and what can do you about them? a number of the profession’s leading lights have been sharing their thoughts with accounting today. here’s one:
charles postal
santos postal & co.
we see a shrinking market share of small and medium-sized businesses with the need for premium accounting services caused by increased competition from larger firms with greater resources.
strategy 2012: talent, pricing, accountability
what are your critical challenges for 2012, and what can do you about them? a number of the profession’s leading lights have been sharing their thoughts with accounting today. here’s one:
bill hagaman
withumsmith+brown
we see the top challenges as retaining talent, pricing and partner accountability. we’ve worked hard at creating a culture that our professionals want to work in.
read all the 2012 strategies:
this starts with our philosophy that no jerks are allowed at any level and while we will work with partners and staff to mentor them regarding the proper behavior in the office we will not tolerate any unprofessional conduct toward our staff. read more →
most tax and accounting firms are falling behind in their operating practices and processes, according to a new survey.
and, astoundingly, they know it and admit that it may take them years to catch up.
start with planning and coaching.
by steve erickson
steve erickson llc
improving partner and staff accountability is essential in these economic times.
review notes and backward looking evaluations might well have some influence on future performance but do not have any impact on what has already taken place. there is a better way to get to get your partners and staff to take ownership and agree to be accountable.
here’s how you can immediately improve accountability and performance in your firm: read more →
and five areas where innovation will produce significant results
by l. gary boomer
accounting firms generally are not who you think of when you mention “innovation,” yet many firms excel at innovation and there is a pattern to their success.
no, you don’t own your clients.
by jason m. blumer, cpa/citp
founder, thriveal +cpa network
chief innovation officer, blumer & associates cpas
i’m learning a lot these days. for instance, i’ve learned the value of where my real assets are found.
an australian colleague said he doesn’t call his clients “his” anymore. that is, he has realized something that many of us in the business are slow to accept – your clients are not your property and you do not own them. ouch.
why do i believe this?
before we hit some practical aspects to this truth, 
let me discuss the deeper reasons for this new belief. with the accountancy revolution, i’m seeing that clients, or customers as i like to call them, have the freedom to make their own choices for their service providers. and i now believe this deeply.
you can’t do it without your marketing director.
by august aquila
aquila advisors
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? read more →
three essentials to making it work: entrepreneurial spirit, leadership skills and knowledge.
by paul rich
rothstein kass
if your goal is to be a “firm” (rather than a collection of sole practitioners) with the potential for significant growth, maximization of revenue and profits, the “one firm” model should start upon the commencement of business operations.
here’s something we should have known before the banking crash…
the new practice management discipline.
by august aquila
aquilaadvisors.com
no profits no mission, as one of my partners is fond of saying.
while leadership, balanced life, outstanding client service and efficient processes are critical for success, they mean nothing if the firm is not sufficiently profitable to make investments for the future and compensate performers. i want to focus on ten ways to make your practice more profitable.
these ten areas form the basis of my practice operational review. read more →
a framework for action.
if trust has been broken in your accounting firm—and given the great recession, odds are, it has been—you must start now to rebuild it.
michelle and dennis reina, authors of “rebuilding trust in the workplace: seven steps to renew confidence, commitment, and energy” (berrett-koehler, 2010), recommend a seven-step process, drawn from two decades of research, for healing and rebuilding trust.
to be sure, the seven-step process isn’t a silver bullet. but it may provide a framework for leaders to demonstrate courage and to take concrete, constructive, and compassionate action. read more →