management archives - page 37 of 71 - 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

succession: the questions to care about

december 2, 2015

bonus checklists: 5 rules to govern a succession plan. 8 keys to an effective compensation system.

by bill reeb and dominic cingoranelli

we’ve seen a lot of frequently shared, misdirected advice on commonly discussed succession issues. we would rather stop focusing on symptoms and start focusing on resolving the root cause issues that a good succession plan should address.

more on performance management: 7 succession questions to ignore for now | hazards of not reallocating equity | develop your employees or suffer the consequences | how to target what skills to develop now | what having your employees’ backs means

our solution: the robust succession framework

first and foremost, good succession management is a function of good business operating practices. over and over, we find successful firms – including many that have even effectively retired partners in the past – that are overlooking some very important best practices.
read more →

7 succession questions to ignore for now

november 24, 2015

by succession institute

there’s some misdirection in succession management out there.

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

you can’t go a week without seeing some article or blog focused on succession management and everyone seems to have a different opinion as to what is important when addressing succession. so, we thought it was time we challenged some of the more common misconceptions.

more on performance management: how partner ratings factor into equity | hazards of not reallocating equity | the pitfalls of equity allocation and reallocation | develop your employees or suffer the consequences | 5 harmful management attitudes (and how to fix them) | do cpa firms need management or leadership?

the first thing most authors want to focus on with succession is the development of future leaders. then the dialogue will shift quickly to mentoring programs, leadership training and more. well, it would be hypocritical for us to disagree with this because we actually develop and conduct these kinds of programs. however, training such as this is only valuable after many other issues are addressed first. so, while it is important, i guess the best phrase to describe this is “first things first,” and this is not first by any stretch of the imagination.

nine factors for dividing the partner pie

november 17, 2015

by succession institute

how to decide who gets how much voting power.

by bill reeb and dominic cingoranelli

people who can lead, develop, train and supervise others are worth much more than those who can just make themselves faster, better and stronger.

equity ownership allocation is a critical success factor if you expect your firm to continue after you leave. for many firms, reallocation of equity ownership is or will be an important part of succession planning. while it can cause some anxiety for your owners’ group as you go through the process, it’s better to confront the issues now, to help ensure that your firm is in good hands after your leave. it’s not necessarily easy, but it must be addressed for long-term success.

more on performance management: hazards of not reallocating equity | the pitfalls of equity allocation and reallocation | develop your employees or suffer the consequences | cpa firm performance assessments: 15 core competencies, 21 questions | do cpa firms need management or leadership?

when you are deciding which partners should have more say (or less say, which is just as important), you need to consider issues such as whose judgment partners trust, who is pulling the wagon, who consistently acts in the firm’s best interest, or who is viewed as a current or future leader. with this in mind, here are nine areas to evaluate or each partner: read more →

how to sell your practice

november 16, 2015

by edward mendlowitz

a broker is an option, but you have things to decide first.

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

question: we are contemplating selling our firm. it’s a difficult decision due to the financial rewards and the enjoyment we get from our work. i am 63 and my wife-partner is 62 and we are not in a hurry.

more practice doctor q&a: why gross is the method for pricing a practice | when a client balks at necessary work | before you even think about selling your practice | how much should you pay to buy, sell or merge an accounting practice? | when is it time to merge?

we would like to sell to a cpa who would be very committed to this business and our clients, many of whom have been with us for over 20 years. how should we start?

answer: i don’t think it is too difficult to sell accounting practices – there seem to be more buyers than sellers. i suggest not “advertising” that you want to sell, but start meeting with firms about two to three times (or more) larger than you are so they would be able to absorb your practice comfortably. the meetings now will give you a feel of who is interested and serious in your practice. read more →

the hazards of not reallocating partner equity

november 10, 2015

by succession institute

“this stage is usually when the crap hits the fan in many organizations.”

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

let’s look at the common pitfalls we find with ownership distribution, using scenarios to drive home various points. let’s say we have a five-partner firm.

the ownership and age is as follows:

partner equity age

senior partner 1 (sp1) 35% 65

senior partner 2 (sp2) 35% 63

junior partner 1 (jp1) 15% 53

junior partner 2 (jp2) 10% 48

junior partner 3 (jp3) 5% 42

first of all, many firms would die for this kind of age split as – unfortunately – many firms have partners much closer in age than this 23-year range example. but continuing on, let’s say senior partner 1 (sp1) wants to retire at the end of this year. if this would occur as it does in many firms, we would be scrambling for additional partners. but for the sake of this discussion, let’s say we just addedjunior partner 3 (jp3) last year and we will add jp1 immediately after sp1’s retirement with an ownership interest of 5 percent.

so, if this were to occur without unusual intervention, the new ownership percentages would look something like this a year later:

when two partners isn’t enough and three is too many

october 27, 2015

by succession institute

the pitfalls of equity allocation and reallocation.

by bill reeb and dominic cingoranelli

i want to address the issue of equity – how it is commonly allocated to begin with, and then making adjustments to it over time.

for many firms, the idea in the beginning is that “all the partners are the same, so their ownership should be the same.” when the firm starts out with only a shingle, this is a very fair premise. so, for the sake of this column, let’s start out with a two-partner firm and build from there, talking through the common issues that arise in the area of distributing equity ownership.

more on performance management: develop your employees or suffer the consequences | cpa firm performance assessments: 15 core competencies, 21 questions | 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

start with two

the most common approach would be for the two partners to split the ownership 50/50. the reason why this often works so well is because the two people who join together often are brought together because of their complementary skills. for example one might be very technically competent and the other more marketing savvy. together they make a great team – one, without the other, is less effective.

develop your employees or suffer the consequences

october 21, 2015

by succession institute

every employee, for developmental purposes, needs to directly report to somebody.

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

you may have established a competency model for your firm, but how do you use it to develop your people? let’s walk through what an action plan might look like to drive that development.

it is common for firms to have talented partners and principals. depending on the firm’s size and organization structure, things start getting fuzzier from a competence perspective from there on down the organizational chart.

more on performance management: cpa firm performance assessments: 15 core competencies, 21 questions | 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

for example, some firms have a strong management group with a gap in talent starting at the senior or supervisor level. others might experience their talent gap at the manager level because everyone who shows any self-starting initiative or promise is moved to a principal position early on. it doesn’t matter the size of your firm, you will likely be feeling a big gap or drop in talent somewhere in your organizational chart.

cpa firm performance assessments: 15 core competencies, 21 questions

september 29, 2015

by succession institute

checklist: 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):

14 smarter ways to use timesheet data

september 28, 2015

by edward mendlowitz

if you just pay people and move on, you’re missing critical information.

by ed mendlowitz

question: i keep timesheets for billing purposes but am not clear how i can use them to better manage my practice. how can i do this?

more practice doctor q&a: why more firms are trashing timesheets | how much overhead is too much? | when partners stop growing | clear billing procedures make collecting easier | change your thinking about ‘small’ clients | it’s not sales. it’s your duty | when staffers stagnate | when to hire an admin assistant | why the average fee doesn’t matter | 8 times when hourly billing trumps value pricing | 10 (nearly) painless ways to keep up to date with technology | 5 time management tips for an overworked accountant | running an accounting business | 14 ways to switch to value pricing

answer: analyzing time records is a very effective practice management tool and is an essential part of most professional services organizations. some people contend that timesheets should not be used since they should not be the basis of any pricing, with fees solely based on the value to the client.

how to target what skills to develop now

september 22, 2015

by succession institute

bonus 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.

why more firms are trashing timesheets

september 21, 2015

by edward mendlowitz

recommended: two books to read.

by ed mendlowitz

question: i’ve read that many firms are no longer using timesheets. how do you feel about that?

more practice doctor q&a: how much overhead is too much?|clear billing procedures make collecting easier | change your thinking about ‘small’ clients | why adopting new technologies is a must | when fees don’t keep up with cost increases | lowballing and why it (usually) doesn’t work | why the average fee doesn’t matter | how to apply value pricing to bundled services | 8 times when hourly billing trumps value pricing | 14 ways to switch to value pricing | pricing, billing, costing: don’t blame clients

answer: there is a growing group of firms that no longer use timesheets. the leader of this movement is ron baker, who explains his reasons and provides a model in his many books, many of which i have read and recommend.

8 financial ducks to line up now

september 20, 2015

by august j. aquila

protect minority interests and strengthen your partnership.

by august aquila
what makes a great partnership

with busy season just around the corner, it’s a good time now to tweak your firm’s financials and partner performance.

start by reviewing your billing rates, billing and collection policies, type of work partners are doing, how you reward performers and your leadership.

more on leadership for pro members: 5 questions about your firm’s direction | 6 reasons to keep partners from retiring | 6 reasons why cpa firms fail in innovation | 6 steps to handle staffing problems in a merger | 7 signs your firm is headed for an implosion | it’s not always about money: 16 tweaks for your comp system | eight key goal areas for partners | like herding cats: partners must ‘walk together’ | managing partners must remember partners’ needs | new times call for new cpa firm metrics | partners have love-hate relationship with leadership | 6 things leaders must do | three ways to run a firm: but only one is sustainable | partnership is about persuasion

take the time to focus on what drives the bottom line. it’s time well spent.

here are eight issues you shouldn’t miss: