management

who does what in accounting firm management

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confident businesswoman seated at desk

what’s the difference between a coo and an fa?

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

“shooting the ball is not an equal opportunity act.” – pat riley, nba head coach

who is on a firm’s management team?

more by marc rosenberg
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of course, the answer varies from firm to firm and depends on its size. these are the most common members of a firm’s management team:

  • managing partner – the firm’s ceo, not necessarily a full-time position
  • executive committee or board

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internal communication matters, too

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bonus checklist: five questions to evaluate yourself.

by martin bissett
business development on a budget

the passport to partnership study collated a number of responses in a conversational style. several examples really stood out as the first steps in effective communication:

would we put this person in front of a client?

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meaning: the clients are our source of income; we don’t jeopardize that for anything. if we think that this person will do anything less than consolidate the perception of the firm and its people in the eyes of the client, we’ll keep them back in the office.
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partnership vs. corporate styles of firm management

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unbalanced brass scales

also: are you one firm or a bunch of solos under one roof?

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

“you get what you measure.” – peter drucker

in the context of this post, the terms “partnership style” and “corporate style” are used to describe a management style. these terms have nothing to do with the firm’s form of legal entity such as partnership, corporation, llc, etc.

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partnership vs. corporate style

in our work with cpa firms, we have observed two distinct styles of management: partnership and corporate.

partnership style. democracy heavily impacts the way partnerships are governed. in a democracy, every partner has a vote and there is a “majority rules” mentality. checks and balances prevent leaders from becoming dictators. the “citizens” want a reasonable amount of input into decisions. the partners sometimes feel collegiality is more important than management discipline.
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management vs. leadership

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woman holding marker beside whiteboard, facing three colleagues

seven experts offer their insights.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

“democracy is no way to run a company.” – marc rosenberg, paraphrased from pat riley, nba coach

during my 30-year career in the business world, i have read many books and articles on management and leadership. i’ve also heard countless speakers at map conferences wax eloquent on these two terms. here is a very short list of my favorite definitions of management and leadership.

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management

management’s job is to:

  • decide what you want to be and make it happen.
  • hold others accountable for their performance.

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the single biggest key to firm success

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man looking at five giant keys on the ground

plus the three stages of evolution.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

“wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk.” – doug larson

when i began my cpa consulting career, our industry used one word – management – to describe similar but different terms: management of the firm, leadership and governance. but our profession has grown more sophisticated. today, firms understand the important differences between these three terms:

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management: the execution of strategies, decisions, policies and procedures to operate the firm. this includes implementation of strategies and goals, planning, managing people and improving their performance, holding them accountable and ensuring continuous increases in growth and profitability. management is the process of making sure everyone knows what to do and managing them to make sure it gets done. my thanks to charles hylan, cpa, a partner of st. louis-based the growth partnership, for the bulk of this paragraph.
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do i owe my employee a referral fee?

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young woman seated at laptop counting money

new business should be rewarded.

by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice

question: i got a new client because of one of my employees. do i have to give her anything?

more: why you shouldn’t sue a client | what to do when a partner becomes disabled | i’m just starting out; why join an association? | i’m 76. should i slow down? how? | ask for what you’re worth | two options for collecting past due fees | when board service gets tricky | eleven ways new staffers can help bring in business | busy season is over, so it’s time for some resolutions | want to merge? six steps to take | how to start providing family office services | every accounting firm needs quality control
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response: wrong attitude! you should want to give her something. you should be happy that a staff person was able to bring in business.
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why you shouldn’t sue a client

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statue of scales of justice

there’s more to consider than you may realize.

by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice

question: a former client owes me a lot of money and will not pay or even discuss a settlement. i want to sue him. what can you tell me about this?

more: what to do when a partner becomes disabled | do as little as possible | want to merge? here are 23 things to request | i’m just starting out; why join an association? | don’t blame the client for your location | realign partners with monthly meetings | i’m 76. should i slow down? how? | who to hire when it’s time to grow | hourly billing doesn’t cover the value; now what? | ask for what you’re worth | the top tip for reviewing tax returns | you have to start somewhere | two options for collecting past due fees | you can’t win with lowballing
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response: i don’t know the details so cannot address your specific situation. however, i have some comments about suing that i would like to share with you.
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five thoughts about your firm’s culture

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four colleagues chatting around a water cooler

make it work for you.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

cultural issues are dynamic, very broad and unique in each firm. as such it is a challenge to summarize them accurately and comprehensively.

more: do others think you’re ready to be partner? | competence is just the beginning | how to attract clients | eight questions for personal preparation | how to prepare for partnership | five questions to help forecast your firm growth | do you deliver on your website’s promises? | five questions about facing challenges | be clear about your roi proposition | it’s time to prepare the next generation | who are you more committed to, your firm or your clients? | nine checkpoints before every prospect meeting | three questions about conversion
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from our research, however, the wise choice for anyone wishing to get their passport to partnership appears to be to study

  • their firm’s existing culture,
  • that of its senior individuals and
  • that of those who have the ear of those senior individuals

to understand not only the route to partnership, but the terrain that they need to cross too.
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is your practice leaking money?

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money coming out of sink faucet and going down drain

there’s a spreadsheet for that. three ways to recapture lost revenue.

by sandi leyva
the complete guide to marketing for tax & accounting firms

there are dozens (and maybe hundreds) of ways your practice can leak money.

here are three ideas that are fairly simple to implement and may be some great goals for you to consider.

more: boost your value, boost your fees | three ways to make it easier for prospects to say yes | make your next busy season easier now | how to put your strengths to work for you | implement these two daily rituals | three ways to follow up with prospects | are you throwing away profits? | want to close a deal? set a deadline | how mindset affects your marketing | three steps to becoming a millionaire | five business development mistakes to avoid | twelve ways your business card can hurt you | how to use chatgpt to create images | how to leverage chatgpt during this crazy tax season | got fomo when it comes to ai and chatgpt? you should: here’s what you’re missing
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1. lost customer opportunities.

in just about every business i’ve worked with, there are opportunities within your current customer base that have not been harvested. when you offer multiple services or products, it may even be that some of your clients do not know everything you do.
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don’t blame the client for your location

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vehicles on both sides of a divided highway

charge for travel time and expenses at the risk of alienating clients.

by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice

question: my practice is in central new jersey and i have a client about 2-1/2 hours away in pennsylvania. the mileage and tolls cost us $200 each month. can i bill for this?

more: realign partners with monthly meetings | i’m 76. should i slow down? how? | ask for what you’re worth | two options for collecting past due fees | when board service gets tricky | eleven ways new staffers can help bring in business | busy season is over, so it’s time for some resolutions | want to merge? six steps to take | how to start providing family office services | every accounting firm needs quality control | no one listens to you? change how you talk | 47 types of business valuation to provide
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answer: are you crazy? you will lose the client. you would be “penalizing” the client for you not being local to their business.

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realign partners with monthly meetings

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happy business professionals giving high five hand slap

everyone needs to be on the same page. here’s how.

by ed mendlowitz
202 questions and answers: managing an accounting practice

question: there seems to be disagreement among our partners on important issues in running our practice and we never seem to have time to discuss it or work things out. we are a three-partner firm with 15 employees and no one is designated as managing partner.

more: i’m 76. should i slow down? how? | who to hire when it’s time to grow | the top tip for reviewing tax returns | you can’t win with lowballing | yes, you have to share work papers | should you merge? here’s how to chart your path | hold staff accountable if you want them to listen to you | how to raise your rates | higher fees to start: ten ways to make your tax season better | three ways to start an accounting practice | free consultation? not always | referral fee? forget it | how much is your tax practice worth? | merge in lower-priced work without losing out
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answer: a suggestion is to have monthly partner meetings out of the office and an annual retreat. both of these have been covered previously but i will add some new ideas here.
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innovation through wellness: you can’t grow without a “well” firm

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“when we take good care of our people and ourselves, we can drive success at all levels.”

by adam herman
market leader, wipfli llp

herman

wellness is more than just a powerful tool for retention and recruiting—it’s one of the most critical issues for the accounting profession to tackle moving forward. it’s also a subject that i’ve been passionate about for many years.

so when i had the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion highlighting practical approaches to wellness at the allinial global executive team conference in may, i jumped at the chance to share ideas and experiences with fellow panelists demetrice branch, chief people officer at weaver, and mike giuli, cio at cherry bekaert.

our panel moderator, donny shimamoto, opened the discussion with an intriguing observation: innovation doesn’t always have to be driven by technology. wellness is a way for firms to innovate. keeping that in mind, we explored three different dimensions of wellness and how allinial global firms are incorporating these aspects into their wellness initiatives.

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the right kind of lazy: innovative approaches to streamlining workflows | accounting arc

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arc hosts discuss redefining efficiency in the accounting profession and when it pays to ‘slack off.’ 

accounting arc
with liz mason, byron patrick, and donny shimamoto.
center for accounting transformation

in a recent episode of the popular accounting arc podcast, hosts liz mason, cpa, and donny shimamoto, cpa.citp, cgma; and byron patrick, cpa.citp, cgma; discussed an unconventional yet powerful concept: the right kind of lazy. this idea, which involves strategically optimizing workflows to eliminate non-value-adding tasks, offers a fresh perspective on efficiency and productivity in the accounting profession.

more accounting arc

mason, founder and ceo of high rock accounting, shared an anecdote from her early career at grant thornton. faced with the monotonous task of processing paper tax returns, mason decided to automate the process. she spent over 100 hours developing a script that streamlined data entry and document generation. although initially time-consuming, the solution saved significant time when implemented across multiple offices. “it was fun and a great learning experience,” mason remarks. “at scale, it saved a ton of time for people.”

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