by ed mendlowitz
question: i have been working for a one-owner cpa firm for the past eight years and want a partnership, but it hasn’t been offered. how should i approach it?
response: i had a couple of rather long discussions with this practitioner. why, i don’t know. i suppose i was being polite to the person who told him to call me.
here is some additional information before i give my response: read more →
by robert j. lees, august j. aquila
and derek klyhn
creating the effective partnership
regardless of their ownership structure, most firms either operate as partnerships or would prefer to operate as partnerships.
the tensions between being a business and the loss of the values and ethics of being a partnership feature strongly in our research.
but accounting firms are different from their corporate counterparts in a number of ways, which impact their functioning and, therefore, their leadership. read more →
the harmful impact of gender bias on women’s careers.
by ida o. abbott
sponsoring women: what men need to know
gender bias reflects entrenched beliefs and assumptions about women based on stereotypes about appropriate roles and behaviors for women.
unconscious thoughts about the kinds of work women are and are not suited for, especially if they are mothers, remove highly qualified women from consideration for leadership opportunities and positions.
more on sponsoring women for leadership: 3 reasons why men don’t pick women protégées | men advance 2 to 1 over women without sponsors | 18 ways sponsors can help their protegees | the 6 market advantages of women-led firms | beyond mentoring: why sponsoring women for leadership matters
in the past, working women suffered overt discrimination and explicit bias. they were told outright they were not “fit” for certain jobs, were too emotional and unreliable to be given responsible roles, and were taking the place of men who needed to support families. sometimes the bias was ostensibly intended to “protect” women and occasionally it was hostile. but it was out in the open and women understood the barriers they faced. read more →
as partners work longer, average partner incomes decline.
the aging in the partner ranks of the cpa profession is by far most prominent at smaller firms, according to the most recent edition “the national map survey of cpa firm statistics.”
at firms with less than $2 million in fees, the percentage of partners over the age of 50 has risen to a startling 73.3 percent, up from 65.4 percent last year.
and at firms with fees of $2 million to $10 million, the number has risen to 66 percent from 65.3 percent. read more →
when leadership models are male, sometimes female candidates go unrecognized.
by ida o. abbott
sponsoring women: what men need to know
let’s assume a powerful man works with two junior colleagues, a man and a woman, who are both equally talented, motivated and superbly skilled performers. according to what we know from research and experience, that powerful man is more likely to sponsor the man than the woman.
more on sponsoring women for leadership: men advance 2 to 1 over women without sponsors | 18 ways sponsors can help their protegees | the 6 market advantages of women-led firms | beyond mentoring: why sponsoring women for leadership matters read more →