today's features
pro member exclusive

when would-be partners aren’t candidates

//www.g005e.com/2021/02/17/a-rose-by-any-other-name/what we’ve got here is failure to communicate.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

have you ever wondered what the partners of your firm are looking for from you, beyond your technical abilities?

more: 10 can’t-skip steps for business development | three things that rich accountants do | four reasons it’s hard to sell | eight questions to hold yourself accountable | win your first client: yourself
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

for full disclosure, i am not an accountant, but i have spent decades working with accounting firms of all shapes and sizes in the united kingdom, the united states and europe.
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advisory & consulting

be wary of discounting prices

plus some thoughts on branding.

by ed mendlowitz
77 ways to wow!

my father’s largest client was a luggage manufacturer with a national brand sold in specialty luggage stores, but not in department stores.

more: the role of strategy in pricing | how to react to trends | trends are all around us | six kinds of loan covenants | what’s more profitable, raising or lowering prices?
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he did this because he wanted to maintain the selling price, did not want discounting and felt his customer base would be more loyal if they did not compete against the larger stores’ discounting policy. he was very successful and very profitable, but probably not as large as he could have been had he had the volume that department stores would have provided.
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client accounting services

five ways to profit from cas

businesswoman using a tabletautomation is just a beginning.

by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide

if you feel offering client accounting services will bring in a lesser profit for you compared to the other services you are offering now, you may feel it is not a fit. it may be because you may have experienced others providing a lower rate, lower profitability commoditized services that you believe are actually cas offerings. if so, it is not your fault because there has been a great deal of confusion in the profession about what exactly is cas.

more: think cas isn’t for your firm? | which clients are best for cas | how much can automating bank feeds save you? | wants vs. needs: why not fill both?
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you may still feel that some of the cas components are low-profit services, but those are like essential building blocks that lead to higher value, higher priced and hence higher profit services that you can sell to the same clients. what steps can you take to make cas one of the most profitable service segments for your firm?
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pro member exclusive

succession planning spells success

older man pointing out something in a document to a younger colleaguethink it’s too early? think again.

by august j. aquila
what makes a great partnership

it’s no surprise to anyone thinking about retiring or selling a practice today that the number one issue they face is finding someone to take over the practice. there is a definite shortage of buyers and those who are buying are becoming more and more selective. many firms will find that it has now turned into a buyers’ market.

more: firms must plan ahead for partner retirement | retiring partners are valuable assets | nine ways to handle partners with strong views | rate managing partners in six areas | five ways to keep your edge as a leader | managing partner: the toughest job in the world | why partners need written goals
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there are still a few exceptions out there. first, if you happen to be a very profitable firm in a major market you are lucky. firms will continue to seek you out. second, if you have a very strong niche market presence you can be an attractive acquisition candidate. however, if you are an average firm in a secondary or tertiary market, selling the practice will take more work and time.

here are some ideas to help you plan your succession.
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pay & compensation

11 best practices for partner compensation

bonus: seven systems to allocate income … and who uses them.

by marc rosenberg
how to bring in new partners

it would take a book much longer than this post to properly explain the finer points of partner compensation, especially how each of the major compensation systems works. oh, did i forget? we wrote such a book, “cpa firm partner compensation: the art and science.”

more: fifteen steps to new partner buy-in | what buying in actually means | how partner and staff actions impact profits | nuts and bolts of mentoring staff | nine ways to measure staff performance on the path to partner | sixteen duties of a partner | five people to keep out of partnership
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

best practices and key concepts

as is the case with all of my lists, no one firm incorporates all of these practices in its partner compensation policy. but i have observed all of the practices below in one or more of the best firms i’ve worked with over 20 years.

  1. performance-based. there should be a strong link between pay and performance. when it comes to cpa firm performance and profitability: as the partners go, so goes the firm. the partners have a much greater impact on the firm’s success than professional staff and other personnel. if they perform at a high level, the firm will do the same. if partner performance lags, then the firm will suffer. therefore, the firm needs to motivate the partners to produce at high levels and reward them accordingly. compensation isn’t the best way to motivate anyone’s performance, but it is effective.

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