Jina Etienne: Practice Fearless Inclusion
Accounting is what we do. It is not who we are.
The Disruptors
with Liz Farr
TALENT & CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Chris Vanover: Question the Why or Stay with the Status Quo
Audit is on a self-destructive pathway if we don’t take action.
The Disruptors
with Liz Farr
Tell the World Your Worth
BONUS: Exercises to define and refine your message.
By Martin Bissett
Passport to Partnership
An advisor is trusted when they can show that they
- took responsibility for their end of the bargain in the client engagement,
- educated the client of their responsibilities,
- offered prompting and assistance throughout but then allowed the client to ultimately govern themselves in terms of following through on their commitments.
MORE: Don’t Overlook Internal Communication | How to Develop Your Communication Abilities | Five Questions for Measuring Partner Potential | Five Ways to Rally Your Firm to Its Culture | When Would-Be Partners Aren’t Candidates | Make Your Expertise a New-Client Magnet | Don’t Think of It as Selling | Experts: What It Takes to Become Partner | Where Is Your Next Money Coming From?
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This then empowers the advisor to make a commercial decision when the client now faces the consequences, as to whether they want to communicate even more assistance to make things all better for the clients and gain huge appreciation and emotional capital.
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Don’t Overlook Internal Communication
BONUS CHECKLIST: Five questions to evaluate yourself.
By Martin Bissett
Passport to Partnership
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?
MORE: How to Develop Your Communication Abilities | Four Surprising Keys to Communication | Three Questions About Your Competence | 10 Can’t-Skip Steps for Business Development | Attract Clients, Don’t Chase Them | Eight Questions to Hold Yourself Accountable | 10 Questions for Reconsidering Your Prices
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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How to Develop Your Communication Abilities
Three outlooks from our exclusive expert council: Pipe, Dobek, Grundy.
By Martin Bissett
Passport to Partnership
What does communication mean at the partner level?
MORE: Four Surprising Keys to Communication | Four Reasons People Struggle with Communication | Why Firm Culture Matters for Partners | Three Things That Rich Accountants Do | Four Reasons It’s Hard to Sell | Eight Questions to Hold Yourself Accountable | Win Your First Client: Yourself | 10 Questions for Reconsidering Your Prices
Ask yourself and answer these questions when considering the current and future communication tactics that you’ll employ.
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Bill Penczak: Stop Forcing Smart People to Do Stupid Work
Challenge your people and keep the work interesting or risk losing them.
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The Disruptors
With Liz Farr
Too many accounting firms have “smart people doing stupid work,” according to Bill Penczak, a veteran sales and marketing professional. The founder and chief insights officer for Mica Ventures said to think about the effort it takes to get an accounting degree and get your CPA, and contrast that with the years of mindless work that many new hires are required to do, especially if they go into audit, he said. “One of the reasons why there’s such a talent shortage is because the market has figured this out,” and no one wants to do that stupid work, Penczak said.
MORE PODCASTS and VIDEOS: Sandra Wiley: Staffing Problem? Check Your Culture | Scott Scarano: First, Grow People. Then Firm Growth Can Follow | Jody Padar: Build a Practice that Works for You, Not Vice-Versa | Ira Rosenbloom: With M&A, Nobody Wants a Fixer-Upper | Peter Margaritis: The Power Skills Every Accountant Needs | Joe Montgomery: Find the Sweet Spot of the Right Clients, Right Services and Right Prices | Marie Green: Your Bad Apples Are Ruining You | Megan Genest Tarnow: Hire for Curiosity Rather Than Compliance | Clayton Oates: One Way to Keep Clients for Life | Randy Crabtree: Follow These Three Rules to Keep Employees Happy | Erik Solbakken: Yes, You Can Work Less and Make More | Donny Shimamoto: Future Firm Growth Requires a Mindshift | Jennifer Wilson: Empower Young Workers to Build the Firm Everyone Loves | Mike Whitmire: Re-Think Your Hiring and Training Practices | Hector Garcia: Success Strategies of a Quickbooks YouTube Superstar | Blake Oliver: Why Tax Work Yearns To Be Free| Private Equity Explodes in U.K. | Brannon Poe: The Status Quo Must Go | Accounting Nerds, Unlock Your Super Powers | Disruptor: Jason Statts Shakes Up the Status Quo | Think Small to Think Big with Matt Wilkinson | When Financial Statements Go Extinct with Corey Schmidt | Can Geraldine Carter Save Accountants from Themselves? | Re-Inventing Accounting with Tyler Anderson
Besides making smart people do stupid work, Penczak said many of the firms he works with are realizing that they need to do a better job with mentoring and career development, as well as simply having more conversations with their people.
Why Partners Can’t Shirk Performance Reviews
Five types of partner evaluations. BONUS: Partner self-evaluation and impact form.
By Marc Rosenberg
The classic purposes of a performance evaluation are:
- To improve performance.
- To clarify what is expected of the individual and what is needed to advance.
- To provide management with information to use in making promo-tion and compensation decisions.
MORE: Twelve Questions That Prospective Partners Should Ask | Adding New Partners: 19 Reasons to Choose between Equity and Non-Equity | How Partner Buyouts Work | 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
The need for performance evaluations applies to partners as well as staff. Contrary to what many partners may feel, partners can and must continually improve their performance.
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Four Reasons People Struggle with Communication
Plus two things you must demonstrate with existing client relationships.
By Martin Bissett
Passport to Partnership
Ultimately, when we have to interact with clients, subordinates, superiors or peers, the questions are always the same: Who do I need to deliver this information to and what approach would they respond most favorably to?
MORE: Five Questions for Measuring Partner Potential | Culture Can’t Be Ignored | Three Questions About Your Competence | 10 Can’t-Skip Steps for Business Development | Attract Clients, Don’t Chase Them | Success in Business Comes Second | Business Won’t Come to You | Forged in Fire: The Pains of Leadership | A Lesson in Customer Service and Reputation | Prioritize Your Prospects | Good Enough Is Not Enough
In arriving at “Communication” we come to the most intangible of all the components to obtain a “passport to partnership.”
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