managing partner

27 Tough Questions for Evaluating the Performance of a Managing Partner

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Including: Managing Partner Evaluation Forms, Parts 1 and 2.

By Marc Rosenberg
CPA Firm Management & Governance

This is really an upward evaluation.  Like all upward evaluations, people evaluating the managing partner should be limited to those in a position to offer informed input.  This means that at firms of fewer than 10 to 15 partners all the partners will probably want to participate.  But once a firm gets beyond 10 to 15 partners, an increasing number of partners may not be in a position to respond to the evaluation factors listed in the form.

More CPA Firm Management & Governance:  18 Things Partners Owe their Firms – And Each Other   |  17 Ways to Measure a Partner  |  How The Structure of an Accounting Firm Changes through the Years    |    Congratulations! Your Firm Needs a Human Resources Director    |    The 19-Point Marketing Director Job Description    |    Checklist: How the Best Managing Partners and Firm Admins Work in Concert     |    21 Questions for Managing the Managing Partner    |    No Partner Vote Needed: 17 Decisions Best Left to the Managing Partner Alone    |    New Rules: 13 Items that Should be in Your Managing Partner’s Job Description    |    When Is It Time to Shift Your Firm from Partnership-style to Corporate-style Governance?    |    Not Every Firm Needs a General Patton    |

Firms with management or executive committees may wish to limit the evaluation to the partners on those committees.

Once you have decided who will be allowed to participate in the evaluation, each partner should complete the evaluation forms.  READ MORE →

The Managing Partner’s Secret Weapon in Change Management

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August-Aquila-headshot-large-copy-150x150
August Aquila

by August Aquila
 Author of “Leadership At Its Strongest”
and “How to Engage Partners in the Firm’s Future“

Research shows that managing partners and marketing directors are still facing some major challenges when it comes to getting their firms to implement change. Why?

Here are four key issues firm leaders today face.

1. Getting partners to buy in.
2. Creating a firm vision that gets all partners on the same page.
3. Helping develop a culture of accountability.
4. Being asked to accomplish too many goals.

When the managing partner and the chief marketing officer work together they have a better chance of being successful in these areas. You may ask what do these four factors have to do with the marketing director? And I would answer – everything.

Overcoming these four issues will make the firm more competitive, efficient and profitable. Here’s how the best managing partners work with their marketing directors: READ MORE →

Checklist: How the Best Managing Partners and Firm Admins Work in Concert

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In a 43-item checklist based on surveys of the best-run firms in the nation, Marc Rosenberg, author of “CPA Firm Management and Governance: The Managing Partner’s Guide to Running a CPA Firm Like a Business,” details the allocation of duties and responsibilities that distinguish the separate roles of the managing partner as CEO and firm administrator as COO.

It’s easy to see why the managing partner should be the executive most responsible for holding partners accountable. But other questions are not so clear: Who manages the banking relationships? Who works with partners to set goals? Who’s responsible for profitability?

The answers may surprise you. If they don’t, then you’re already doing everything right.

Here’s the checklist:

READ MORE →

Comp Plans for the New Managing Partner

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Lessons from the best-managed firms.

By Marc Rosenberg
Author of “CPA Firm Management and Governance: The Managing Partner’s Guide to Running a CPA Firm Like a Business.”

Baby boomer partners are rapidly approaching retirement age, resulting in a dramatic increase in new managing partners at firms.

In fact, CPA Trendlines estimates that up to 25% of multi-owner firms are operating under managing partners who are relatively new to the job, with tenures under three years. And over the next five years, one-third of multi-owner firms will undergo a change in ownership and/or control. READ MORE →

How Managing Partners Spend Their Time [PRO Member Exclusive]

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By Marc Rosenberg
Author of “CPA Firm Management and Governance.”

Managing the firm, rainmaking, client management. All vie for the managing partner’s time.

Marc Rosenberg
Marc Rosenberg

Statistics from The Rosenberg Practice Management Survey show:

Firm Size Annual Billable Hours % MP to All
Managing Partner All Equity Partners
Over $20M 632 1,079 59%
$10-20M 736 1,090 67%
$2-10M 959 1,117 85%

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Armed with the above, my experience with firms would indicate that the managing partner’s time is spent as follows: READ MORE →

New Rules: 13 Items that Should be in Your Managing Partner’s Job Description

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And 25 best practices to make a merely good managing partner into a great managing partner.

By Marc Rosenberg, CPA
Author of “CPA Firm Management and Governance.”

An increasing number of firms are asking:  Do we want the firm managed by a leader, which for a CPA firm is the managing partner, or managed by one or more committees of partners? The fact is, most firms are choosing a strong leader – the managing partner.

Marc Rosenberg
Marc Rosenberg

More on CPA firm leadership and management:  What a Managing Partner Is… and Is Not   •  When Is It Time to Shift Your Firm from Partnership-style to Corporate-style Governance?  •  De-Bunking the Myth about Niche Marketing for Tax and Accounting Firms • Practice Development Is No Longer an Optional Activity • 10 Good Ways the Achieve Partner Accountability • Pick Your Partners Right to Begin With

But too many firms still lack a clear understanding of what a managing partner is.  Based on years of research, we have compiled a comprehensive managing partner job description. And we’re including the 25 best practices that make today’s best managing partners great.

MANAGING PARTNER JOB DESCRIPTION READ MORE →