6 Questions for Planning Your Succession

August Aquila: "Holding on too long is the most serious sin you can commit."Make your planning spell SUCCESS.

By August J. Aquila

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.

MORE ON GREAT PARTNERSHIPS: 7 Issues in Partner Retirement Planning | Solving Underperforming or Dysfunctional Partners | The 3 Types of Partners You Need | How MPs Can Make a Real Difference | 5 Reasons That Leaders Fail | 11 Things All Partners Must Do | Why Partners Need Written Goals
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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.
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The Toughest Job in the World: Managing an Accounting Practice

5 arrows curving upward5 tips for better firm management.

By August J. Aquila
What Makes a Great Partnership

Wanted: Managing Partner

Requirements: Unique individual who can lead a group of independent-minded professionals; keep some semblance of normality; deal with super egos, unproductive partners and dysfunctional partners; grow the business, stay competitive in a rapidly changing and unfriendly environment, and figure out how to compensate everyone fairly. Interested parties should send resume and salary requirements to Box AA.

Why would you want this job?

MORE ON GREAT PARTNERSHIPS: Do Your Partners Pay Their Own Way? | 7 Keys to Becoming an Equity Partner | How and Why to Achieve Partner Unity | How You Can Get Partners to Change | Are You Driving Your Best Partners Crazy? | 7 Warning Signs for Your Firm | Don’t Weed Out the Roses | Back to Basics: 25 Ways to Grow Your Practice | 3 Ways to Halt a Poor Leader | 8 Financial Ducks to Line Up Now
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Managing a practice today has never been more difficult, but it doesn’t mean that it’s impossible or not rewarding. It all depends on your focus and your willingness to solve the important problems at hand.
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11 Things All Partners Must Do

Two businessmen discussing a projectIt comes down to this: What does being a partner mean?

By August J. Aquila
What Makes a Great Partnership

Partners are the culture in a professional service firm – what they believe, what they reward, what they do and how they do it determines what and how things get done.

MORE ON GREAT PARTNERSHIPS: Do Your Partners Pay Their Own Way? | How to Become the Firm of Choice | Five Factors for Measuring a Partner’s Value | Why Accountability Counts | Communication Goes Both Ways | 6 Ways to Pay Partners | 8 Questions to Analyze Your Pricing
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But one of the problems we consistently hear about is the lack of clarity in what being a partner means. And in the absence of clarity, the partners typically fill the gap by doing what they think it means, with all of the differences of thought and behavior that inevitably brings. It’s these differences in behavior that result in firms failing to maximize their potential.
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Partner Comp Pearls of Wisdom

Woman holding paper and standing next to seated man in officeDon’t forget how you got where you are.

By Marc Rosenberg
Partner Comp: Art & Science

During my 20-year consulting career, I have been privileged to meet many amazing managing partners, who were very generous in sharing their knowledge with me. I wanted to share them with you.

“The best way to make a lot of money is to build a great team beneath you.”

Rosenberg’s take: Eat-what-you-kill may work out fine for small firms, and may maximize short-term earnings for all firms. But CPA firms operate much more effectively and profitably with the one-firm concept, with all firm personnel working as a team.

MORE ON PARTNER COMPENSATION: Paying for Current vs. Historical Performance | Partner Pay in Retirement Transition Period | How to Pay Non-Equity Partners | How Large and Small Firms Allocate Income | Partner Pay: Recapping the Compensation Systems | 3 Tiers of Compensation | Partner Compensation: An Art, Not a Science
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“If you’re weak at client service and good citizenship, you flunk and you’re out.”

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How to Become the Firm of Choice

August Aquila: "At the end of the day, the partners are the culture of the firm."3 steps to take now.

By August J. Aquila
What Makes a Great Partnership

Just think for a moment. Your firm reaches the lofty goal of becoming the firm of choice in your given markets.

MORE ON GREAT PARTNERSHIPS: Why Partners Need Written Goals | 7 Keys to Becoming an Equity Partner | How and Why to Achieve Partner Unity | How You Can Get Partners to Change | Why Expectations Must Be Defined | 7 Warning Signs for Your Firm | Don’t Weed Out the Roses | 3 Ways to Halt a Poor Leader | 8 Financial Ducks to Line Up Now
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You now win the best clients, you are able to recruit and retain the best people and you increase firm profitability. What’s not to like about this?
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5 Cautionary Tales in Partner Compensation

Older man reading newspaper by fireplaceDo you see your firm here?

By Marc Rosenberg
Partner Comp: Art & Science

Here are five case studies to illustrate potential problems in partner compensation.

MORE ON PARTNER COMPENSATION: Does Compensation Motivate Performance? | Why Compensation and Buyout Plans Must Be Synchronized | When Partner Vacation Becomes Excessive | Management Stipends: Who, How and Why | The 8 Basics for Data-Based Partner Performance Evaluations | Crash Course: Operating a Compensation Committee | 11 Points in Designing a Partner Comp System | What Partners Earn and How They Earn It
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The Stressed-out MP.  This seven-partner firm had recently changed from having the “MP decides” method of income allocation to usage of a compensation committee because the burden of allocating income was too stressful for the MP. The ensuing problems with the compensation committee, all solvable, were:

  1. Mandatory rotation of CC members resulted in people on the CC who were not credible and used their role to boost their own income.
  2. No communication between the CC and the individual partners about expectations and income allocation.
  3. Frequent, bitter arguments among CC members.

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When Partners Need Written Goals

Undervater shoot of swimming pool with swimmer holding both thumbs upThree questions to ask yourself.

By August J. Aquila
What Makes a Great Partnership

If we achieve what we measure, then is it true that we become what we think about most of the time?

MORE ON GREAT PARTNERSHIPS: Five Factors for Measuring a Partner’s Value | Why Accountability Counts | Communication Goes Both Ways | Why Shared Values Are Important | Why ‘Walking Together’ Is So Important | How to Build a Better Firm Through Teamwork | 8 Questions to Analyze Your Pricing | 5 Questions for Every MP to Answer Honestly
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Philip E. Humbert, Ph.D. wrote, “The human brain is a goal-seeking, problem-solving machine, and the things we think about, focus on and worry about inevitably shape our destiny.”
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