Learn to Read Your Firm’s Culture

Four young business people chatting outside office buildingBonus: 3 outlooks from our exclusive expert council.

By Martin Bissett

The Passport to Partnership study collated a number of responses from existing partners of accounting practices in a conversational style.

 

MORE ON THE PASSPORT TO PARTNERSHIP: 5 Ways to Get Buy-In for Firm Culture | Competence: More Than Technical Skills | Partnership: Competence Is Just the Foot in the Door | Are You Partner Material? Maybe Not

Examples that really stood out on the realities of individual variances in firm culture are showcased below.

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5 Ways to Get Buy-In for Firm Culture

Industrial metal number 5Change management is one of the keys.

By Martin Bissett

Cultural issues are dynamic, very broad and unique in each firm. As such it is a challenge to summarize them accurately and comprehensively.

MORE ON THE PASSPORT TO PARTNERSHIP: Competence: More Than Technical Skills | Experts Advise What Partnership Takes | Partnership: Competence Is Just the Foot in the Door | Are You Partner Material? Maybe Not

From our research, however, the wise choice for anyone wishing to get their passport to partnership appears to be to study

  • their firm’s existing culture,
  • that of its senior individuals and
  • that of those who have the ear of those senior individuals

to understand not only the route to partnership, but the terrain that they need to cross too.
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Competence: More Than Technical Skills

Businessman correcting an underling12 ways to determine your competence.

By Martin Bissett

The Passport to Partnership study collated a number of responses in a conversational style. Two brief but succinct examples that really stood out on the realities of how a firm assesses an individual’s “competence” to lead are showcased below.

MORE ON THE PASSPORT TO PARTNERSHIP: Experts Advise What Partnership Takes | Partnership: Competence Is Just the Foot in the Door | Are You Partner Material? Maybe Not

  1. They need to explain technical data to me in a way that I know they understand it.
  2. What kind of lifestyle does this person have outside of work? We’ll be looking at Facebook, Twitter and Google to find out.

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Experts Advise What Partnership Takes

back view of a businessman holding a briefcase and walking forward on white backgroundDefining what competence means for partners.

By Martin Bissett

The skill in producing financial reports is limited by the quality of the information presented to the CPA by the client. Motivation of the client to influence that financial information comes in many forms, some intentional and some unintentional. Competence comes first in being able to resist pressure and present a true and accurate position of the client’s organization.

MORE ON THE PASSPORT TO PARTNERSHIP: Are You Partner Material? Maybe Not | Communication: Putting It All Together | What Does the Next Generation of Practice Leaders Face? | Businesses Place Value on Expertise

Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But there’s a twist.
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Rick Dreher Innovates Wipfli for Clients, Younger Workers

Dreher
Dreher

‘Clients have budgets, and it’s part of our responsibility to deliver a high-quality, value-add solution within those budgets.’

By CPA Trendlines Staff

The CPA profession faces a crossroads at which firms will have to make some fundamental changes in their dealings with clients and staff, according to Rick Dreher, managing partner and chairman of Wipfli.

Wipfli logoMORE from THE CORNER OFFICE: How Blain Heckaman Drives Value at Kaufman Rossin | WeiserMazars MP Blake Charts U.S. Expansion | Frank Longobardi: CohnReznick’s Battle for Top Talent | The Robo-CPA: Jim Sikich Prepares for Disruptive Technologies | Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Wipfli is a Milwaukee-based accounting and consulting that generated $203.2 million in revenues for the 12 months ended May 2015. It ranks among the top firms in the nation at $181 million in revenue.
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Are You Partner Material? Maybe Not

Businessman holding hand upResearch shows wide gap between partners and partners-to-be.

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 ON THE PASSPORT TO PARTNERSHIP: 9 Things to Stop Doing Now | The DNA of a Practice Leader | Why Hitting Your Numbers Isn’t Enough | What Do Your True Colors Say About Your Commitment? | What Commitment Really Means for Partners | How Well Do You Represent Your Firm? | Communication: Putting It All Together | The 4 Winning Communications Habits of Top Accountants

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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15 Sure-Fire Ways to Develop Staff Into Partners

One person helping another to the top of a mountain at sunsetBONUS CHECKLIST: 23 best practices for training.

By Marc Rosenberg
CPA Firm Retreats

How do firms develop staff into partners?

MORE ON RETREATS: 25 Ways to Turn Good Firms into Great Firms | Partner Buyout 101 | 27 Tough Questions Every Firm Needs to Address | Make More Money | System vs. System: Partner Compensation Best Practices | 10 Benchmarking Missteps | How to Address Partner Compensation at a Retreat | Partner Accountability: How and for What?

Here are 15 surefire ways:
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9 Things to Stop Doing Now

Businessman in dark gray suit raise his hand in action of stop and word "stop" on his red palmStop devaluing yourself and the profession.

By Martin Bissett
Passport to Partnership

The thing about accountants is that they occupy, should they wish to, a unique position in the minds of their clients. We know it as most trusted advisor.

MORE ON THE PASSPORT TO PARTNERSHIP: How to Create an Upward Spiral | It’s Not the Challenge, It’s Your Response | What Challenges Really Mean for Partners | Commitment: Your View and Your Firm’s | Businesses Place Value on Expertise | What Conversion Really Means for Partners | Communication: It’s Not About You

GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Simply put, if you are a trusted advisor, you’re supposed to
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