Six Ways to Engage Young Managers, Staff in Firm Growth

Shareholders have a role, but less hands-on.

By Sarah Johnson Dobek
Inovautus Consulting

Growing your accounting firm takes a lot of time and effort and, because of this, developing the skills of staff and managers takes a backseat. While each shareholder should take responsibility to contribute to growing the firm, that doesn’t mean they need to do it all themselves.

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Engaging your managers and staff is beneficial for three reasons:

It teaches them growth is important to the firm and helps establish a culture around growth.
It empowers them to learn how to market and sell, which should be key for anyone who wants to progress in their career.
It allows you to execute on key problems without everything falling on a shareholder’s plate.

Posted on June 20, 2022

Sarah Johnson Dobek

About the Author

Sarah Johnson Dobek is President and Founder of Inovautus Consulting, a national consulting firm that develops strategies, programs, and training designed to help accounting firms grow faster and in the right direction.

She is a contributing author to Bridging the Gap: Strengthening the Connection between Current and Emerging Leaders in the CPA Profession

Sarah and her team work with firms to assess their growth goals and execute practical marketing and business development plans. With her unique background in operations, human resources, practice management, and marketing, Sarah delivers insightful, practical advice that guides organizations down the right path toward achieving the growth they desire. Sarah's ability to understand where an organization is starting from, coupled with her disciplined approach to best practices, drives results for firms and helps them to evolve.

Prior to forming Inovautus, Sarah was the Director of Marketing for a Chicago-based accounting firm and the Director of Consulting Services at PDI Global, where she learned the nuts and bolts of public accounting firms and the importance of aligning marketing, people, and practice management strategies to achieve growth.

Sarah is a sought-after speaker for conferences, board meetings, and professional service associations and societies. She is a thought leader appearing throughout the profession through articles, podcasts, and videos in Accounting Today, CPA Society publications, the AICPA Journal, CPA Practice Advisor, and more.

Having been named a "Top 100 Most Influential Person" by Accounting Today in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018, and a three-time "Top 20 Under 40 Vendor" by CPA Practice Advisor, Sarah is without a doubt glued into the profession. Living and breathing her passion, she's also a member and former board member of the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) and the past President and member of the CPA Consultants Alliance.

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