Here’s what you’re looking for: Marc Rosenberg

PRO Member Exclusive

The Business Side of CPA Firms

Four ways to increase revenue. Four reasons that employees should care.

By Marc Rosenberg
How to Bring in New Partners

Future CPA firm leaders must have an understanding of how their firm operates as a business, including how it makes money and what holds back profitability. With this knowledge, team members will make better decisions about how they spend their time and perform their work.

MORE: Public Accounting as a Business, 101 | Nuts and Bolts of Mentoring Staff | Nine Ways to Measure Staff Performance on the Path to Partner | Sixteen Duties of a Partner | Five People to Keep Out of Partnership
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

All businesses have economic structures unique to their industries:

  • Grocery stores are high volume, low profit margin.
  • Real estate ventures use accelerated depreciation and other tax angles to generate cash flow and healthy ROIs.
  • Professional sports teams focus on increasing the value of the franchise so it can eventually be sold for a gigantic profit.

The typical CPA firm is a low-volume, high-priced business, with a relatively high profit margin (generally 30-45 percent of revenue).
READ MORE →

PRO Member Exclusive

Public Accounting as a Business, 101

Two men at whiteboardKnow your profession.

By Marc Rosenberg
How to Bring in New Partners

“Engaging your employees – involving them in the business – can drive revenue growth. An educated workforce can also make better decisions, work more efficiently and seize opportunities faster. Teaching your employees to be smart businesspeople can be a big investment, but it’s one that can have a significant return.” – Keith Lamb, Inc. magazine

MORE: Nuts and Bolts of Mentoring Staff | It Shouldn’t Take So Long to Make Partner | Three Types of Skills You Need to Become a Partner | Seventeen Basic Expectations of Partners
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Personnel in any organization, from widget manufacturers to hospitals to baseball teams to charities, work with more enthusiasm and commitment when they genuinely feel part of the organization. When people understand how they fit into the overall scheme and what their role is and grasp the essentials of how the organization operates, they produce higher quality work and are more energized. CPA firms are no exception to this rule.
READ MORE →

PRO Member Exclusive

Nuts and Bolts of Mentoring Staff

three people: woman between two men pointing at desktop computer screen in explanationFour keys to being a great mentor. Ten skill areas to develop. Eight training best practices.

By Marc Rosenberg
How to Bring in New Partners

Firms have two levels of expectations of new partners. Many firms aren’t consciously aware of these alternatives, but they exist nonetheless, and they are quite different from each other.

MORE: It Shouldn’t Take So Long to Make Partner | 16 Steps to Creating a Partnership Path | Six Ways New Partners Differ from Managers | The Four Essentials for Every New Partner | Tell Potential Partners What It Takes
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Expectation 1: The new partner is qualified for the job.

New partners must drive the firm by

  • Increasing revenue by bringing in new clients.
  • Retaining clients and expanding services to them.
  • Developing staff, helping them learn and grow.
  • Providing proactive, world-class service to clients.
  • Having the leadership skills to take over the firm from existing partners.

READ MORE →

PRO Member Exclusive

It Shouldn’t Take So Long to Make Partner

Group of four young professionalsBONUS: A 15-point checklist for the path.

By Marc Rosenberg
How to Bring in New Partners

Not too long ago, Accounting Today published a very interesting piece of research titled “The Long Path to Partner.” The polling question: How many years does it take to make partner at your firm?

MORE: 16 Steps to Creating a Partnership Path | Nine Ways to Measure Staff Performance on the Path to Partner | Five People to Keep Out of Partnership
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

The results:

  • Less than 5 years: 9%
  • 5-7 years: 12%
  • 8-9 years: 12%
  • 10-13 years: 30%
  • More than 13 years: 17%
  • Don’t know: 20%

Why does it take so long?

READ MORE →

CHECKLIST

16 Steps to Creating a Partnership Path

BONUSES: 12 questions to ask staff about the future. Advancing from staff to senior to manager.

By Marc Rosenberg
How to Bring in New Partners

“I think nothing is more important than what a firm does to create partners. I mean from Day 1 of someone’s career. Or maybe when a person is identified as a star. It’s critical what the firm does to nurture that person so that they become a partner someday.” – Harry Steindler, partner, MichaelSilver (Chicago)

MORE: Nine Ways to Measure Staff Performance on the Path to Partner | Three Types of Skills You Need to Become a Partner | Seventeen Basic Expectations of Partners | Nine Ways to Woo a Prospective Partner
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Here is what the best firms do to create a path to partnership. These practices are not ranked strictly, but items at the top of the list are more common and effective than those toward the bottom. However, all the items are important.
READ MORE →