LEADERSHIP

Five Tips for Better Decision-Making

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Follow the principles of collaborative conversation.

By Bill Penczak

I recently encountered a decision-making process that had grown virtually foreign to me during my decade in public accounting—collaborative conversation. In the course of a week, the dynamics of communication with a prospective client reminded me of how most successful companies operate, and how the decision-making process at many CPA firms can be flawed and even sometimes dangerous.

MORE: Re-Thinking Today’s Firm with Five Global Leaders | 5 Things Your Firm Should Do Differently This Summer | Do You Have the Guts to Beat the Covid Crisis? | How to Inoculate Your Firm against Covid Competition | ‘Found Money’ Delights Clients | The Three R’s for Beating the Corona Crisis

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A friend and former colleague in public accounting, a veteran of the software industry, used to lament about the days of working for a “real” company the people who actually knew about the issue were those involved in decision-making.

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4 Questions for CPA Firm Boards

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Business meeting with people around table facing forwardDo members know their role?

By Steven E. Sacks
The NEW Fundamentals

The purpose behind an organization creating a board is not to micromanage, design a company logo or address human resource issues. Neither is its role to sit around and smoke Cohiba Esplendido cigars and sip Louis XIII de Remy Martin Grande cognac.

MORE: Are You Productive or Just Busy? | The Five Big Rules for PowerPoint Presentations | How Aging Boomers Impact the Accounting Profession | Accounting Is a Profession, Not an Industry
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This glad-handing, back-slapping culture led to the financial breakdowns in the early 2000s and probably still is happening at this writing.
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15 Essential Skills for Managing Partners

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Blank organizational chartWhere do you spend your time? When is something “good enough”?

By Marc Rosenberg
The Role of the Managing Partner

Marie Kondo is the bestselling author of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” As a lifelong businessperson who came out of the womb highly organized, I enjoy practicing her methods, but I know they are elusive to many people.

MORE: The 14 Trends Crushing Today’s Accountants | 3 Traits of the Best Managing Partners | Partner Compensation: A Potent Weapon | How Long Should It Take to Make Partner? | The Managing Partner’s Role in Mergers | Five Ways to Evaluate Partners | Manage Partners with Goal Setting | Overarching Authority That Managing Partners Must Have
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This article is my version of how business people, especially CPAs, can learn to increase their efficiency and productivity by being better organized. Beware: As with all self-improvement initiatives, you must start with the right attitude. You must truly want to be an organized person, not just say it or think it. Then and only then can you be successful at tidying up.
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Is Your Mission Statement Really a Wish List?

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Coffee cup by napkin with words including "action plans."3 questions it should answer.

By Steven E. Sacks
The NEW Fundamentals

Do you think your staff knows what your company’s or firm’s mission statement is?

Wait. Let me back up. Does your staff even know that such a mission statement exists?

MORE: Are You Productive or Just Busy? | The Five Big Rules for PowerPoint Presentations | How Aging Boomers Impact the Accounting Profession | Accounting Is a Profession, Not an Industry
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My guess is no and no. Does your organization explain to everyone what actually defines success and the framework for achieving it?
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