SUCCESSION & RETIREMENT

Succession Planning Spells Success

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Older man pointing out something in a document to a younger colleagueThink it’s too early? Think again.

By August J. Aquila
What Makes a Great Partnership

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. 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.

MORE: Firms Must Plan Ahead for Partner Retirement | Retiring Partners Are Valuable Assets | Nine Ways to Handle Partners with Strong Views | Rate Managing Partners in Six Areas | Five Ways to Keep Your Edge as a Leader | Managing Partner: The Toughest Job in the World | Why Partners Need Written Goals
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There are still a few exceptions out there. First, if you happen to be a very profitable firm in a major market you are lucky. Firms will continue to seek you out. Second, if you have a very strong niche market presence you can be an attractive acquisition candidate. However, if you are an average firm in a secondary or tertiary market, selling the practice will take more work and time.

Here are some ideas to help you plan your succession.
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Firms Must Plan Ahead for Partner Retirement

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BONUS: Six steps for transitioning clients.

By August J. Aquila
What Makes a Great Partnership

The biggest danger facing the future of accounting firms today is not the economy. It is the lack of planning for partner retirement. You would think that this would be one of the most important strategic issues for firms, but unfortunately it is not.

MORE: Retiring Partners Are Valuable Assets | How to Deal with Underperforming Partners | When ‘Quiet Quitting’ Hits the Partner Ranks | Nine Ways to Handle Partners with Strong Views | Nine Standards for Partner Compensation
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Without proper retirement/succession planning, the firm is left directionless. And, it is not only planning for the succession of the managing partner that is essential. Planning for the retirement of other key partners and non-partners in the organization is important, as well. Planning for retirement becomes even more critical when the retiring partner is a founder or a key rainmaker of the firm. Often, these individual do not want to leave the firm and remain working at the firm longer than necessary.
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Retiring Partners Are Valuable Assets

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smiling senior businesswoman holding eyeglassesWhy throw them out?

By August J. Aquila
What Makes a Great Partnership

There has been a lot of debate about the lack of future partners and how firms are going to survive from one generation to the next. And, at the same time, many firms may have an asset that they are getting ready to retire – their older partners. Firms are so worried about generational differences in the workplace that they tend to forget about the value of their senior or older partners.

MORE: How to Deal with Underperforming Partners | When ‘Quiet Quitting’ Hits the Partner Ranks | 12 Points of a Good Compensation Plan | Ten Steps to a New Managing Partner | What Managing Partners Must Be Doing | Do Your Partners Pay Their Own Way? | How to Create Firm Accountability
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I am not suggesting or recommending that unproductive partners should be kept in the firm. These partners should be dealt with immediately, no matter what age they are.

However, I am suggesting that we look at senior partners as valuable assets and determine how we can best employ them.
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Robert Fligel: Private Equity Shakes up M&A

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Opportunity or threat? It depends.

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Private equity takeovers of accounting firms are changing the rules for the CPA business, impacting succession plans, shifting talent strategies, and reshaping the competition, according to Robert Fligel, CEO and founder of RF Resources, one of the nation’s leading advisors.

MORE: Dustin Verity: Keep an Open Mind and Constantly Learn | Secret to Success? A Growth and Abundance Mindset | O.D. Lanier: Stepping Into Advisory | From Tax to Transformation | Early Adopters Gain an Edge in Audit | Why the Future is in Risk Advisory | Four Strategies for a Future Ready Firm Clayton Oates: One Way to Keep Clients for Life | Randy Crabtree: Follow These Three Rules to Keep Employees Happy | Erik Solbakken: Yes, You Can Work Less and Make More

SEE ALL: Podcasts and Videos here

In this exclusive interview with CPA Trendlines, Fligel, a veteran dealmaker in the vast and active New York market, explains what PE firms may not want you to know, why CPA firms are suddenly so much in demand, and the often-uncertain outlook for owners, staffers, and the profession.

For some, PE is an opportunity. For others, a threat. Fligel helps sort it all out.

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Ten Steps to a New Managing Partner

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Three people standing, smiling and talking in an office walkwayHow to execute a smooth, graceful transition.

By August J. Aquila
What Makes a Great Partnership

One of the most difficult events that a firm faces is the transition of power from one managing partner to another, especially when it’s the first time. Knowing when to pass the baton and how to pass it are critical decisions every firm will have to make.

MORE: Five Ways to Keep Your Edge as a Leader | Five Reasons That Leaders Fail | Eleven Things Partners Must Do | Seven Keys to Becoming an Equity Partner | How to Achieve Partner Unity | The Seven Building Blocks of a Great Partnership
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The most important thing you can do at this point is to plan, plan and plan some more for the transition. The sooner you lay out your plan, the easier it will be for you to achieve it.
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16 Steps to Creating a Partnership Path

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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
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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.
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