496 Search Results

There are Two Kinds of Accounting Firms

By

Maze with word "plan" at the centerWhich one is yours? BONUS: The 25 best practices of the most successful firms.

By Marc Rosenberg
The Rosenberg Practice Management Library

There are two kinds of CPA firms.

The first kind of firm argues that there is not much that needs to be managed at a CPA firm. These cynics might say: “Come on. Running a CPA firm isn’t rocket science. You hang out your shingle. You get clients. You hire staff. You do the work. Bill and collect. What needs to be managed?”

MORE: Drive Your Profits with Only Four Metrics | A Crash Course in the Business of Public Accounting | How to Get Promoted to Manager | How to Create a Path to Partner | Making Partner: What Managers Need to Know | The 17 Rules for Making Partner at a CPA Firm | Who Shouldn’t Be a Partner? | Nine Reasons People Are Promoted to Partner | How to Make Partner?
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Unfortunately, many CPA firm partners think this way – maybe not consciously, but it has the same effect.

When firms learn that the lack of commitment to firm management shown by this attitude creates problems, they often hire consultants like me to help them address these types of issues:
READ MORE →

Drive Your Profits with Only Four Metrics

By

Accounting firm Econ. 101, including a sample income statement.

By Marc Rosenberg
The Rosenberg Practice Management Library

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.

MORE: A Crash Course in the Business of Public Accounting | How to Get Promoted to Manager | How to Create a Path to Partner | Making Partner: What Managers Need to Know | The 17 Rules for Making Partner at a CPA Firm | Who Shouldn’t Be a Partner? | Nine Reasons People Are Promoted to Partner | How to Make Partner?
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

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

A Crash Course in the Business of Public Accounting

By

Woman looking at computer screen, man looking over her shoulderCommon services, practice areas, and position titles.

By Marc Rosenberg
The Rosenberg Practice Management Library

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.

MORE: How to Get Promoted to Manager | How to Create a Path to Partner | Making Partner: What Managers Need to Know | The 17 Rules for Making Partner at a CPA Firm | Who Shouldn’t Be a Partner? | Nine Reasons People Are Promoted to Partner | How to Make Partner?
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

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.

And it starts with the partners:

READ MORE →

Partner Compensation: A Potent Weapon

By

If the executive and compensation committees aren’t one and the same, they at least should have heavy overlap.

By Marc Rosenberg
The Role of the Managing Partner

Does compensation motivate partner performance?

I’ve done a lot of research on this over many years. The short answer: Yes, money motivates performance, but it’s often not the best motivator.

MORE: The Managing Partner’s Secret Weapon | How to Enforce the Partner Agreement | The 9 Biggest Merger Pitfalls | 10 Ways to Hold Partners Accountable | Make Sure Partners Focus on Two Things | How the Managing Partner Manages the Partners
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

The managing partner can best impact partner performance by the following:
READ MORE →

The Managing Partner’s Secret Weapon

By

Businessman holding up magnifying glassThe right people in the right positions will help you stay out of the weeds.

By Marc Rosenberg
The Role of the Managing Partner

 

To be a great managing partner, you need a great team – a team that keeps you focused and out of the weeds.

The managing partner position is a big job. The high-level CEO of a complex, growing, highly profitable organization such as a CPA firm must be able to focus on the most important parts of the job, none of which is easy.

MORE: How to Enforce the Partner Agreement | 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 | Herding Cats: Advice for Managing Partners
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Let’s drill down for a moment on the word “focus.” It means:

  • Having the time to do the job properly. For this to happen, managing partners must avoid (a) having too many client responsibilities, which would preclude them from making the firm their #1 client most of the time and (b) spending time on matters that can be delegated to others, such as the COO/firm administrator and department/team leaders.

READ MORE →