Leadership

Rosenberg Survey: Efficiency Slips as Staffing Expands

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Now available from CPA Trendlines here

Productivity drives profitability as never before.

By CPA Trendlines Research
The Rosenberg Survey

After several years of steady gains in productivity, CPA firms are seeing a slight decline in revenue per person, suggesting firms are adding staff faster than they are growing revenue, even as hiring rebounds and turnover drops.

MORE: The 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey is available from CPA Trendlines here.

According to the new 2025 Rosenberg Survey, the erosion in average revenue per full-time equivalent employee comes after consistent increases from 2020 through 2024. Larger firms are still posting the highest efficiency levels. But the overall trend points to a mild dilution of productivity as practices rebuild teams and expand support infrastructure following years of lean staffing. READ MORE →

Partner Pay Hits $615,000 But Lags Behind Revenue Growth

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Precision management now drives partner prosperity.

Now available from CPA Trendlines here

 

Precision management now drives partner prosperity.

By CPA Trendlines Research
The Rosenberg Survey

After years of strong top-line expansion, CPA firm partners are finding their personal earnings growth lagging behind overall revenue gains, according to the 2025 Rosenberg Survey.

MORE: The 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey is available from CPA Trendlines here.

Average income per equity partner is rising just 3.2 percent this year to $615,000, compared with double-digit revenue increases in the last two years. The survey concludes that leverage, the ratio of professional staff to partners, and billing rate management remain the most decisive drivers of profitability.

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CPA Firm Growth Slows to 7.9% After Two-Year Surge

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Expansion gives way to strategic adaptation.

By CPA Trendlines Research
The Rosenberg Survey

Available from CPA Trendlines here

After two years of double-digit expansion, CPA firm growth is cooling.

Average revenue growth among firms over $2 million is falling to 7.9 percent this year, down from 10.7 percent in 2023 and 2024.

MORE: The 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey is available from CPA Trendlines here.

The slowdown, while modest, signals that the post-pandemic boom driven by mergers, tax complexity and advisory demand is giving way to a more mature phase marked by tighter margins, higher costs and the growing influence of private equity, according to the 2025 Rosenberg Survey, the accounting profession’s leading management benchmark.

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Weiner: Leadership Lessons from a Billion-Dollar Builder | Gear Up For Growth

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Great firms are built, not bought.

This is a preview. The complete episode is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
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Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines

In this episode of Gear Up for Growth, host Jean Caragher sits down with Jeffrey Weiner, former CEO and Chairman of Marcum LLP and current Senior Advisor at CBIZ. Weiner shares candid insights from his 40-year leadership journey, explaining how a Long Island accounting firm with seven employees and $300,000 in revenue became a $1.3 billion national powerhouse—before merging with CBIZ.

Gear Up for Growth spotlights the best strategies for smart and efficient growth in today’s competitive landscape. More Gear Up for Growth here.

More Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | More Gear Up for Growth

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“Back in 1981, I didn’t even know what $1.3 billion was,” Weiner quips. “But I always knew I wanted to build something.”

Over the decades, Weiner redefined what it meant to lead in public accounting, emphasizing trust, talent, and strategic growth. Rather than micromanaging, he viewed his role as “architect,” guiding the firm’s culture, empowering top-tier professionals, and letting his team do what they did best. “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room,” he said.

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Lang: The Right Clients > Revenue | It’s Not Just the Numbers

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Tough client calls, tax planning, and better leadership turned hard knocks into growth.

This is a preview. The complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
Sponsored by “It’s Not Just the Numbers: How to Move Beyond the Numbers and Deliver Real Value for Your Clients”
by Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead – See Today’s Special Offer

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It’s Not Just the Numbers
With Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead
For CPA Trendlines

When Lang launched Upside CFO, he didn’t set out with a grand blueprint. “If we’re being honest, we started off with simple bookkeeping,” he says. Over time, his firm evolved into a multi-faceted practice offering fractional CFO services, tax planning, and even financial planning partnerships. Along the way, he admits to trial and error. “Sometimes I do smart stuff. Sometimes I don’t,” Lang laughs.

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Yet from that messy middle came clarity: the future of advisory services lies in translating numbers into strategy, choosing the right clients, and building processes that can scale without sacrificing value.

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