you need commitment + competency.
by gary bolinger
you may remember the old abbott and costello routine “who’s on first.” after some back-and-forth dialogue, we get to “all i’m trying to find out is what’s the guy’s name on first base?” abbott responds, “no. what is on second base.” after some more banter, we finally learn that “i don’t know is on third base.” baseball almanac says that this is “one of the most famous baseball comedy acts to ever take place.”
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setting all of this up, lou costello said to bud abbott, “if you’re the coach, you must know all the players.” and that is a true statement. you need a good understanding of your players’ (who) competencies (what). a partner must know all the players’ strengths and weaknesses.
in the case of a cpa firm, the coach (managing partner) needs to ask about who and what. when planning for future success (transformation), partners need to think about first things first. in the case of a firm what is on first. second is occupied by who and how.
1st – what services should the firm provide to be recognized as the most valued advisor?
2nd – who is going to provide those services and how will the services be provided?
there is much written and spoken these days about the, shall i say, imperative for cpa firms to transform their practices to be more advisory. the notion being that cpas can add more value (and make more money) in the advisory space rather than in the compliance space. those are worthy discussions to have. everyone should be concerned about the future and value-added services. so that is the “what.” it is the first decision to make. does your firm need to be more aggressive in advisory services? if so, you are then faced with who and how.
the first who is the ownership group (partners). there must be a commitment to this business strategy. the second who (if owners make the commitment) is the person who will lead the effort. this person needs to be an owner. there is no alternative. if this strategy is assigned to a non-owner, a subliminal message is being sent that this new initiative isn’t a real priority to the firm.
another aspect of the who is competency. think about this long and hard. just because you have a tax partner who has been a great rainmaker doesn’t mean that the person can develop and lead a robust advisory practice. the lead person needs the right set of competencies.
a good place to start with competencies is “cpa excellence” by david griffiths (https://www.k3cubed.com/). this is a great (and concise) book published in 2014 by the cpa center of excellence (indiana cpa society – www.incpas.org).
the book defines core competencies for cpas such as
- critical thinking and problem solving,
- synthesizing intelligence into insight and
- anticipating and serving evolving needs.
these are the very competencies most needed by cpas in the advisory role. the book goes on to describe skill sets for each competency and five different levels of experience. get the book. it is inexpensive and, at the same time, invaluable.
so, if you are planning to transform your firm to include a robust advisory practice, first decide what advisory services will provide the most value for clients and prospective clients. then make the multifaceted decision about who is best to lead the effort. the final leg on this stool is where can you find the best tools to support delivery of advisory services.