the 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
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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.
- having the luxury of being mentally able to focus on the big picture, knowing that others are expertly performing delegable duties. managing partners should be the only people in their firms who have a virtually unlimited license – with the partners’ enthusiastic endorsement – to periodically sit in their office, chair reclined, look out the window and simply think about what the firm should be doing.
this post addresses the various positions in the firm that provide the support that enables managing partners to stay out of the weeds: their management and administrative team.
who is on the team?
this list is not all-inclusive, but it’s pretty darn close. larger firms will have more of these positions in place than smaller firms.
- chief operating officer (coo) or firm administrator
- office pics
- department, service line and industry team leaders.
- executive committee (some firms call it the board)
- marketing director
- hr director
- it director
it’s quite possible that some of these positions report to others who report directly to the managing partner. for example, the marketing, hr and it directors may report to the coo. let’s drill down on each of these positions.
coo/firm administrator
overarching issues: first, this post does not cover a coo’s or firm administrator’s entire job. it covers how managing partners use the coo or firm administrator on their team to keep them out of the weeds so they can perform their job at the highest level.
second, both coos and firm administrators are extremely important to the firm. the real distinction is the level at which the job is performed. coos generally operate at a higher level and at larger firms than do firm administrators.
third, regardless of whether a coo or a firm administrator is on board, managing partners must fully understand that of all the key members of their management team, these positions are often the most important because they have the most potential to keep the managing partner out of delegable administrative duties. words of warning: managing partners should resist the temptation to save money by underhiring these positions, or they will inevitably get sucked into administrative work that the lower-level person is incapable of performing.
coo vs. firm administrator
let’s clarify the difference between the two positions, understanding that at many firms, the line between them is blurred. this list covers the coo’s main focus at a very high level:
- the coo may not actually be a partner (though a number of firms over $10 million make their coo a partner), but he or she is seen by the partners as a partner.
- the coo brainstorms and implements strategic planning, including working with the partners to achieve their goals. a firm administrator usually does not.
- firms wouldn’t think of convening partner meetings, board meetings or retreats without the coo present because of his or her impact on the meeting. that is much less true for firm administrators.
- the coo may supervise other administrative professionals in the marketing, hr, controller and/or it areas.
- the coo provides high-level advice and counsel to the managing partner. managing partners find the coo indispensable, not only to perform the firm’s administrative duties but for high-level discussions of the firm’s biggest issues.
- the coo monitors profitability.
- the coo implements mergers.
firm administrators may be involved in some of these activities to some extent, but they usually are not. a firm administrator job description appears toward the end of this post.
marketing director
as we state throughout this post, the managing partner must be heavily involved in a small number of critically important firm operations. marketing and revenue growth are among them. the marketing director works in tandem with the managing partner. a job description appears toward the end of this post.
human resources (hr) director
hr and staff issues in general are another critically important function in which the managing partner needs to have heavy involvement. the hr director works in tandem with the managing partner. a job description appears at the end of this post.
information technology (it) director
“if you’re not disrupters, you’re being disrupted.” – oracle
if managing partners of multipartner firms think the impact of technology in the next 10 years will be similar to that of the last 10 years, they are out of their minds. to run a successful cpa firm in the coming years, managing partners need to disrupt the present in the technology arena. they need to make sure their firm is positioned to adopt these new technologies. those firms that don’t may become endangered species.
managing partners don’t need to be technology gurus and certainly should not be hands-on. but they must have a passion for what the coming changes will mean and must work closely with inside and outside it professionals to take full advantage of the ways technology is changing the cpa profession.
because of the rapid changes taking place in technology and the game-changing impact they are having, we surveyed managing partners across the country. here are their most prescient thoughts.
as the managing partner, what do you do to ensure that computers and technology have the most optimal impact on your firm’s success, profitability and efficiency?
in a word, collaborate. most managing partners do not have a strong it background. as the saying goes, “you’ve got to know what you don’t know.” managing partners frequently collaborate with it experts, both within and outside of their firms.
the most common forms of collaboration:
- work closely with and listen carefully to our it director
- network with leaders attending cpa industry conferences
- regularly meet with outside it consultants to gain a different perspective
- create and push for a sufficient it budget; you don’t want to be cheap in this area
what has your firm done so far to address blockchain, data analytics and ai?
“we tend to overestimate the effect of a technology change in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.”
this is known as amara’s law, and it is quite apropos to what’s going on in the cpa firm industry. the strong consensus of managing partners is that today and for the next few years, the hype of the new technologies will exceed most local cpa firms’ access to them. but this will begin to change in the early 2020s.
how do you involve your it director in firm management?
a mixed response. most of the firms over $10 million have a high-level internal it director who actively participates in all important management meetings and contributes significantly to the firm’s strategic planning. many smaller firms feel they can’t justify having a high-level it director.
what new things has your firm recently implemented in the it area?
two main areas were repeatedly identified by firms:
- the cloud, either an increase in the total use of the cloud or upgrading use of the cloud
- increasing security. examples: strengthening firewalls and dual-factor authentication
what do you tell recruits about how cool your firm’s technology is?
for many years now, cpa firms have been dedicating enormous resources and brainstorming how to better attract and retain staff. because technology is high on candidates’ lists of desired traits of future employers, it makes sense that it plays an important role in firms’ interviewing and recruiting process. this sentiment was expressed by quite a few managing partners.
these are the things managing partners mentioned most often that their firms stress in recruiting staff:
- great support for working remotely
- we don’t just talk about technology, we demo it; we show them what we are doing
- paperless
one of the biggest warnings that cpa firm technology luminaries such as roman kepczyk (right networks) and jim bourke (withum) give to managing partners is to be careful in evaluating their internal it directors. too often, it directors keep their firms mired in old technology to protect their jobs and make themselves indispensable. every firm should have a great it director, but make sure you balance that by seeking regular advice from outside cpa firm consultants.
executive committee
an executive committee functions much like the board of a corporation. the executive committee’s main duties are oversight of the firm and counsel to the managing partner. executive committees are most common at firms with at least seven or eight partners and usually consist of three to five members, depending on the firm’s size and number of sizable offices. the managing partner is automatically the chair.
here are the main benefits to managing partners of having an executive committee:
- the executive committee provides counsel and advice to the managing partner. managing partners who think they can do all the high-level thinking and problem-solving on their own are sadly misguided by their inflated egos. a group of three brilliant and perceptive thinkers on an executive committee is at least three times more productive and creative than a committee of one. great leaders seek out feedback and advice, even if they don’t like what they hear.
- it’s a lot easier and more efficient to work with a small executive committee than a large partner group. in fact, as firms grow, they usually greatly reduce the number of partner meetings per year.
- executive committee members are great people to delegate high-level projects to.
department, service line and industry team pics
these positions are obvious choices if the firm is large enough and the areas sizable enough to warrant them. pics of large offices are probably the most useful because it’s impossible for the managing partner to be in multiple geographic locations at the same time.
coo / firm administrator job description
this position is responsible for the following duties, which may be managed, supervised, coordinated or performed directly, depending on the size of the firm and what the firm needs from the position. most administrators are responsible for most of these duties, but few are responsible for all of them.
- oversees internal accounting, financial and operational reporting. includes budgeting and cash management.
- monitors overall profitability. analyzes financial and operating reports, identifies areas holding profits back, monitors productivity of firm personnel, monitors realization and challenging write-offs, collections and cost control.
- supervises staff and hr. is the point person for firm recruiting, performance evaluation, salary administration, training, cpe documentation, new employee orientation and benefit administration.
- participates in partner activities. works closely with the managing partner and the board. attends all partner meetings and retreats, plans agendas for partner meetings and monitors implementation of strategic plan goals and action steps.
- manages most of the firm’s systems. example: time and billing.
- manages or oversees the firm’s technology.
- manages administrative issues: space planning, high-level landlord issues, policies and procedures, and supervision of the admin staff.
- oversees property/casualty, benefit and malpractice insurance.
- participates in mergers. manages administrative and physical aspects of merging in smaller firms. is often involved in due diligence.
- provides marketing support. only if there is no marketing director and the firm is under $10 million.
marketing director job description
objective: develop and target communications that build awareness of the firm. support, educate and monitor staff on marketing strategy and tactics.
planning
- develop and monitor a firm marketing plan
- attend strategic partner meetings
client communications
- design and manage a reporting system for regular contacts with clients, referral sources and prospects
- plan and coordinate client seminar presentations
- develop firm promotional materials
- maintain the firm’s website; in general, gain name recognition for the firm through the use of social media, the internet and email
- maintain a mailing list for firm promotional materials
- issue periodic press releases to enhance the firm’s image
- coordinate the mailing of firm newsletters and direct mail pieces
- send referral thank-you notes and congratulatory notes to people mentioned in newspapers and journals
education, training, firm marketing support
- educate firm personnel about the firm’s services
- conduct in-house marketing and sales training seminars
- identify business/trade associations and civic/charitable organizations that firm members can join
- assist in the drafting of client proposals
- develop and fine-tune a marketing incentive program for staff to bring in business and get active in business development
- identify opportunities for firm members to deliver speeches
- identify opportunities to write articles for publications
- monitor the business development efforts of partners and staff
- monitor the competition
human resources director job description
- recruit professional and administrative staff
- coordinate college recruitment program
- maintain personnel files
- ensure that the firm complies with labor laws
- maintain, communicate and interpret personnel policies and procedures
- administer the firm’s staff compensation program
- coordinate the firm’s performance feedback and appraisal systems
- coordinate the firm’s staff mentoring system
- provide a safe place for staff to go to on sensitive, confidential issues
- coordinate the firm’s benefits programs
- coordinate the firm’s orientation program for new employees
- coordinate the preparation of job descriptions
- coordinate the firm’s training/cpe program
- ensure that termination procedures are properly administered
- periodically administer employee attitude surveys and analyze results
- keep abreast of developments in the human resources field