it shouldn’t take so long to make partner

bonus: a 15-point checklist for the path.

by marc rosenberg
how to bring in new partners

not too long ago, accounting today published a very interesting piece of research titled “the long path to partner.” the polling question: how many years does it take to make partner at your firm?

more: 16 steps to creating a partnership path | nine ways to measure staff performance on the path to partner | five people to keep out of partnership
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the results:

less than 5 years: 9%
5-7 years: 12%
8-9 years: 12%
10-13 years: 30%
more than 13 years: 17%
don’t know: 20%

why does it take so long?

i’ll wager that the “don’t know” firms are mostly in the 10 years or more categories, with the majority more than 13. so i extrapolate that at roughly two-thirds of all firms, it takes 10 or more years to make partner, which translates to an age range in the mid-30s.

the quick, expected response. i have asked this question of cpa firm partners on numerous occasions. most of them say the long period of apprenticeship is necessary because it takes that long to acquire all of the necessary technical, supervisory, leadership, interpersonal and business-getting skills and to gain credibility with clients.

contrast this to the medical and legal professions. doctors are ready to practice their life-saving skills in their late 20s and early 30s. lawyers often make partner in their early 30s. it’s hard to imagine that the skills needed to be a cpa firm partner are more technically demanding than those of a partner in a medical or legal practice.

a “business” reason? at many firms, the promotion to equity partner often depends on whether or not the firm can afford to or needs to add a partner. at some firms, there wouldn’t be enough clients to go around, so there may not be sufficient income to add another partner. of course, if new partner candidates develop large enough client bases of their own, then there is usually no delay. because 80-90 percent of new partners have yet to develop anywhere near a full client base on their own, this “business” reason for the long wait often prevails.

a “be like mike” issue? average partners at typical local cpa firms are in their early 50s, manage over $1 million of clients, have 20-25 years of solid experience, are very street-smart and earn over $400,000 per year. at many firms, the existing partners want new partners to be like them – an awfully high standard for new partners to meet.

why am i raising this issue? i bring this up because the traditional model of operating a cpa firm is crumbling and that model has driven away many young, highly skilled staff unwilling to wait until their mid-30s or later to make partner.

the fallacy in the “business reasons” for taking so long to make partner. the problem doesn’t lie with the new partners failing to qualify for a partnership. the real problem is that many existing partners don’t perform two critically important partner duties themselves: bringing in business and developing young people into leaders. let me explain.

at well-managed larger firms, clients are serviced with a firm, not an individual, orientation. partners are expected to bring in new business continually. they are not allowed to coast once they build up a $1 million-plus client base.

when people are promoted to partner, many of the clients they serviced as a manager become their client responsibility. also, other partners may transfer clients to new partners to build up their client responsibility. these two actions, combined with the new partners’ own origination, result in an overall client responsibility amount that is respectable for a first-year partner.

what happens to the existing partners who “lose” clients when new partners are made? as true partners, they are now responsible for bringing in new business to replace the clients they transferred.

this process has two system requirements. first, the firm must track business originated (finding) separately from client responsibility (minding) for each partner. at many firms, the finder and the minder for a given client are often different people. second, the firm’s partner income allocation system must be sophisticated enough to avoid (1) unfairly penalizing partners who transfer clients to others for the good of the firm and (2) granting windfalls to new partners who are the fortunate recipients of client transfers.

a complementary process is the use of a non-equity partner position as a middle step between manager and equity partner. this non-equity partner slot becomes a partner-in-training position. it will prepare personnel to handle a large client base and help partners evaluate their ability to handle it successfully. once they become proficient, they may be elevated to equity partner.

with these systems in place, it becomes easier to offer partnerships to star managers at a much earlier age.

shorten the path to partner

firms should take a serious look at their systems and criteria for making someone a partner. for the vast majority of partner-potentials, it doesn’t take 13-20 years to develop the skills and personality to function as a partner. shortening the path will go a long way toward retaining the best and the brightest because (a) they see an opportunity for rapid advancement, (b) the firm recognizes their strong skills and personality traits and (c) they are well positioned for a dramatic increase in compensation.

path to partner milestones checklist

milestones for bringing in new partners	who?	timing / frequency
1. talk about benefits of partnership	partners talk to partner candidates	start at staff level, add depth throughout career
2. discuss future leaders of the firm	partner group	ongoing (at least annually)
3. develop leadership skills	all	start at staff level, add depth throughout career
4. gauge interest in joining partnership	partners ask partner candidates	manager level, ongoing
5. develop specific partner-level skills (e.g., business development, organizational leadership)	partner candidates	manager or senior manager, ongoing
6. explain role and expectations of partners at your firm	partners talk to partner candidates	senior manager
7. explain financials of partnership and buy-in (using realistic, estimated numbers for your firm)	partners talk to partner candidates	senior manager
8. identify specific managers and senior managers with partner potential	partner group	ongoing (at least annually)
9. evaluate fitness for partnership	partner group	as needed for specifically identified partner candidates
10. define timeline for adding new partners	partner group	ongoing (at least annually), plus specific timelines once a candidate is likely to be offered admission
11. vote on offering partnership to identified candidates	partner group	as needed
12. present partnership offer	partner group	as needed
13. sign partnership offer	partner candidate	within ___ days of presentation of offer
14. celebrate joining partnership	all	as needed
15. set goals and expectations for new partner	new partner + experienced partner	at least annually