another key: helping firm leaders retire with grace.
by jennifer wilson
the rosenberg survey: national study of cpa firm statistics
it was another year of growth, but it was also one of change in firms, driven more by outside factors than by traditional growing pains.
more from the map survey: staff policies improve, but not mentoring
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we’re seeing significant shifts in firm leadership, as more partners transition out of their roles and begin the move to retirement. partner groups are renegotiating buy/sell and other partnership provisions that to reflect today’s and tomorrow’s conditions.
talent remains in the driver’s seat, with turnover continuing as bright future leaders sought alternatives to the public accounting model. progressive firms understand how important it is to involve nextgen talent in the firm’s strategy and leadership and they begin bringing more future leaders on “the inside.”
it’s become crystal clear that technology is transforming virtually every aspect of client communication, service delivery and workflow, marketing, billing, and more. firms that understood this began making technology initiatives a significant priority.
firms are very busy and their people are stretched thin. despite this, there has been some talk of a possible slowdown, with some larger firms finding their utilization per person down overall. i am not so sure that this is because of overstaffing, but instead may be mostly because of inefficient workflow, where firms still assign work locally and allow partners to assign work to people unevenly, versus scheduling work across their service lines and geographies. this leads to overhiring versus spreading the work.
still, we are watching for other signs of a pullback, especially given the long “up” cycle. keeping top talent remains a challenge and smart leaders are encouraging very transparent conversations with their best and brightest about what needs to change for them to stay with their firms.
part of this change is the need for established leaders to let go of control, step aside and let their nextgen leaders step up and lead. we’re advising every partner group to evaluate every firm committee and ensure that nextgen talent are not only represented but empowered to lead many of these. building a firm that nextgen talent and clients want to work with has to be a firmwide imperative.
the last trend i’ll mention is the work we’re doing with established leaders, helping them come to grips with their waning days at their firms and helping them develop a possibility for life after work that will call them away from their jobs, which many have confused as their identities. this is delicate work and the leaders who are struggling most are often those who have made the finest contributions. firm leaders who are committed to making this a healthy process are finding ways to help their leaders retire with grace by providing them outside counseling, coaching, sabbaticals, and other support.