and the five strategies your firm will need.
by gale crosley
a year ago, firms were struggling. the organic growth of the top 100 slid down to 4.6 percent, the lowest level since 2011.
more: 2020 outlook: upstream mergers | 2020 outlook: staffing gets creative
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was it because…?
- the profession was resource-constrained?
- was it the distraction of technology transformation?
- what about distractions caused by mergers?
- or possibly all of the above?
here are the five best strategies to consider going forward:
1 – new leadership style: there is no doubt the complexity of our business environment continues to increase. this requires more experienced and capable leaders, plus more sophisticated approaches to business problem-solving. it’s a struggle for many firms. the in-place leaders have dealt with a relatively calm landscape of change for years. the sheer number and velocity in business dynamics are enough to make one’s head spin. training leaders to deal with this will be key.
2 – hire non-cpa disruptors: also important is importing leaders from other professions who are accustomed to disruptive conditions (hint: early-stage technology companies). additionally, the roles and job descriptions of many leaders – including the cio, hr head and cmo – all need to be elevated to higher strategy-level positions, in order to grapple with the business challenges facing us.
looking ahead, a major trend at the top of the list is a commitment to consulting and advisory services.
3 – mesh new talent with old guard: successfully integrating technology and consulting people within the existing audit/tax firm culture is critical to future firm health.
however, getting these very different people integrated with our current leader lineup can cause disruption indeed.
- who are these people? (they don’t look like us).
- why are they doing some of the work i can do?
- how do i work with them?
these are on the minds of many practitioners. i’ll admit, working through all of this is dicey, as disruption is uncomfortable.
how to tackle?
4 – start with a conscious shift in mindset: the analogy i explain to firms is the movement from individual contributors (think golfers) to leaders and teams (think football). get a show of hands of how many of your leaders played team sports. there are many parallels to our current needs. expect your leaders, and show them how to initiate instead of wait for the calendar to drive activity. focus them on enhancing communication and collaboration abilities.
5 – finally, you’ll need to infuse innovation knowledge: this comes from the functional discipline of product management. even though tech firms know all about this, very little is known in cpa firms. google “what is product management?” for starters. even in very large firms, i find big gaps in knowledge and capability in these critical areas. however, we won’t be able to successfully navigate the transformation without them.