here’s what you’re looking for: marc rosenberg

your top candidates might not want to wait.

by marc rosenberg
the role of the managing partner

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: how a good managing partner impacts profitability | the 9 biggest merger pitfalls | 10 ways to hold partners accountable
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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%

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bonus: 12 questions to ask of staff.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

cpa firms have many different titles or positions. we’ll address the most common:

• staff
• senior
• manager

more: how to create a path to partner | making partner: what managers need to know | the 17 rules for making partner at a cpa firm | who shouldn’t be a partner? | nine reasons people are promoted to partner | how to make partner?
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i often use the term “staff” to refer to anyone who is not at the partner level. this is different from a “staff-level” associate, who typically has only a few years or less of experience in public accounting. this post addresses what it takes to advance from staff to senior and from senior to manager.
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… and measure staff performance along the way.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

there are many ways to measure the performance of staff on the path to making partner.

more: making partner: what managers need to know | the 17 rules for making partner at a cpa firm | who shouldn’t be a partner? | nine reasons people are promoted to partner | how to make partner?
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as is my style, i will present far more measures than most firms actually use. but i doubt you’ll perceive any of the methods here as unimportant. they are not listed in any particular order of importance. read more →

10 best practices.

by marc rosenberg
the role of the managing partner

i have compared a “true” managing partner to an administrative partner. both are important positions. both share many common duties and expectations. but true managing partners are more valuable because they function like corporate ceos and thus make a bigger impact on the firm’s overall performance than admin partners.

more: the 9 biggest merger pitfalls | the managing partner’s role in mergers | five ways to evaluate partners | manage partners with goal setting | overarching authority that managing partners must have
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these three duties differentiate true managing partners from admin partners. true managing partners

1. manage partner performance and behavior
2. hold partners accountable
3. drive the firm’s growth and profitability

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you need skills in general, in business development and in being a good boss.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

the old-school way of developing staff into partners was very simple:

• staff are bountiful. those with the right stuff move up; we’ll move the others out and hire a new crop to replace them.
• it’s up to the staff to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and make their mark. nobody showed us how to make partner. nobody held our hands.
  

more: making partner: what managers need to know | the 17 rules for making partner at a cpa firm | who shouldn’t be a partner? | nine reasons people are promoted to partner
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• it’s up to the staff to tell us that they want to be partners. unless and until they show us this ambition, we won’t talk to them about becoming a partner.
• bringing in business can’t be taught. you’re either born with it or you’re not.
• and while we are on the subject of business development, we all know from experience that marketing must be done nights and weekends. clients are too busy during the day. and we need the days to get our billable hours in. so a partner must commit to working long hours, including nights and weekends, and be willing to sacrifice his or her personal life for the firm.

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eight ways that firms benefit.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

there are two cases for heavy managing partner oversight in practice development.

first case. cpa firms are very top-line-oriented businesses. expenses are largely fixed because most are for personnel compensation and benefits, so opportunities for increasing profits from cost-cutting are greatly limited. as a result, increases to the revenue or top line often fall directly to the bottom line. it’s easy to see why, far and away, increasing revenue is the most effective way to increase profitability. because the managing partner is (or should be) responsible for the firm’s profits, it makes total sense for the managing partner to play a major role in the firm’s growth.

more: 10 ways to hold partners accountable | 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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second case. if a firm’s staff is its most important asset (or at least tied with clients), then revenue growth is the firm’s life-giving force. without revenue increases, firms become stagnant and die a slow death. therefore, revenue growth requires heavy involvement by the managing partner.
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five red flags.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

there are two sides to every discussion. i may have made it seem as if you’d have to be a fool not to want to be a partner. but being a partner isn’t for everybody. the reasons listed below exclude issues not germane to this discussion, such as a desire to change careers, opportunities to join one’s family business or boredom with accounting.

more: nine reasons people are promoted to partner | how to make partner?
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long hours. at most firms, when the staff leave, the partners are still working. some feel it sends a negative message to the staff because it implies that there is an expectation for partners to work long hours and therefore make it difficult to enjoy a healthy work-life balance. rosenberg map survey metrics corroborate this: partners average around 2,410 total work hours but the staff average is 2,280, a difference of 130 overtime hours.
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14 keys. yes, they’re all important.

by marc rosenberg
the role of the managing partner

we have shared the most important parts of overall cpa firm management and the main duties of the managing partner in particular.

more: 10 ways to hold partners accountable | 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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we presented a job description for a managing partner. depending on the day of the week and the makeup of the group discussing this job description, several items would be finalists for the most important duty on the list. few would argue if the winner of that competition were managing staff. here is the managing partner job description item pertaining to staff:
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plus nine reasons they should want to be.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

before we get too far, we must answer a basic question: why would a cpa firm ever want to make someone a partner in the first place? why would it want to share profits with more people?

more: how to make partner?
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the short answer is that it must be beneficial to both the firm and the new partner. a win-win, as the saying goes.
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