comp: what new partners don’t know

businessman sitting on scales with stack of coins in other traybest practices: top firms use these seven systems for allocating income.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

it would take a book much longer than this post to properly explain the finer points of partner compensation, especially how each of the major compensation systems works.

(oh, did i forget? we wrote such a book, cpa firm partner compensation: the art and science.)

more: making partner: 15 steps to the buy-in | making partner: do the math | a crash course in the business of public accounting | making partner: what managers need to know | nine reasons people are promoted to partner
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as is the case with all of my lists, no one firm incorporates all of these practices in its partner compensation policy.

but i have observed all of the practices below in one or more of the best firms i’ve worked with over 20 years.
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nine smooth moves to build client satisfaction

which do you need to work on?

by bill penczak

client relationships have never been more vulnerable, as other firms, reeling from the covid crisis, will be knocking on your clients’ door with promises of better service, more services, and lower rates.

more: re-thinking today’s firm with five global leaders | 5 things your firm should do differently this summer | do you have the guts to beat the covid crisis? | how to inoculate your firm against covid competition | ‘found money’ delights clients | the three r’s for beating the corona crisis
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now, more than ever, tax and accounting firms should examine how they can constantly improve the service and relevance to their clients, for today and into the new normal.

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five tough questions for these tough times

do you have the courage to beat the covid crisis?

male-lion-at-rest-portrait-serengeti-2017-telberg-photo crop
telberg.photo

by bill penczak

in times like these, firms should be challenging themselves with the tough question, “what do we want to be, today and into the future?”

more: re-thinking today’s firm with five global leaders | 5 things your firm should do differently this summer | do you have the guts to beat the covid crisis? | how to inoculate your firm against covid competition | ‘found money’ delights clients | the three r’s for beating the corona crisis
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if maintaining the status quo and “serving clients,” whatever that really means, are the only responses your partner and leadership teams can muster, then perhaps it’s time to evolve from being a lifestyle firm to being one with a vision and the guts to achieve it.

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44 hard-earned tips from new managing partners

//www.g005e.com/2021/07/08/advice-from-new-managing-partners/

everything from gaining credibility to where to turn for help.

by marc rosenberg
the role of the managing partner

the toughest lessons for new managing partners have nothing to do with taxes, accounting, or even textbook management. it’s all about people – such as people issues and handling partners, according to our straw poll survey of a handful of top-flight firm leaders.

we gleaned comments from 10 relatively new managing partners. eight are from firms with revenues from $10 million to $30 million and two are from $5 million to $10 million firms.

more: partner compensation: a potent weapon | the managing partner’s secret weapon | how a good managing partner impacts profitability | how a great managing partner impacts firm growth | clarify partner expectations | exceptional managing partners offer their advice
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we posed three questions to the new managing partners:

  1. what advice would you give a new managing partner?
  2. what were your greatest challenges when you became a managing partner?
  3. if you had to do it over again, would you approach your ascension to the managing partner job differently? in what ways?

their responses tell us as much about how to do the job well as how to fail at it.

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there are two kinds of accounting firms

maze with word "plan" at the centerwhich one is yours? bonus: the 25 best practices of the most successful firms.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

there are two kinds of cpa firms.

the first kind of firm argues that there is not much that needs to be managed at a cpa firm. these cynics might say: “come on. running a cpa firm isn’t rocket science. you hang out your shingle. you get clients. you hire staff. you do the work. bill and collect. what needs to be managed?”

more: drive your profits with only four metrics | a crash course in the business of public accounting | how to get promoted to manager | 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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unfortunately, many cpa firm partners think this way – maybe not consciously, but it has the same effect.

when firms learn that the lack of commitment to firm management shown by this attitude creates problems, they often hire consultants like me to help them address these types of issues:
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44 key attributes for assessing staffers

green checks being made on checklistthey’re in no order. what are your priorities?

by ed mendlowitz
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practice doctor

question: do you have a staff evaluation checklist?

more: reasons to drop your book of business | get more done by saying no | don’t fire that staffer on may 18! | employee demands a raise she doesn’t deserve | how are you spending the next five years? | how to get the most from cpe | does your staff know all the services you provide? | price your practice by gross
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answer: i did not have a checklist of attributes that are looked at in evaluating staff performance, so i prepared one.
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top 10 steps to maximizing profitability

how to manage your most important metrics.

by ira s. rosenbloom

given the significant responsibilities that accountants in public practice carry, it is only right that they should be rewarded with strong earnings and maximum profitability.

more: seven smart ways to make this your best tax season ever | eight steps for re-engineering the role of managing partner | new rules: covid shifts m&a landscapeassessing your firm | spend your time on the most profitable tasks | seven performance boosters for your firm | gary cokins: the truth about activity-based costing | how to decide on your firm’s cas pricing | what really makes cpa firms profitable? |

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

however, maximizing profitability is not as simple as raising billing rates and controlling costs. it is a disciplined process that will influence your culture and become part of your everyday routine.

 

optimize your profit potential with these 10 steps.

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why your google ranking is about to tank

new algorithm could penalize older, slower sites.

by sandi leyva, cpa

i don’t know about you, but i would prefer to go through tax season without any interruptions, especially about marketing. but google doesn’t see it that way, and we have a significant search algorithm update hitting us in may 2021. if firms aren’t ready, they could see their search rankings, and correspondingly, prospects and future clients from website traffic, go way down.

more on small-firm growth strategies: seven tips to keep the clients you have12 ways to stress less this busy season | six ways to make your own history during women’s history month | ppp client fraud: how much risk is too much? | 3 ways to opt out of any downturn | how to lead in a crisis
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

while google updates its search ranking algorithm on a daily basis, it generally announces big changes ahead of time. google’s may 2021 update will focus on “page experience,” which includes three metrics called core vitals as well as four additional page experience signals.

no one knows the exact algorithm that google uses to rank web pages in search results. experts say there are over 200 ranking factors to consider. the latest update is all about providing a better mobile experience for the user.

here’s what all that means in detail. read more →

50 ways to make more money in busy season

checklist: leverage tax season to increase income, productivity, and profits.

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

tax season creates many opportunities for an accounting firm. one main reason is the compression of sometimes an almost unbearable amount of work into a short period with tight deadlines.

more: 14 simple, easy tips for a better tax season | you’re not just taxes | granting unconventional request pays off | 20 best practices for staff training and retention | what does the client want to see? | 6 ways to increase your fees … if you dare | the clients that got away | upselling made painless | boosting a fixed fee substantially
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but it also creates opportunities to benefit immediately from small changes in your system or in a reaction to your awareness. an on-the-spot investment in making the extra effort or change will pay dividends many times over the rest of tax season and thereafter.

here are 50 ways to make more money. for the ones that are obvious – do it! for the not-so-evident, try it!
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who’s heating up accounting tech?

the 21 top venture capital funds and the software companies they’re backing.

by randolph p. johnston

through the years, the opportunity to introduce good entrepreneurs with fine products to larger companies or investors to help their company and product grow. while preparing materials for presentations, the money behind the technology used by accounting professionals.

more in tech: survey: communication plan is to stay the course | stop drowning in client documents | survey: phone, email tied for client communication | hunker down: the irs backlog isn’t going away anytime soon | five top tech trends for 2021 | make tech your ally in protecting clients |

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while who owns what changes daily, investment strategies illustrate what will happen in the future. while my personal preference is to create and operate, many operators prefer to create and flip, taking the money they have made and choosing to do something else.

the links in this post should help you navigate who is holding what. my intent is certainly not to show you all technology company holdings but to simply illustrate a few that are critical to accounting professionals. first, consider a simple listing of venture capital partners and firms. (you can click through these links to see a simple list of each.)

now for a few examples of vc firms and representative holdings:

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the six types of “impossible” clients

not that there aren’t others.

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

as a cpa, i deal with many types of clients’ personalities. if i chose only one type, i would not have had much of a practice. and i doubt i would have found that one perfect type too many times. i have been very fortunate to have really nice and very smart people as clients.

more: 50 ways to make more money in busy season | 14 simple, easy tips for a better tax season | how to recoup staff training costs | 10 ways to stay in control | advice to new accountants | clients don’t lose sleep for overpaying taxes | when time-based pricing works
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i believe entrepreneurs are the most stimulating people to work with. however, this doesn’t mean they don’t have peculiarities and that this sometimes makes them difficult to deal with – sometimes, but fortunately not most of the time.

here are six examples of types i had to put up with and had to learn to overlook some of the unfortunate traits.
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the 17 rules for making partner at a cpa firm

checklist: it’s a big job, after all.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

we’ve all heard the names given to various generations of people over the past century. the lost generation. the greatest (wwii) generation. the silent generation. baby boomers. gen x. millennials. gen z. though i don’t know of any studies on this, i’m quite sure that every generation of cpa firm ownership has complained – bitterly – about the younger generation.

more: who shouldn’t be a partner? | nine reasons people are promoted to partner | how to make partner?
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baby boomers and gen xers love to complain that today’s staff don’t want to be partners. they cite this as a major reason why it’s so difficult to bring in new partners.
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family feud isn’t just a game show

jason p. trenton
jason p. trenton: how to avoid family feuds.

why you need an estate administrator pro.

by anthony glomski and russ alan prince
your $5-million high-net-worth practice

being named executor of an estate places many legal and fiduciary responsibilities on that person. an executor is entrusted with settling the decedent’s affairs, arranging for the payment of any income and estate taxes, and distributing the assets of the decedent’s estate. in most cases, people choose a loved one or family member to serve as executor.

more: working with the ultra-wealthy | become a thought leader | working with the super-rich and single-family offices | the family office model | the new way to get the best clients | the four-step process for client-focused business development | life insurance as part of wealth management
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“unfortunately, i have seen executors neglect their fiduciary duties during the estate administration period, which has exposed the decedent’s estate to unnecessary legal expenses, tax liability, and family feuds,” said jason trenton, a top trust and estate attorney in the los angeles office of venable llp’s tax and wealth planning practice.
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