the partnership

making partner: today’s 15 essential skills and traits

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do you have what it takes? bonus: six boxes to check off, and seven tough questions.

by marc rosenberg

what is the right stuff to earn a promotion to partner? this is one of several questions that if asked of ten partners from different firms, you may get ten different answers.

more: why you might want an executive committee | how to specify managing partner duties | when votes must be taken, what are the options? | ownership percentage and capital accounts | 5 key reasons to have a partner agreement

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

i have worked the following script dozens of times at partner retreats: i ask the group what it means to be a partner and write their responses on a flipchart. when we’re done, one of the partners yells out “oh no. none of us qualifies!” and because the truth is often said in jest, this retort is no joke.

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why non-compete and non-solicitation covenants matter

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businessman sitting in office and reading documentsbonus: a sample agreement.

by marc rosenberg

“non-compete” and “non-solicitation” are two terms often used interchangeably. though they are similar, there are important differences.

more: why you might want an executive committee | how to specify managing partner duties | when votes must be taken, what are the options? | ownership percentage and capital accounts | 5 key reasons to have a partner agreement
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

for the sake of brevity, we use the term “non-competes” to refer to both covenants.
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why you might want an executive committee

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business people having meeting10 specific duties.

by marc rosenberg

as firms evolve in size, many things need to change.

more: how to specify managing partner duties | handling pay during the disability of a partner | why voting isn’t such a big deal | what’s in a (firm) name? | protect your business with a solid partner agreement
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

one of the biggest changes over time is how the firm is managed.
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how to specify managing partner duties

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older executive businesswoman drinking coffee and reviewing papers bound in notebook.11 suggestions for inclusion in the partner agreement.

by marc rosenberg

there are certain provisions in a partner agreement that should be kept simple and short because over time, firms have a habit of making changes quite often. you don’t want to have to change your partner agreement every time you change the managing partner’s role.

more: handling pay during the disability of a partner | buyout when a partner dies | why and how new partners buy in | a crash course in partner retirement/buyout plans | protect your business with a solid partner agreement
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

good examples are the firm’s system for allocating partner income and, to the point of this post, duties of the managing partner.
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handling pay during the disability of a partner

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statue of scales of justice5 best practices.

by marc rosenberg

it’s often been said that disability is much harder to deal with than death, from the standpoint of firm governance. death is clear and finite. but disability is much more complicated and unclear.

more on partnership: when votes must be taken, what are the options? | why voting isn’t such a big deal | what’s in a (firm) name? | protect your business with a solid partner agreement
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

  1. what is the extent of the disability?
  2. what is the likelihood that the partner can fully recover?
  3. how long will the recovery take?
  4. when the partner returns to work, is he or she capable of performing normal partner duties and working normal partner hours?

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buyout when a partner dies

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older businessman leaning back thinkingis the firm’s life insurance up to date? probably not.

by marc rosenberg

it’s a tough question, but one that must be asked: in the event of a partner’s death, does the firm wish to accelerate the buyout?

more: when votes must be taken, what are the options? | why voting isn’t such a big deal | what’s in a (firm) name? | protect your business with a solid partner agreement
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

there are two ways to do so: accelerate vesting or accelerate the payment schedule.
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when votes must be taken, what are the options?

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overhead shot of eight businesspeople meeting around a table5 ways to vote, plus how to set a supermajority.

by marc rosenberg

we’ve established that voting is overrated and that most firms rarely vote.

more: why voting isn’t such a big deal | why and how new partners buy in | a crash course in partner retirement/buyout plans | protect your business with a solid partner agreement
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

sometimes, though, it’s necessary. but how?
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why voting isn’t such a big deal

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overhead view of five businesspeople discussing something at a table with an open laptop nearbywhat about non-equity partners?

by marc rosenberg

voting is a highly overrated privilege of being a partner.

more: why and how new partners buy in | ownership percentage and capital accounts | 5 key reasons to have a partner agreement
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

when you don’t have a vote, it seems desirous and enviable. it appears to be a very special privilege enjoyed only by the firm’s elite. having a vote is synonymous with ownership, power and prestige.
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why and how new partners buy in

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businessman signing document as another looks on7 key provisions.

by marc rosenberg

let’s start with a very basic, standard concept in the business world: a partner is an owner.

more: why and how new partners buy in | ownership percentage and capital accounts | 5 key reasons to have a partner agreement
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

in any business, not just cpa firms, ownership is not free. because partners are owners, they have to purchase a part of a company, for money, to acquire an ownership share.
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ownership percentage and capital accounts

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cut pie chart on plate flanked by fork and knife3 ownership percentage problems and 4 provisions for the capital section.

by marc rosenberg

the term “ownership percentage” has wrought havoc in cpa firm operations for decades. how so?

more: what’s in a (firm) name? | a crash course in partner retirement/buyout plans | 5 key reasons to have a partner agreement | protect your business with a solid partner agreement
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

first, let’s take a step back. there are five primary ways that ownership percentage may impact a firm and its partners: read more →

why do we accept poor new business results?

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5 critical steps to turn things around.

by domenick j. esposito
8 steps to great

the question to ask is why do so many firms accept poor performance from so many of their partners relative to growth and generating revenue?

more on strategic planning: is it time to manage your receivables like a real business? | profitability requires discipline | pitching vs. pursuing | the top 11 reasons cpa firm mergers fail | growth: the difference between the disruptor and the disrupted? | m&a: sometimes bigger is better | what a value proposition truly is (and isn’t)
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

there isn’t a firm in existence that does not depend on constant growth to be successful and to generate enough profit to pay its staff and partners well.  yet, so many firms accept the old bell-shaped curve argument that they are winning if just 20 percent of their partners are good at generating business.
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client centricity leads to profitability

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man's fist with "thumbs up" crashing through paper wall; smiley face and gold crown on thumbthis is a job for your line partners, not your marketing department.

by august j. aquila
price it right

as one who has been on the inside of accounting firms as a partner and marketing director trying to implement such concepts as client centricity, i can honestly say that most marketing and management concepts are easier said than done.

more: tomorrow’s leader in 9 bullet points | checklist: 18 essential steps to effective billing | how to get partners to accept a new pricing philosophy | 12 pricing factors beyond cost | how utility and value affect pricing | understanding the product pricing life cycle | 4 ways a production orientation can harm a firm
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

when it comes to clients, many partners think they know what their clients really want, but in reality they scarcely do. in short, most client-centric service strategies produce neither the “wow” factor nor the profits.
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what’s in a (firm) name?

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post with two signs, "same" and "change"there are reasons to change, but don’t do it without reflection.

by marc rosenberg

this will be short because this area is cut and dried. let’s focus on how a firm’s name affects the way it is managed.

more: a crash course in partner retirement/buyout plans | 5 key reasons to have a partner agreement | protect your business with a solid partner agreement
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

there are two primary scenarios to examine.
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