343 search results for aquila+"creating the effective partnership"

drop politics, be accountable

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goldfish forming an arrowsix expectations for leaders.

by august aquila
creating the effective partnership

every book you read on leadership will tell you certain things you need to do to become a good leader. however, you can do these things and still not be someone who people want to follow.

more on leadership for pro members: don’t weed out the roses | 8 questions to analyze your pricing | 24 points for after the deal is done | 5 questions for every mp to answer honestly | 6 practical ways to innovate | how to tell a culture change is due

why? leadership is all about trust. if you cannot trust me, then you will not follow me or believe in me.
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back to the future: 30 years of change in the profession

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business success abstractenduring factors: the talent of our professionals in delivering value to our clients. 

click to see 1988 report
click to read 1988 report

by allan koltin
koltin.com

recently my clients, tony frabotta and rick david of uhy advisors, forwarded to me the summer 1988 issue of the pdi report. tongue in cheek, they said to me they were surprised to see that there was another allan koltin who also did consulting to the accounting profession. (needless to say, they were poking fun at me based on my 1988 photo versus how i appear today!)

this issue of the pdi report was not just any issue; it was an issue in which we gathered together the country’s leading consultants (similar to how i participate in the advisory board and new horizons group today) and aired their views on the profession and industry trends through what was then called the first annual consultants roundtable.

some of the issues discussed almost three decades ago are still what we talk about today, including: industry specialization, quality service, the importance of great leadership and management, value billing, and the significance of having a firm vision, mission and core values.

it’s also interesting that back then a mid-sized firm was defined as a firm with $1 million to $10 million in revenues, whereas today a mid-sized firm probably would start at $10 million and potentially go up to $36 million (the cutoff point for being a top 100 firm).

that being said, the following are items that have completely changed since that time or weren’t even on the table for discussion: read more →

don’t weed out the roses

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gardener pruning a rose bushwhen tweaking your comp system, remember it’s not just about the money.

by august aquila
creating the effective partnership

if your partners are putting up a fight to keep clients who should be let go, take a look at your compensation system. it’s not just about billable hours.

more on leadership for pro members: 8 questions to analyze your pricing | what makes a successful strategic plan? | innovate or die | partners love, hate leadership | 8 ways leaders destroy firms | today’s top six partner compensation trends | 8 financial ducks to line up now

here are 16 tweaks to your firm’s compensation system. while the list is not exhaustive, it does provide criteria that firms can consider beyond revenue.
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8 questions to analyze your pricing

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number 8 in gold

building a growth-centric pricing strategy requires analyzing 3 factors.

which pricing schemes are working best today?
join the survey; get the results.

by august aquila
creating the effective partnership

think of any services, professional or commercial, that you have purchased over the last few years.

more on leadership for pro members: what makes a successful strategic plan? | back to basics: 25 ways to grow your practice |3 ways to halt a poor leader | 8 questions that staff ask in a merger | the 4 best ways to use your senior partners | 11 steps to building a better partnership team | partnership is about persuasion

would you pay a premium rate to a bonsai gardener just to trim a regular tree or shrub? most likely not, since there would be many a gardener available to do this simple task. however, the price of an open heart surgery would not matter, if the operation would save your life.
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what makes a successful strategic plan?

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cute furry monsterfacing the monster issues.

by august aquila
creating the effective partnership

during the next several months, firms will be meeting to develop a strategic plan for the coming year or two. it’s a summer ritual for many firms.

more for pro members: 24 points for after the deal is done | innovate or die | 3 ways to halt a poor leader | partners love, hate leadership | 8 questions that staff ask in a merger | the 4 best ways to use your senior partners | 11 steps to building a better partnership team

however, the plans that are usually developed don’t address the real issues that firms are facing.

a client recently asked me, “what can we do to develop an effective strategic plan?” i’m not sure if he liked the answer or not. i am still waiting to hear if my proposal was accepted. let me share with you what i said to him.

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back to basics: 25 ways to grow your practice

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sprout growing on money pile of glass jar bankhow many are you doing? what would you add?

by august aquila
creating the effective partnership

sometimes the best way to grow a practice is to return to the basics – no fancy marketing campaigns, just some good old fashioned face-to-face contact and working your existing client base.

more for pro members: 24 points for after the deal is done  |   innovate or die | 3 ways to halt a poor leader | partners love, hate leadership | 8 questions that staff ask in a merger | the 4 best ways to use your senior partners | 11 steps to building a better partnership team

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

here’s a list of 25 ideas for growing your practice. how many are you currently doing? read more →

24 points for after the deal is done

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colleagues working side by sidehow to make sure these two firms start working as one.

by august aquila
creating the effective partnership

congratulations! after years of planning and months of tough negotiations, you’ve finally closed the deal on merger of your cpa firm.

more on leadership for pro members: innovate or die | 3 ways to halt a poor leader | partners love, hate leadership | 8 questions that staff ask in a merger | the 4 best ways to use your senior partners | 11 steps to building a better partnership team

you might be thinking the most difficult work is behind you. think again! you now have to move your eye from the financial to the human side of the merger.
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innovate or die

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photo of a skunkuse a ‘skunk works’ mentality so the compensation trap doesn’t ruin you.

by august aquila
creating the effective partnership

the focus on most cpa firms is on billable hours. while there is nothing inherently wrong with this focus, it has become the overriding focus of firms.

more on leadership for pro members: 3 ways to halt a poor leader | 5 questions for every mp to answer honestly | does your dashboard need fine-tuning? | the 4 best ways to use your senior partners | how to tell a culture change is due | today’s top six partner compensation trends | 11 steps to building a better partnership team | why your firm should be a republic | 8 financial ducks to line up now | partnership is about persuasion

there is nothing wrong with making money today, but what about building for the future? with “today” being the dominant focus, what is the encouragement to cpas to innovate? in most firms there is no alignment with innovation and compensation.
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3 ways to halt a poor leader

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checkmateand 8 things these people have in common.

by august aquila
creating the effective partnership

many accountants could add to this list, but here are some of the surefire signs that a firm has weak leadership driving the firm toward implosion.

– the way partners resolve issues is by finger pointing.

– the firm is in a spiral downward trend.

– the best producers often decide to leave the firm or just look out for themselves.

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partners must show unified front

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five cheetahs strolling on a patheven if behind the scenes it’s like herding cats.

by robert j. lees, august j. aquila and derek klyhn
creating the effective partnership

in our work with managing partners, we always talk about the importance of the partners “walking together,” of sharing that common vision.

but if the partners are to share the vision, they have to play an active part in determining the firm’s direction – and, critically, how it’s going to get there.

more on leadership for pro members: 11 steps to building a better partnership team | why your firm should be a republic | it’s not always about money: 16 tweaks for your comp system

in most firms, and particularly those with multiple locations, the partners typically give their proxy to the managing partner and the executive team to come up with the options they believe face the firm in its drive for sustained high performance.
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5 questions for every mp to answer honestly

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businessman's hand separating letter blocks spelling "im" from those spelling "possible"before you can change your firm, you have to gauge where it is now.

by robert j. lees, august j. aquila and derek klyhn
creating the effective partnership

how do successful managing partners respond to the internal and external challenges they face?

more on leadership for pro members: 6 practical ways to innovate | the 4 best ways to use your senior partners | how to tell a culture change is due | 11 steps to building a better partnership team | why your firm should be a republic | partnership is about persuasion

without exception, all of the partners we spoke to talked about the need to have a clear sense of direction that the partners, in particular, could coalesce around. but what they considered even more important is the translation of that direction into a compelling vision and the strategies for achieving it.
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partners love, hate leadership

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aquila leadership context modelmanagement can’t be left to others. (drat!)

by robert j. lees, august j. aquila and derek klyhn
creating the effective partnership

regardless of their ownership structure, most firms either operate as partnerships or would prefer to operate as partnerships.

more on leadership for pro members: 8 ways leaders destroy firms | the 4 best ways to use your senior partners | 11 steps to building a better partnership team | 6 things leaders must do | how to build a growth-centric pricing strategy | how to combine two firms after merger: carefully

the tensions between being a business and the loss of the values and ethics of being a partnership feature strongly in our research.
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