why you’ll get less from your partners in a buyout than you might by selling the whole firm

toy soldiers battle on and for dollar billshow to determine partner retirement payout terms and annual limits.

by marc rosenberg

the vast majority of firms pay retirement benefits over a 10-year period, according to our research.

more on retirement: three ways to calculate goodwill payable in partner buyouts, none of them great | eat what you kill? then maybe ‘book of business’ is for you | the multiple of compensation method, fully explained | the ins and outs of aav for goodwill | 5 points to consider when paying out goodwill | clients leaving? time to reduce retirement benefits | how to set terms and limits for goodwill payouts | 4 ways to decide how to pay out capital | partners may balk at guaranteeing retirement obligations

we occasionally see five to seven years at lower payout levels. and some firms under $10 million adopt five-year payouts for goodwill, reasoning that because five-year payouts are common for the purchase of a cpa firm, the same term should apply to their own buyouts.

but external purchases of firms are quite different than internal buyouts. read more →

three ways to calculate goodwill payable in partner buyouts, none of them great

pen, eyeglasses, calculator and magnifying glass on financial reportssome methods can damage the firm.

by marc rosenberg
retirements & buyouts

cpa firms use a number of methods to calculate the goodwill payable to a retiring partner.

here are three less commonly used.

1. ownership percentage

this method has clear detriments. firms should look at goodwill benefits as deferred compensation. both current and deferred compensation should be performance-based; ownership percentage is not performance-based and is often highly illogical.

read more →

eat what you kill? then maybe ‘book of business’ is for you

a big golden tiger looking out for any disturbance during his mealthree common and painful scenarios.

by marc rosenberg
retirements & buyouts

the book of business method of allocating goodwill benefits is most often used by “eat what you kill” firms. essentially, retiring partners “sell” their client bases back to the firm.

more on retirement: the multiple of compensation method, fully explained | the ins and outs of aav for goodwill | 5 points to consider when paying out goodwill | clients leaving? time to reduce retirement benefits | how to set terms and limits for goodwill payouts | 4 ways to decide how to pay out capital | partners may balk at guaranteeing retirement obligations

in almost all cases, the retired partner gets paid only to the extent that the firm retains her clients throughout her payout term.

the major flaw with this method is that a partner will never, ever delegate or transfer clients, for the good of the firm, to other firm members because this would lead directly to reduced retirement benefits. read more →

the multiple of compensation method, fully explained

those who aren’t rainmakers still need to have their contributions recognized.

by marc rosenbergextreme close up of female hand with pen pointing on cash flow document.
retirements & buyouts

there are numerous methods used to calculate the goodwill payable to a retiring partner.

multiple of compensation is the most common method, especially among firms with five or more partners. each partner’s retirement benefits are equal to their compensation immediately prior to retirement times a predetermined and approved multiple.

read more →

40 ways to make your cpa firm profitable

money tree growing in the middle of green meadowby marc rosenberg
retirements & buyouts

it has been said that organizations should never make profitability their goal. why? because profitability should be the result of an organization’s efforts, not its goal. create and maintain a world-class organization that satisfies the clients’ needs – and profits will result.

that’s just, may i say, poppycock.

read more →

non-equity partners have important role to play

businesspeople having a meeting over coffee sitting together at a table discussing a document, young man and two middle-aged women presentpercentage of women in partner roles is on the rise, but they’re still underutilized.

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 exclusive

partner positions in cpa firms are ever so slightly going increasingly to women and non-equity partners, who have some of the same authority and prestige as full partners, but don’t hold equity stakes in their firms.

more from the map survey: geography plays part in firm success | financial services up at largest firms, down at smaller ones | big firms keep getting bigger

non-equity partners are in place at 49 percent of all cpa firms with multiple partners, up from 46 percent the year before, while women hold partnership positions at 16.4 percent of firms in 2013, up from 15.6 percent, according to the current “rosenberg survey: the national map survey of cpa firm statistics.” read more →