cpa firm staff: managing your #1 asset [updated & expanded]

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everything you need to know for:

• recruiting
• retention
• staff engagement
• training
• flexibility
• mentoring
• recognition
• leadership development
• advancement and promotion
• compensation
• performance feedback

plus: tips for inter-generational harmony.

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new: bonus toolkit

printable. customizable. word doc. available as a $95 upgrade with purchase. not sold separately.

the all-new proprietary toolkit includes over a dozen key documents your firm can use immediately.

the toolkit is designed to help you quickly integrate best practices from cpa firm staff: managing your #1 asset, second edition, into your firm.
print the documents to share during staff meetings or edit them to suit your needs.

high-impact, single-page worksheets for individual study and group strategy.

more than 300 tips, strategies and checkpoints, including:

• • 14 reasons staff leave cpa firms
  • 12 expenses for computing the cost of turnover at cpa firms
  • 27 behaviors of “good bosses,” including soft skills, technical knowledge and work methods.
  • 15 common ways cpa firms recognize their staff
  • 16 items that define what mentoring is… and is not
  • 30 strategies for developing staff into partners
  • 31 thresholds and core competencies for making partner
  • 33-item matrix for a curriculum-based training program covering technical, technology and soft skills for job titles from staff to partner
  • 21 training best practices
  • 6-part annual performance review form, including technical knowledge, engagement management, and practice development
  • 18 questions for a job applicant interview
  • 29 job satisfaction survey questions
  • 19 upward evaluation questions
  • 4 detailed job descriptions, including enumerated duties and criteria for promotion to next level for staff accountants, senior accountants, managers, and partners

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fix the staffing crisis, one firm at a time, beginning with yours

managing partners say their staff is just as important as their clients. yet firms continue to struggle mightily with staff management. that’s because the old methods no longer work in this era of tight labor supply and high turnover.

managing staff—recruiting, training, engagement, retention, mentoring and developing them into partners—is the profession’s number one challenge.

in this handbook, rosenberg has assembled all of his knowledge and experience in developing cpa firm staff. the handbook features our proprietary consulting materials, pertinent research, opinions from thought leaders and major contributions from two top national consultants on cpa firm staff issues.

firms recognize that staff are the key to success. however, in an era of tight labor supply, high turnover, and a new generation that questions the attractiveness of the cpa profession, the old ways of managing staff no longer work.

firms that fail to acknowledge that their team is every bit as important as their clients will soon find themselves without quality employees.

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your complete guide for surviving and thriving through the staffing crisis

marc rosenberg, cpa, and amanda lilley, cpa, shrm-cp, phr, have written the complete guide to developing cpa firm staff, building a desirable culture for employees and retaining them for years to come.

with contributions from national experts jennifer wilson of convergencecoaching® and jeremy wortman, phd from hrd initiatives, they cover:

• attractiveness of the cpa profession
• recruiting
• training
• engagement and retention
• mentoring
• talent management
• performance feedback
• flexible work arrangements
• the importance of great bosses
• leadership development
• compensation
• developing women partners
• surveying your staff
• generational differences
• job descriptions
• why it’s great to work at a cpa firm

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the #1 key to cpa firm success: the staff

if you ask cpa firm managing partners to identify the most important key to their firm’s success, the hands-down winner will be “our staff.” some may say it’s a two-way tie between clients and staff. but you get the point.

there are many reasons for this:

1. motivated, engaged, skilled, ambitious, productive and personable staff is critically important. no one would disagree with this. just ask firms whose staff lack these traits.
2. the cpa firm business has traditionally experienced a high turnover rate, generally in the 15-20 percent range. a rule of thumb is that the hard cost of replacing a staff person ranges from 0.5-0.75 times their annual compensation. so, the pain of turnover is compounded not only by the nearly impossible task of replacing the departed but also by its high cost. more importantly, retaining good staff enables firms to provide better client service. client service improves when firms excel at being a great place to work, where staff stay and thrive.
3. if firms adopt a more leveraged operating model, staff must perform 70-90% of all client work. this won’t be possible unless firms invest tremendous time and resources into developing staff who are highly proficient at the work involved.
4. firms need a continuous flow of new leaders to grow and successfully transition work away from retiring partners. this will occur only if the firm excels at developing staff.

proof

if you still aren’t convinced that staff is the biggest issue facing cpa firms today, here is data from the aicpa cpa firm top issues survey, which ranks what firms feel their top practice management issues are.

cpa firm top issues ranked	by firm size
	over 21 professionals		11-20 professionals
finding qualified staff	#1		#1
developing firm leadership	#4		#2
staying abreast of law changes	#3		#3
staff utilization and management	#5		#5
retaining qualified staff	#2		*

* not ranked in the top 5.

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the new generation of cpa firm

two major drivers of the change in how firms manage and treat their staff

• 1. the production model for managing cpa firms is changing dramatically. partners were expected to be highly billable years ago, with 1,400-1,600 hours being common. today, this figure is roughly 1,100. it’s lower for partners who are good delegators. as the trend to manage cpa firms like real businesses has become the norm rather than a radically new concept, firms realize that their staff is more important than ever.
  • it’s more important what partners do with their nonbillable hours (firm management, practice development and staff mentoring) than their billable hours.
  • because firms value partners’ nonbillable time so highly now, their billable hours inevitably come down. this means that partners must delegate even more of their work than in the past, increasing staff-partner ratios significantly in recent decades.
• 2. the supply of staff is dwindling at a time when the model for operating firms calls for more staff time, crippling some firms’ efforts to get the work out and grow. it’s been this way since the 2000s and shows no signs of abating any time soon. even if students’ interest in accounting as a career spikes unexpectedly, colleges and universities couldn’t handle the demand. there is a shortage of accounting professors worldwide, which is also not expected to ease any time soon.

cpa firms are waking up and realizing that their whole perspective on managing and developing staff needs to change dramatically.

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today’s hottest topics

1. how cpa firms treat their staff
• changes from 20th century to today
• two major drivers of the change in how firms manage and treat their staff
• the #1 key to cpa firm success

2. the relevance of the cpa profession
• what cpa industry leaders think
• why relevance matters
• how to make a cpa firm career relevant to staff

3. talent management
• what is talent management?
• the big disconnect
• a great opportunity for firms
• talent management model and strategy

4. staff retention
• the state of cpa firm professional staff turnover
• the top reasons staff leave cpa firms
• what staff do like
• retaining staff: don’t underestimate the power of money
• marc rosenberg’s morning with 17 young cpa firm staff
• the high cost of turnover

5. flexibility
• what is work flexibility?
• anytime anywhere survey
• what’s the best way to start a flexible work program?
• guidelines for flexible work policies
• unlimited paid time off (pto)
• are mandatory saturdays a thing of the past?
• are flexible hours helping or hurting us?
• unintended consequences
• sample flexible work arrangement policy

6. remote work
• the impact of remote work
• can remote employees become partners?

7. the importance of great bosses
• a built-in flaw of the traditional cpa firm structure
• definition of a good boss
• why bosses are so important
• one of the biggest disconnects in cpa firm practice management
• checklist: things cpa firm supervisors do to be “good bosses”
• outrageous behavior by cpa firm bosses

8. recognition
• the one minute manager
• common ways cpa firms recognize their staff

9. mentoring
• mentoring defined
• old-school vs. new-school approach to mentoring
• what mentors do
• keys to successful mentoring programs
• what mentoring is and is not
• mentoring vs. sponsoring
• a 35000-foot view of mentoring

10. leadership development
• the look and feel of leadership at cpa firms
• what firms are doing to develop staff into partners
• young partners talk about their rise
• leadership spotlight: jim metzler cpa cgma, owner of metzler advisory group

11. advancement and challenge
• the importance of advancement and challenges in retaining and developing staff
• components of a good advancement program at a cpa firm
• how firms can make staff jobs challenging
• general performance traits needed to advance
• what it takes to advance to specific titles in cpa firms
• promotion to partner: thresholds and competencies

12. compensation
• tips for setting base salaries
• bonuses
• one of the best staff compensation practices we’ve ever seen
• extraordinary staff benefits

13. training
• training, cpe
• three types of training
• university or curriculum-based training
• four training formats
• curriculum-based training program
• 21 training best practices
• training: an eye-opening best practice at porte brown

14. performance feedback
• progressive performance feedback
• the case for trashing the annual performance review
• the one minute manager by blanchard and johnson
• performance evaluation form
• traditional performance feedback: the abcs
• annual performance review form

15. developing women partners
• the facts: read ’em and weep
• best practices for developing woman partners
• is your firm leaving potential leadership successors behind?

16. recruiting
• overarching recruiting strategies
• advanced ideas to enhance your firm’s recruiting strategy
• differentiation
• social media
• other recruiting ideas
• the $10000 hour
• small firm recruitment challenges
• interview questions
• soft skills to interview for

17. other retention practices
• scheduling of staff
• pooled vs. siloed staff
• staff accountability
• communication
• fun ideas for the staff
• ideas from mps across the country

18. surveying your staff
• two primary types of surveys
• job satisfaction survey
• upward evaluation surveys

19. generational differences
• baby boomers (born 1946-1964)
• generation x (born 1965-1980)
• millennials (born 1981–1996)
• gen z/centennials (born 1997–2013)
• stereotyping generations

20. job descriptions
• staff accountant job description
• senior accountant job description
• manager job description
• partner job description

21. why it’s great to work at a cpa firm
• the moral of the story

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renowned expert authors

marc rosenberg, cpa, is a nationally known consultant, author and speaker on firm management, strategy and partner issues. managing partner of the chicago-based consulting firm rosenberg associates, he founded the most authoritative annual survey of mid-sized cpa firm performance statistics in the country, the rosenberg survey. he has consulted with more than 1,000 firms throughout his decades-long consulting career. annually recognized by accounting today as one of the top 100 most influential people, rosenberg regularly contributes to leading industry publications. he is best known as the author of his acclaimed practice management series — a compilation of the knowledge and experience he has amassed throughout his consulting career on topics pertinent to cpa practice management. rosenberg is a graduate of the university of illinois.

click here for marc rosenberg’s articles on 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

 

amanda lilley, cpa, shrm-cp, phr, is a consultant to cpa firms across north america. amanda began her public accounting career by working in audits and taxes. she spent over five years working with clients ranging from real estate partnerships to ultra-high-net-worth individuals. in 2019, she pivoted her career to assist the industry as a human resource professional focusing on various areas, including talent management, learning and development and general compliance. today, amanda works with progressive cpa firm leaders and teams on projects such as partner compensation, partner agreements, workshops, strategic retreat facilitation and hr consulting. lilley is a graduate of portland state university.

jeremy wortman, phd, owns hrd initiatives, a firm specializing in leadership development, organizational development and talent management solutions. he works with client partners and firms’ executive teams to help them create talent management strategies, build leadership talent, implement solutions and coach leaders.

his areas of expertise include the following:

• building and executing talent management strategies.
• developing leaders.
• coaching leaders.
• conducting talent/personality assessments.
• team building.
• teaching ethics workshops.

wortman has more than 20 years of experience in organization and leadership development. before founding hrd, he was with td ameritrade for eight years as their director of organizational development and effectiveness. he later affiliated with the growth partnership, a firm that works exclusively with accounting firms and their professionals in marketing and smart skills training.

wortman earned his ph.d. in organizational behavior and leadership and a master’s in business administration from the university of nebraska. his undergraduate degrees are in economics and human resources.

wortman has focused on the accounting profession since 2004. as a consultant to the profession, his clients range from small firms to the top ten largest in the united states, many of whom are found on accounting today’s best firms to work for list. he speaks at conferences on ethical decision-making, leadership development and talent management. he was an adjunct professor at the university of nebraska from 1999 to 2016.

jennifer wilson, co-founder of convergencecoaching, has been consulting the accounting profession for over 20 years. a short list of her many accolades:

• ipa’s ten most recommended consultants
• accounting today’s top 100 most influential people in accounting
• most powerful women in accounting (cpa practice advisor)
• cpa practice advisor accounting hall of fame

convergencecoaching is a national cpa consulting firm dedicated to helping leaders succeed by developing and implementing leadership, succession, marketing, and training and development plans. their ultimate goal is to make a transformational difference in the lives of their clients and firms.

convergencecoaching provides:

• vision and strategic planning
• anytime, anywhere work
• succession planning
• hr consulting
• retreats
• individual coaching

convergencecoaching has earned industry-wide recognition for excellence in delivering long-term programs on leadership and professional development, rainmaker development, client advisory, and personality and leadership assessments.

click here for jennifer wilson’s articles on 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间