partner

looking to grow your firm? how to find a seller in four steps

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businessman stacking coinsbonus: a sample letter to send prospective sellers.

by marc rosenberg
cpa firm mergers: your complete guide

in all areas of mergers and acquisitions, it’s always much more difficult to find sellers than buyers. this is certainly true in the case of cpa firms.

cpa firm merger consultants and brokers can do a great job finding buyers, but they are limited in their ability to dig up sellers. this is because the vast majority of all mergers and sales take place when buyers or sellers who “know each other” get together on their own without the help of a consultant.

more on mergers: 13 ways to screw up a merger | 15 can’t-skip merger terms to decide | 14 keys to a successful merger | 13 reasons accounting firms merge | mergers 101: when negotiations aren’t really negotiations | 5 steps to take before merging

one way to identify sellers is to do a snail mail solicitation. here’s the four-step process:
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partnership is about persuasion

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aquila
aquila

being a partner means convincing people to join you in building a better firm.
bonus checklist: 5 questions to consider.

by august aquila
more creating the effective partnership in the store

just as the partners need to engage with the firm’s vision so do the firm’s people. but, like everyone, they actually engage with people not words. so, effective partners continually engage with their people, regardless of their level and role. they go out of their way to create a personal bond, sharing personal information and operating with honesty and integrity in all of their interactions.

more on leadership for pro members: 5 questions about your firm’s direction | 6 reasons to keep partners from retiring | 6 reasons why cpa firms fail in innovation | 6 steps to handle staffing problems in a merger | 7 signs your firm is headed for an implosion | it’s not always about money: 16 tweaks for your comp system | eight key goal areas for partners | like herding cats: partners must ‘walk together’ | managing partners must remember partners’ needs | new times call for new cpa firm metrics | partners have love-hate relationship with leadership | 6 things leaders must do | the 8-point financial tune-up for your accounting firm | three ways to run a firm: but only one is sustainable

one of the great truisms is that you can’t be a leader if you don’t have followers and effective partners create strong relationships with their people. they are accessible and have highly tuned antennae that enable them to know where their people “are” and how and when to act to ensure they remain committed to the firm.

five questions to consider:

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what communication really means for partners

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bissett
bissett

bonus chart: seven levels of communication management.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

ultimately, when we have to interact with clients, subordinates, superiors or peers, the questions are always the same: who do i need to deliver this information to and what approach would they respond most favorably to?

in arriving at “communication” we come to the most intangible of all the components to obtain a “passport to partnership.”

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more on the passport to partnership: how to read your firm’s cultural blueprint | gauge firm culture to move toward partner | what culture really means for partners | firm culture is inevitable; make it work for you | 12 ways to determine your competence | what competence really means for partners | sailing through the seven c’s to partnership | passport to partnership: new research shows wide gap between partners and partners-to-be

in the research, which is ongoing and evolving, communication is the term given in the study to where partners look for senior managers to demonstrate that they can do two things with existing client relationships:

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11 merger tips from managing partners

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a businessman with some jigsaw puzzle pieces in his handsometimes the best voice is experience.

by marc rosenberg
cpa firm mergers: your complete guide

as you might suspect, in 20 years of consulting to cpa firms, several dozen mergers of my clients have taken place. from time to time, i meet with the managing partner of the firm that was my client and ask them how the merger went, what they would do differently and what advice they would give to firms contemplating a merger.

more on mergers: 13 ways to screw up a merger | 15 can’t-skip merger terms to decide | 14 keys to a successful merger | 13 reasons accounting firms merge | mergers 101: when negotiations aren’t really negotiations | 5 steps to take before merging

here are some choice morsels.

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when partners stop growing

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bonus checklist: nine things needed for firm growth.

by ed mendlowitz

question: i am the managing partner and run a tight ship, however, some of my partners do not appear to be growing and on some level that is holding back the firm’s overall growth.

more practice doctor q&a: billing procedures make collecting easier | there’s more to growth than marketing | how to make staff a team again | before you even think about selling your practice | how to make annual staff evaluations work | it’s not sales. it’s your duty | when staffers stagnate | quote with care when asked for valuation | how much should you pay to buy, sell or merge an accounting practice? | when fees don’t keep up with cost increases | 10 (nearly) painless ways to keep up to date with technology | 44 critical criteria for accounting staff performance evaluations | 5 time management tips for an overworked accountant | running an accounting business

any suggestions or is this just the way it is? read more →

how to read your firm’s cultural blueprint

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bonus checklist: five-part analysis to measure partner material.ptp_2ndc

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

what conclusions can you draw from your knowledge of how the promotion system works in your firm that you need to keep in mind?

more on the passport to partnership: gauge firm culture to move toward partner | what culture really means for partners | firm culture is inevitable; make it work for you | 12 ways to determine your competence | what competence really means for partners | sailing through the seven c’s to partnership | passport to partnership: new research shows wide gap between partners and partners-to-be

in terms of firm culture, you need to understand the four navigational points of the compass:

  1. who do i need to stay on the right side of?
  2. what are the unwritten rules in my firm?
  3. whose opinions can be trusted?
  4. what really impresses the partners?

and here’s a five-part analysis to see how you measure up:

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13 ways to screw up a merger

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bonus checklist: 12 nuances and idiosyncrasies to anticipate.

by marc rosenberg
cpa firm mergers: your complete guide

in the best case, mergers go smoothly.

more on mergers: 15 can’t-skip merger terms to decide | 14 keys to a successful merger | 13 reasons accounting firms merge | mergers 101: when negotiations aren’t really negotiations | 5 steps to take before merging

but we’re dealing with people, so sometimes things aren’t so neat. some common pitfalls: read more →

gauge firm culture to move toward partner

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martin bissett
bissett

bonus partnership pointers checklist: 3 questions to evaluate the culture at your own firm.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

this second c is a stormy and choppy one, often fraught with political icebergs but navigated diplomatically and with maturity, will lead you through.

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more on the passport to partnership: what culture really means for partners | firm culture is inevitable; make it work for you | 12 ways to determine your competence | what competence really means for partners | sailing through the seven c’s to partnership | passport to partnership: new research shows wide gap between partners and partners-to-be

case study on culture

deborah had done well. she was bridging the firm’s culture gap and fulfilling its desire to be seen as an equal opportunities employer by becoming the practice’s standout rising star.

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14 keys to a successful merger

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man in suit with hand extended, coworkers in backgroundmost successful mergers take several months – or longer.

by marc rosenberg
cpa firm mergers: your complete guide

so, you’ve met a potential merger candidate. great!

more on mergers: 13 reasons accounting firms merge | mergers 101: when negotiations aren’t really negotiations | 5 steps to take before merging

but wait! curb your enthusiasm long enough to take an objective look at the future, using at least these 14 sets of questions: read more →

firm culture is inevitable; make it work for you

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martin bissett
bissett

bonus checklist: 5 ways to make sure the firm’s people believe in both themselves and the culture.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

cultural issues are dynamic, very broad and unique in each firm. as such it is a challenge to summarize them accurately and comprehensively.

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more on the passport to partnership: 12 ways to determine your competence | what competence really means for partners | sailing through the seven c’s to partnership | passport to partnership: new research shows wide gap between partners and partners-to-be

from our research, however, the wise choice for anyone wishing to get their passport to partnership appears to be to study

  • their firm’s existing culture,
  • that of its senior individuals and
  • that of those who have the ear of those senior individuals

to understand not only the route to partnership, but the terrain that they need to cross too.

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12 ways to determine your competence

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martin bissett
bissett

bonus: case study and worksheets:
3 questions to gauge your own competence, 4 questions about your personal brand and a 5-point checklist.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

the passport to partnership study collated a number of responses in a conversational style. two brief but succinct examples that really stood out on the realities of how a firm assesses an individual’s “competence” to lead are showcased below.

  1. learn more
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    they need to explain technical data to me in a way that i know they understand it.

  2. what kind of lifestyle does this person have outside of work? we’ll be looking at facebook, twitter and google to find out.

more on the passport to partnership: sailing through the seven c’s to partnership | passport to partnership: new research shows wide gap between partners and partners-to-be

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