are you attracting the new breed of equity partners?

businesswoman shaking hands with someone out of view7 tactics to address the “new normal.”

by domenick j. esposito
8 steps to great

there’s no argument within the accounting profession that today’s economy is anemic, margins are squeezed and talent, particularly tax talent, is very scarce.

more on strategic planning: stay independent but keep looking upward | 10 ways to link compensation and strategy | develop home-grown future leaders | how to capitalize on the trusted business advisor opportunity | leadership must be persistent and consistent
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on top of that:

  • the philosophies of: (a) finders, minders, grinders and (b) an accounting firm model (principally low-margin compliance services) are no longer sufficient and probably are counterproductive to the perpetuation of a firm.
  • clients have the upper hand in their accounting firm relationships.
  • technology will continue to create a lesser demand on lower-level staff.
  • it is widely believed that google and microsoft will soon become fierce competitors for certain compliance services.

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ineffective partners and how to address them

three office workers glaring at cameraconsider not just the current impact, but the future.

by domenick j. esposito
8 steps to great

most accounting, tax and advisory cpa firm professionals who have demonstrated that they can help perpetuate an organization become partners between the ages of 35 and 42. in many cases, these same professionals retire from their firms as they approach the age of 60, 65 and 70.

more on strategic planning: develop home-grown future leaders | who will be the next category killer? | why is strategy execution so difficult? | time running out for succession planning | the benefits of a client situation review | capital markets 101 | how to implement industry practice groups | what is ‘acceptable’ performance?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

many emotional and physical changes happen to us humans over the course of 25, 30 or 35 years. sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad, our personal lives, energy levels and productivity at the age of 35 usually are different than our personal lives, energy levels and productivity at the age of 65.
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crash course: operating a compensation committee

business people working in office18 lessons to take to heart. and a few words of warning.

by marc rosenberg
partner comp: art & science

operating a compensation committee isn’t for the faint of heart. here are points all members would do well to heed.

more on partner compensation: 5 other systems for paying partners | the 3 best partner compensation formulas | 11 points in designing a partner comp system | what partners earn and how they earn it | how partners view compensation: it’s not all about the money | why most partner comp systems are performance-based

1. the partners must understand the heart and soul of the compensation committee (cc) approach: the system can only work if the people being judged are willing to trust the judges. period. if the partners aren’t comfortable with this, they should not use the cc.
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partner pay: recapping the compensation systems

the popularity, pros, and cons of each.

chart of compensation system usage
compensation systems in use, by size of partnership

by marc rosenberg
partner comp: art & science

what is the actual usage of compensation by firms?

more on partner compensation:5 other systems for paying partners | 3 non-performance-based comp systems | the 3 best partner compensation formulas |why firms use partner comp formulas|3 subjective compensation systems|11 points in designing a partner comp system | 3 tiers of compensation | partner compensation 101|what partners earn and how they earn it | partner compensation: an art, not a science | how partners view compensation: it’s not all about the money | why most partner comp systems are performance-based 

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

 

observations & analysis:

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partner pay: why your book of business isn’t worth as much

young businessman walking on bungee cord between question mark and dollar signfour reasons behind the decline. plus the impact on buyouts and retirements.

by marc rosenberg
partner comp: art & science

i’m sure many people see the title of this post as a form of practice management heresy.

more on partner compensation: 5 other systems for paying partners | 3 non-performance-based comp systems | 3 subjective compensation systems | partner compensation 101 | what partners earn and how they earn it | partner compensation: an art, not a science | why most partner comp systems are performance-based

the message is: the weighting of book of business is trending from being the “end-all” in allocating partner income, or close to it, to a factor that is still important, but less so.
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partners must show unified front

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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the hazards of not reallocating partner equity

unbalanced brass scales“this stage is usually when the crap hits the fan in many organizations.”

by bill reeb and dominic cingoranelli
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 / succession institute

let’s look at the common pitfalls we find with ownership distribution, using scenarios to drive home various points. let’s say we have a five-partner firm.

the ownership and age is as follows:

partner                                 equity                 age

senior partner 1 (sp1)           35%                    65

senior partner 2 (sp2)           35%                    63

junior partner 1 (jp1)            15%                    53

junior partner 2 (jp2)            10%                    48

junior partner 3 (jp3)              5%                    42

first of all, many firms would die for this kind of age split as – unfortunately – many firms have partners much closer in age than this 23-year range example. but continuing on, let’s say senior partner 1 (sp1) wants to retire at the end of this year. if this would occur as it does in many firms, we would be scrambling for additional partners. but for the sake of this discussion, let’s say we just addedjunior partner 3 (jp3) last year and we will add jp1 immediately after sp1’s retirement with an ownership interest of 5 percent.

so, if this were to occur without unusual intervention, the new ownership percentages would look something like this a year later:

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11 steps to building a better partnership team

concept of teamwork building working system of cogwheels

creating a firm where all the partners work in unison.

by august aquila
creating the effective partnership

as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. your vision is a journey to some place in the future. it’s not where you are today. it may even take generations to get there. it becomes even more compelling when it’s somewhere your people want to go.

while it’s the ultimate destination that people engage with, the journey there is also important. if the end point is exciting and has benefits that your people share, they will be more engaged in the journey. and, when partners are engaged with the firm’s future, they perform better.

more on leadership: why your firm should be a republic  |  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 | 8 financial ducks to line up now| partnership is about persuasion

so, how do you create a firm where all of the partners work to create an even better firm?

here are 11 ideas:

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