strategy

how the best managing partners turn ideas into reality

by

man and woman in meeting across deskapproaches can differ dramatically from one partner to another.

by bill reeb and dominic cingoranelli

how can the managing partner operationalize the strategy within the policies, process and budget set forth by the partner group?

more on performance management: accountability includes partners | accountability requires clear expectations | base retirement on today’s operations | how involved should retired owners be? | how to find a partner’s replacement | best practices for mandatory retirement | 7 succession questions to ignore for now

to keep this simple, because it can get very complex extremely fast, let’s say that the firm has three strategies the partner group has mandated:
read more →

richard berkowitz drives berkowitz pollack brant to ‘warp speed’

by

berkowitz
berkowitz

workload compression is offset by expanding practice areas, client mix.

berkowitz pollack brant logo

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 staff

“changes in business, changes in laws and changes in regulatory environments are happening at warp speed,” warns richard berkowitz, managing partner of the berkowitz pollack brant advisors and accountants firm in miami.

more from the corner office: randy myeroff at cohen & co.: winning the youth movement | rick dreher innovates wipfli for clients, younger workers | how blain heckaman drives value at kaufman rossin | weisermazars mp blake charts u.s. expansion | frank longobardi: cohnreznick’s battle for top talent | the robo-cpa: jim sikich prepares for disruptive technologies |  exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

he ranks handling of the fast-paced flow of updated information regarding laws, regulations and related matters among the most prominent issues and opportunities facing his firm and other cpa practices around the country. his firm’s $56 million in revenue during 2015 rank it as the nation’s 68th largest accounting firm in the nation and florida’s third largest.
read more →

rick dreher innovates wipfli for clients, younger workers

by

dreher
dreher

‘clients have budgets, and it’s part of our responsibility to deliver a high-quality, value-add solution within those budgets.’

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 staff

the cpa profession faces a crossroads at which firms will have to make some fundamental changes in their dealings with clients and staff, according to rick dreher, managing partner and chairman of wipfli.

wipfli logomore from the corner office: how blain heckaman drives value at kaufman rossin | weisermazars mp blake charts u.s. expansion | frank longobardi: cohnreznick’s battle for top talent | the robo-cpa: jim sikich prepares for disruptive technologies | exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

wipfli is a milwaukee-based accounting and consulting that generated $203.2 million in revenues for the 12 months ended may 2015. it ranks among the top firms in the nation at $181 million in revenue.
read more →

cultural optimization:  making mergers successful

by

the rational optimist
click to learn more

how to begin successful post-merger integration strategies before the contracts are written.

by r. peter fontaine
newgate law

rereading the rational optimist by british author matt ridley revived my belief in “cultural optimization” when it comes to accounting firm acquisitions. ridley’s perspective is quite simple – over the millennia, human cultures have only progressed when the interaction between societies was collaborative.  people are better-off today because of the ancestral exchange and integration of ideas, language, beliefs, skills, customs, habits, technology and social structure; rather than as a result of isolation or cultural dominance and extinction.

more peter fontaine:  what to ponder before issuing a letter of intent  |  why due diligence is done   |  the four ways ‘non-competes’ #fail in the social media age  |

while ridley’s notion of optimizing cultural differences makes perfect sense, it does not seem to be regularly applied in the context of accounting firm m&a activity. read more →

10 questions to prepare for radical change

by

chalkboard illustration of "change is now"be the change you want to see.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

“say it with me now: i am a change agent.”

more on radicalism: who’s your competition? everyone | who, me a consultant? | target prospects for best fit | keep scope creep and seep from hurting bottom line | each social channel has a language | six competitive advantages for the radical cpa

before you consider adopting the cloud or any of the “new firm” mindset, you have to ask yourself if you are willing to be the change.
read more →

8 questions to analyze your pricing

by

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.
read more →

taking a balanced scorecard to your partners

by

working day in office.without commitment, strategic planning is a waste of time.

by domenick j. esposito
8 steps to great

when an initial draft of the strategic plan has been agreed to by your initial strategy think tank, the next step requires you to expand the process to all the partners. this can be a very painful process, but it is a healthy one that must take place. it creates buy-in and will clarify who is on the bus and who isn’t.

more on strategic planning: as tax season ends, strategic planning seasons begins | the big eight: harsh realities for firms today | seizing the $10 trillion opportunity | learning to ‘run with the big dogs’

lots of good things happen in this phase of the strategic plan.  a number of your partners, who may be questioning if this firm is the firm that they want to be part of as they build their careers, will begin to see that your merely good firm is trying to transform itself into a mid-market sustainable brand.
read more →

want change? lead it

by

chalkboard saying indicating that time to change is nowbonus checklist: 5 questions you need to ask.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

“say it with me now: i am a change agent.”

more radical cpa for pro members (go pro here): who’s your competition? everyone | how the ‘new firm’ was born | radical firms embrace 4 values | radical or complacent? you choose | 3 questions to ask if you dare | who, me a consultant? | target prospects for best fit | radical pricing fixes cash flow problems | keep scope creep and seep from hurting bottom line | the radical approach to bundling services | get radical about pricing  |  more…

before you consider adopting the cloud or any of the “new firm” mindset, you have to ask yourself if you are willing to be the change.
read more →

who’s your competition? everyone

by

businesswoman at laptop with cloud floating above outstretched handtime to get on the radical bus.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

i’ve been in the cloud for nine years so it’s old news to me.

more on radicalism for pro members: how the ‘new firm’ was born | radical firms embrace 4 values | radical or complacent? you choose | 3 questions to ask if you dare | how spiritual value affects pricing | keep scope creep and seep from hurting bottom line

the biggest thing to do is to look around and look at the competi­tion. you can probably leave your firm and start your own firm with less than $400 a month in software and with no or very limited overhead. isn’t that terrifying for you old-timers!
read more →

how the ‘new firm’ was born

by

where the roots of ‘radical’ cpas originated.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

i started to use this newfangled payroll software that worked through the internet.

back then they didn’t call it the cloud. it was just payroll software that used an internet browser. it solved my business problems of preparing paychecks, paying taxes and filing tax returns for my customers. the technology was paycycle, a cloud-based payroll software.

read more →

radical firms embrace 4 values

by

core values against open door at top of stairs in the skythese 4 keys come down to meeting needs.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

people often ask me: what makes a firm a “new firm”? there are four fundamental tenets.

more on radicalism: radical or complacent? you choose | customer viewpoint: creating a journey map | who, me a consultant? | how spiritual value affects pricing | keep scope creep and seep from hurting bottom line | get radical about pricing | how social media transforms firms to their core | radical tenet #1: embrace the cloud | being radical is all about your customer

these four tenets, although adopted dif­ferently within each firm, compromise a new set of values that most of the “movement” firms embrace. ready? here we go:
read more →

radical or complacent? you choose

by

erasing the words "status quo"“reacting” is no longer enough.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

cpas must be “radicalized” so they cannot be lulled into com­placency and driven by reaction to their current firm or live­lihood. the changes that are happening in today’s fast-paced world need to be addressed.

more on radicalism: 3 questions to ask if you dare | are we really that radical? | customer viewpoint: creating a journey map | process maps: methods, meetings and materials | who, me a consultant? | target prospects for best fit | how spiritual value affects pricing | make radical connections | get ready for radical transparency | the roots of ‘radical’ cpas

you and your team have already felt the changes. the silent majority of many employees are hurt, suspicious and feeling unheard. they see and experience the changes happening around them and don’t understand the complacency or the resistance to change from firm management. you may even be feeling this yourself within your firm of one.
read more →

3 questions to ask if you dare

by

and 3 questions i should have asked before launching my practice.

by jody padar
the radical cpa

i had just come off a really bad tax season.

this was about nine years ago now, and i knew there had to be a better way. i left a mid-sized firm, with seven partners and about 50 other employ­ees and i joined my dad’s firm — literally and figuratively. figu­ratively, because many of his technology and processes were “old school.”

more on radicalism: are we really that radical? | process maps: methods, meetings and materials | 4 questions for choosing the right digital workflow tool | how spiritual value affects pricing | the radical approach to bundling services | get radical about pricing | each social channel has a language | how i got started being social | six competitive advantages for the radical cpa | the market is moving toward the radicals | going radical: the 4 tenets of a ‘new firm’ | why should cpas be radical?

i was tired of working part-time and not being treated like a contributing member of the firm. my family was young. my son was four years old and my daughter was six. my son was in the process of getting ready for full-time kindergarten and things were just changing in my life. i no longer felt the need to only work part-time, so it seemed like the right time.
read more →