{"id":106608,"date":"2022-12-29t12:30:21","date_gmt":"2022-12-29t17:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/?p=106608"},"modified":"2024-08-07t23:10:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08t03:10:00","slug":"nine-reasons-staff-should-want-to-become-partners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2022\/12\/29\/nine-reasons-staff-should-want-to-become-partners\/","title":{"rendered":"nine ways to woo a prospective partner"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"number<\/a>plus counterarguments for those who say they don\u2019t.<\/strong><\/p>\n

by marc rosenberg<\/i>
\nhow to bring in new partners<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

partners have it great. if a staff person really gets a proper, thorough understanding of why it\u2019s fantastic to become a partner in a cpa firm, there are almost no reasons for not<\/strong> wanting to be a partner. well, there are a few, but we\u2019ll discuss them later in the post.<\/p>\n

more: <\/b>nine reasons to make someone a partner<\/a> | tell potential partners what it takes<\/a>
\n\"goprocpa.com\"exclusively for pro members. <\/span><\/strong>log in here<\/a> or 2022世界杯足球排名 today<\/a>.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    \n
  1. the money. <\/strong>sorry, i probably shouldn\u2019t have led with this one. i struggled with where to put it. if i put it first, you might think i\u2019m saying that money is everything, but i certainly don\u2019t feel that way. if i put it last, some might think it\u2019s the least important, but that is not the case either. if i bury it in the middle, it might not get your attention.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    <\/p>\n

    in 2020, the income of equity partners in cpa firms under $20 million in revenue (99 percent of all multipartner firms) averaged $300,000 to $500,000, depending on their size and location. this number is substantially higher for firms larger than $20 million. this is more money than 95 percent or more of all people in north america earn and is almost always substantially higher than their parents earned. no question: the money is wonderful.<\/p>\n

    as parents, we try to counsel our children on a career to pursue. some parents advise their kids to pursue their passion, regardless of the hurdles. others advise their children to pursue a noble career that will enable them to earn a nice living. i always have advised young people, including my own children, that it is quite possible to have both: a career that you are passionate about and<\/strong> that pays well. that\u2019s the overarching reason why staff should want to be a partner. if you are not passionate about the profession of public accounting, that might be a good reason not to pursue a partnership.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. ownership, <\/strong>from two points of view. first, as a partner, you will be an owner in a business (for 99 percent of you, it will be a small<\/strong> business) that is almost guaranteed to increase in value over time. for new partners, this increase may be three to 10 times its original value. second, as an owner of a small business, you will be an entrepreneur. as such, you will have virtually unlimited freedom and flexibility to run your part of the firm and decide how you spend your time.<\/li>\n
    2. challenging, interesting work.<\/strong> the work performed by partners is much more sophisticated and challenging than staff-level work. the focus of partner work shifts to solving people\u2019s problems, planning and relationships, as opposed to the more technical work of staff. summary: partner work is cool!<\/li>\n
    3. relationships with your clients.<\/strong> it\u2019s been well-documented in numerous psychological studies that the happiest people are those who have healthy relationships with other people. relationships improve the quality of their lives and bring them joy. when you are a partner, the major relationships in your life, besides your family and friends, are the clients you work with. partners love their clients and clients love them back. life doesn\u2019t get much better than that.<\/li>\n
    4. responsibility.<\/strong> virtually all partners manage a sizable client base. this could range from several hundred thousand dollars to several million dollars. most partners find this high level of responsibility very satisfying. it\u2019s frustrating at times. stressful at times. but it\u2019s enormously satisfying to be an owner in a cpa firm with the responsibility for acquiring, retaining and growing a client base.<\/li>\n
    5. prestige.<\/strong> i\u2019ve got to tread carefully on this one because it touches a little on ego and vanity. but who can blame someone for feeling great about the prestige that comes with becoming a partner in a highly reputable, successful cpa firm in one\u2019s community? prestige will never be #1 on this list, but most newly promoted partners would admit (at least to themselves) how good the ego boost feels when they become a partner.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      many partners have told me that it became easier to bring in business when they were able to tell people they were a partner in such and such a firm. it\u2019s the classic chicken or the egg argument. were they more successful at business development because of their maturity and self-confidence, and the partner promotion was merely the icing on the cake? or was the development of these traits possible only once the person was promoted to partner? this is one of those questions that have no answer.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. staff to delegate to.<\/strong> certainly, people who are promoted to partner were delegating work to staff before their promotion. but when someone becomes a partner, the amount of work delegated to staff increases considerably. evidence of this are these metrics from a recent rosenberg map survey: managers average about 1,400 billable hours a year, while equity partners are around 1,100, lower at bigger firms. that\u2019s a 300-hour gap, a 21 percent difference. it\u2019s kind of nice to have an army of people at your beck and call.<\/li>\n
      2. tenure.<\/strong> this one is a bit tongue-in-cheek. nowhere is it written in firms\u2019 partner agreements that partners can never be fired. but as a practical matter, unless someone commits egregious acts, there is very little chance of being terminated. cpa firms are very lax at holding partners accountable for their performance or behavior.<\/li>\n
      3. lack of accountability. <\/strong>pardon the sarcasm, but it would be an understatement to say that there is very little partner accountability at the vast majority of cpa firms. in #2 i wrote that partners have tremendous flexibility in how they work. probably too much. if you are a manager asking yourself, \u201cwhat\u2019s so good about being a partner?\u201d does a low amount of accountability appeal to you?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        why someone might not want to be a partner<\/h3>\n

        there are two sides to every discussion. the previous section might have made it seem as if you\u2019d have to be a fool not<\/strong> to want to be a partner. but being a partner isn\u2019t for everybody. the reasons listed below exclude issues not germane to this discussion, such as a desire to change careers, opportunities to join one\u2019s family business or boredom with accounting.<\/p>\n