analysis of the performance of all business units to improve performance throughout the organization.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n“we want to keep our client base and expand and look after our people and employ rather than have to lay off staff.”<\/p>\n
on the other side of the world, david tomasi, the managing partner for moore stephens in western australia, has a somewhat reflective view of the situation and its impact on his firm.<\/p>\n
“we are not really looking to do anything dramatically different \u2013<\/span> we are very lucky here in western australia. if anything has heightened the awareness of our ‘worth’ to clients, both from the client perspective, but more so, internally. this is with staff and partners alike,” tomasi said. “covid has meant they need to interact more, and with proactive advice. the trouble with accountants is they tend to undersell themselves, and this has been an opportunity to reverse some of that thinking.”<\/p>\ncloser to home, eric majchrzak, ceo beachfleischman in arizona, wrote to says, “we are looking at hard trends that have emerged through covid-19 and are pivoting to offer services that align with the most critical business issues. we are being intentional with helping businesses navigate through the disruption. our firm rolled out ‘flat-fee’ ppp loan forgiveness consulting services months ago. there are many businesses and industry sectors that are facing financial distress, so bankruptcy, restructuring, and turnaround consulting services are on our radar.”<\/p>\n
majchrzak continues, “many firms already offer cybersecurity services to help businesses protect their data, and this is also an area we are looking at \u2013<\/span> especially given the challenges businesses face with the remote working environment. these are all ways our firm will hopefully look different emerging from covid-19. as a top 200 firm, we have seen how covid-19 has accelerated our pace of transformation.”<\/p>\nand the managing partner of a firm in connecticut, who preferred anonymity, has noticed a shift in himself and his people during the past few months. “our revenue for the first few six months was down about 20 percent, and our profitability down by 90 percent. i feel a responsibility for all my employees and feel lucky we’ve neither laid anyone off nor adjusted compensation. i’ve noticed that with less work and a generally less hectic work schedule, our people are willing to be engaged more \u2013 <\/span>even by phone or zoom. their time in comparative isolation has caused us to be more thoughtful about our dealings with each other and with our clients. for me, as the leader, the time i used to spend putting out a lot of fires has been spent thinking about the future of the firm, how we can differentiate ourselves to create better value for our clients, and greater market relevance. it’s actually been refreshing and invigorating, as we consider our value proposition. i feel more engaged than i have in years.”<\/p>\nso while the geographies are varied, the themes are not.<\/p>\n
the firms that will survive and thrive are taking similar actions:<\/p>\n
1. examining their true value to their clients<\/strong>. compliance is a necessary evil, albeit an important one. the better firms are looking at their relationships and determining if they are merely transactional; they are seeking new and different ways to provide assurance in the sense of comfort and peace of mind as opposed to “audit and assurance.” not all firm leadership has the eq to have that conversation.<\/p>\n2. being creative and flexible.<\/strong> whether it’s offering payment terms to distressed clients or creating a truly new consulting service line, this is the opportunity in time to bend your thinking a bit. it would serve firm leadership well to engage the input of some of the younger team members, who see more clients than the partners do, and have fewer preconceived notions about “how we’ve always done it.”<\/p>\n3. for the braver firms, examining your core values would be a worthwhile exploration.<\/strong> what is your mission, beyond making more money for the equity partners? why should your employees get up excited to work for you each morning? it’s all a matter of how you look at it, and the vision you portray as a firm leader. it reminds me of the old story about the\u00a0 traveler who comes upon three stonemasons working hard:<\/p>\n\u201cwhat are you doing?\u201d asks the traveler.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cbreaking stones,\u201d grunts the first.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cmaking a wall,\u201d says the second.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cbuilding a cathedral!\u201d proclaims the third.<\/em><\/p>\nis there any difference in the work of these three men? maybe not. but is there a difference in their perspective? most definitely yes.<\/p>\n
4. embracing your people.<\/strong> i loved what bernard fay says: “closer than ever to our staff.” that’s more difficult to do remotely, and it’s not becoming easier with zoom fatigue. it would be powerful for firms to create an old-fashioned “phone tree\u201d in which partners reached out individually to their people, by phone, just to check in.\u00a0 the “too busy\u201d excuse is just that \u2013 <\/span>a feeble attempt to avoid real conversation. get out of your comfort zone and off your high horse and pick up the damn phone. as my dad used to tell me, you always make time for the things that are important.<\/p>\ni’m actually quite optimistic about how the industry will weather and transform as a result of the pandemic. the more forward-thinking firms will seize the opportunity and become successful, engage their clients in new and interesting ways, and foster a working environment that many would have rejected six months ago.<\/p>\n
it’s a new world. be brave.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\nare you building a cathedral or merely breaking stones?<\/strong> \nby bill penczak<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3489,"featured_media":72889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1363,2259,3120,3002],"tags":[3084,3085],"class_list":["post-78451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-leadership","category-pro-member-exclusive","category-special","tag-coronavirus","tag-covid-19"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nre-thinking today\u2019s firm with five global leaders - 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n