{"id":54738,"date":"2022-10-05t00:00:12","date_gmt":"2022-10-05t04:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?post_type=product&p=54738"},"modified":"2024-02-08t22:41:49","modified_gmt":"2024-02-09t03:41:49","slug":"esposito-8","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/shop\/esposito-8\/","title":{"rendered":"8 steps to great"},"content":{"rendered":"
“on the money” … “<\/i><\/b>indispensable<\/i><\/b>” … “the magic sauce” … “<\/i><\/b>exceptional<\/i><\/b>” … <\/i><\/b>“practical<\/i><\/b>” … “terrific” … “a great read” … “very exciting” … “insightful” …<\/i><\/b> “gems” … “very informative” … “thought-provoking” … “roadmap for greater success” … “valuable” … “excellent”<\/i><\/b> … “strategic”<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n dom esposito has written a terrific book that should be read by everyone who leads a cpa firm.\u00a0 he has clearly and succinctly set forth what is unique about cpa firms.\u00a0 most importantly, he has created a nice framework for those interested in building a mid-market sustainable brand while maintaining (or even improving) the essential culture of their firm.<\/i><\/p>\n \u2013 frank longobardi, cpa .<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n this book is a great read for cpa firm leaders.\u00a0 it provided me with practical insight from a professional i have respected and admired for many years.\u00a0 dom esposito is the real deal.\u00a0 his chapter on national and ge<\/i>ographic reach is on the money.<\/i><\/p>\n \u2013 arthur f. bell, jr., cpa .<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n never before has there been a book by a former ceo of a cpa firm to today\u2019s ceo.\u00a0 the opportunity we have to grow our business is very exciting<\/i>. a<\/i>nd this book, particularly the area of serving the private<\/i> and <\/i>public capital markets, will help us navigate the waters.<\/i><\/p>\n \u2013 jim pitrat, cpa .<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n dom esposito, a cpa who has \u201cbeen there and done that,” has provided us at berdon with several gems that will prove to be very beneficial as we navigate our future path.\u00a0 <\/i>i found <\/i>chapters<\/i> 6 (<\/i>on <\/i>attracting, developing and retaining marquee clients through industry, consulting and technical specialization) and 10 (<\/i>on <\/i>national and geographic reach) particularly insightful.<\/i><\/p>\n \u2013 mark g. bosswick, cpa, j.d., llm .<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n i recommend the book to all firms that aspire to <\/i>build a firm for the long term. <\/i>i found the chapter on attracting, developing and retaining first-class partners very informative and thought-provoking.<\/i><\/p>\n \u2013 stephen w. christian, cpa .<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n this book takes 46 years of experience and presents a roadmap for greater success.\u00a0 i found it to be a practical guide on what to do and not do, as my partners and i move our firm to greatness.\u00a0 it\u2019s a very easy-read!<\/i><\/p>\n \u2013 michael l. daszkal, cpa .<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n changing a cpa firm from a merely good firm to a mid-market sustainable brand requires discipline and a cultural shift as well as years of consistent and persistent leadership.\u00a0 this fine book summarizes the do\u2019s and don\u2019t’s, and the good, the bad and the ugly on how to re-engineer a fir<\/i>m.\u00a0 i found it very insightful.<\/i><\/p>\n \u2013 bruce a. madnick, cpa .<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n dom esposito\u2019s book provides valuable advice to cpa firm ceos who want to \u201crun with the big dogs\u201d and develop and grow their firms into<\/i> mid-market sustainable brands.<\/i><\/p>\n \u2013 charles d. raich, cpa .<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n from strategy to partner development, and from quality growth to delivering on profitability devel<\/i>opment, dom esposito has chart<\/i>ed a course for all cpa firm ceos to follow.\u00a0 this book is an exceptional roadmap on how to build an \u201cin<\/i>stitution\u201d for the long haul.<\/i><\/p>\n \u2013 brian mandell-rice, cpa .<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n in twelve easy-to-<\/i>read chapters, this book captures the magic sauce that is necessary to start or continue to move a cpa firm to a sustainable brand in the mid-market. the book will give any mid-market managing partner some great takeaways and food for th<\/i>ought.<\/i><\/p>\n \u2013 frank schettino, cpa .<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n an excellent compendium of indispensable advice for cpa firm ceos, managing partners and other senior partners on going from good to great.\u00a0 a must-read.<\/i><\/p>\n \u2013 kevin j. keane .<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n while accounting firms offer a range of business advice to their clients, there are relatively few sources of strategic thinking about the business of accounting. dom esposito helps explain why so few firms are able to develop a truly distinctive brand and achieve the magic combination of scale and profitability in the accounting indus<\/i>try. <\/i>as a former ceo with hands-<\/i>on experience building a small accounting firm into a top ten player, dom speaks from experience about the essential choices partners and senior leaders ne<\/i>ed to make in an industry when “business as usual\u201d is<\/i> no longer enough to succeed or even survive.<\/i><\/p>\n drew bernstein, cpa 1 \u2013 answering two basic questions<\/strong><\/p>\n 2 \u2013 strategic planning, implementation, and accountability<\/strong><\/p>\n 3 \u2013 a sound, basic governance and economic model<\/strong><\/p>\n 4 \u2013 attracting, developing and retaining first-class partners<\/strong><\/p>\n 5 \u2013 developing a performance management and compensation plan<\/strong><\/p>\n 6 \u2013 attracting, developing and retaining marquee clients through industry, consulting and technical specialization<\/strong><\/p>\n 7 \u2013 distinctive service through the client service plan<\/strong><\/p>\n 8 \u2013 the ebitda\/working capital improvements memorandum<\/strong><\/p>\n 9 \u2013 the client situation review<\/strong><\/p>\n 10 \u2013 national and global geographic reach<\/strong><\/p>\n 11 \u2013 merger combinations<\/strong><\/p>\n 12 \u2013 making it all real through persistent and consistent leadership<\/strong><\/p>\n 13 \u2013 afterword<\/strong><\/p>\n 14 \u2013 appendix<\/strong><\/p>\n 15 \u2013 summary of key takeaways by chapter<\/strong><\/p>\n this book was not written for small boutique firms that are happy to remain boutiques. it was written for those cpa firms whose partners want more for their firms.\u00a0 they want quality growth. they want to build a cpa firm brand with an institutional scale. and they want substantial partner earnings.<\/p>\n in my view, that vision is clearly attainable. there is a great opportunity to take a merely good firm and move it up several notches to a sustainable brand, and that opportunity exists in the mid-market space as a principal focus.\u00a0 it\u2019s where the big or giant four are neither credible nor qualified, and thus bring little value beyond their letterhead \u2013 which often brings with it expensive fees, poor service, and an attitude that it\u2019s \u201cmy way or the highway.\u201d<\/p>\n changing your cpa firm from a merely good firm to a mid-market sustainable brand undoubtedly requires discipline and a cultural shift as well as years of consistent and persistent leadership.<\/p>\n a cpa firm ceo once told me: \u201cwe operate our firm to make it feel like family. it\u2019s special.\u201d in many ways he was right, but arguably he was also wrong.\u00a0 when i heard him, my reaction was: \u201cmy family is very important to me \u2013 but it is outside of my professional career.\u00a0 my partnership is the vehicle that provides my family with a very comfortable lifestyle. but it\u2019s my business \u2013 not an extension of my family.\u201d<\/p>\n today, no single cpa firm owns the mid-market, while many operate in it. in fact, only six firms today are building the kind of sustainable brands to challenge the giant four.\u00a0 that\u2019s it! i refer collectively to them in this book as the next six. only six. and not one of them is the \u201ccategory killer.\u201d<\/p>\n the mid-market remains a vast and largely untapped opportunity in a huge and growing sector of the u.s. economy. the united states census bureau estimates the entire tax, accounting and bookkeeping services industry at $158 billion a year in revenues, with profit margins, compensation, and growth among the best in the economy today and forecast to improve even more in coming years. to be clear, the top tier of the market for cpa firms is reserved for a handful of truly transnational organizations. the giant four \u2013 pwc, deloitte, ernst & young and kpmg \u2013 account for more than $43 billion in u.s. fee income alone. what i call in this book \u201cthe next six firms\u201d \u2013 rsm at $1.5 billion, grant thornton at $1.4 billion, bdo at $883 million, crowe horwath at $687 million, cbiz at $600 million, cliftonlarsonallen at $598 million \u2013 are locked in a do-or-die competition to build sustainable brands on a par with the giant four. that\u2019s only six. and not one of them is a \u201ccategory killer,\u201d the term of art reserved for businesses that are alone or so dominant in their chosen market sector that no other firm can compete as profitably.<\/p>\n for sure, a handful of the biggest cpa firms cannot \u2013 and should not \u2013 dominate the broad american mid-market of american enterprise. in fact, the u.s. is home to some 50 million businesses in all. of course, more than half of them are small or single-employee entities, according to the small business administration. and most of them \u2013 not all \u2013 have an accountant. but they aren\u2019t the vast mid-market opportunity that this book is about.<\/p>\n this book is about the innumerable opportunities for cpa firms serving the nation\u2019s 200,000 mid-market companies, accounting for $30 trillion in private sector revenue and 30 million jobs. every single one of them has a cpa firm. sometimes more than one. but only a few thousand cpa firms are properly prepared to seize the opportunities. hopefully, this book will help change that.<\/p>\n the cpa industry structured like a giant, inverted pyramid, with a few large firms at the top, dominant in their revenue and their payrolls. at the bottom are the single-owner, solo, or sole proprietor firms. by the time a firm hits about 20 employees, the complexities of management and control require new systems and disciplines that far too few firms have properly prepared for. and as the firm grows, so do it\u2019s strategic and management issues.<\/p>\n the opportunity is there for the taking. this is a primer with key takeaways on what is required to build a powerful mid-market sustainable brand and, yes, potentially the category killer. it summarizes the do\u2019s and don\u2019t’s and the good, the bad and the ugly on how to re-engineer your firm. or, said another way, it helps you focus on what matters if you want to \u201crun with the big dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n but the most important takeaway from this book is that you need to take a strategic path and not deviate from it by chasing low-hanging fruit or other distractions.<\/p>\n many firms don\u2019t think strategically. they don\u2019t know where they want to go or how to get there.\u00a0 many don\u2019t even think beyond a two- or three-year period.\u00a0 they look simply to make a good living for their partners \u2013 without taking a longer-term strategic view of how to elevate their firm toward sustainability. but eventually the short-term tactical mode of operation catches up with such firms \u2013 limiting their growth \u2013 and, as a result, they either merge up or perhaps die.\u00a0 poof!<\/p>\n leading a cpa firm is more challenging than ever.\u00a0 slow organic growth and talent shortfalls make it very difficult. ceos, managing partners, and other senior partners must always be up for the game and be able to quickly adapt to a shifting landscape for services.\u00a0 they have to creatively identify value differentiators, lead others through change and become champions of changing themselves.\u00a0 this is particularly important if they want to be more than just a merely good firm.\u00a0 there is, in fact, an opportunity to become a mid-market sustainable brand.<\/p>\n so what is the magic sauce, you may ask. how do you start moving your firm from a merely good firm to a sustainable brand in the mid-market?\u00a0 the magic sauce is contained in the chapters in this book.\u00a0 the \u201cnuggets\u201d or key messages, simply summarized, are:<\/p>\n as the old saying goes, \u201ca cpa firm ceo doesn\u2019t build a business; a cpa firm ceo builds a firm that builds a business.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2013 <\/span><\/span>dom esposito<\/span><\/span>, cpa<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span> in 2016, dom esposito, a former ceo of a national cpa firm, decided to move from a 46-year career in public accounting into the next phase of his professional life \u2013 consulting to cpa firms. he has launched a boutique advisory firm, esposito ceo2ceo, that provides advice to ceos, managing partners and other senior partners of cpa firms focused on the mid-market throughout the u.s. concurrent with the launch, esposito authored a book titled \u201c8 steps to great: the eight essential strategies driving success at the world\u2019s largest cpa firms\u201d \u2013 a guide for current ceos, managing partners and other senior partners on how to move their firm to the next level.<\/p>\n esposito is one of the most qualified individuals in the country to advise cpa firms on growth and profitability. through 2015, he was national practice & growth director and an executive board member of cohnreznick, llp, a mid-market sustainable brand and the tenth-largest cpa firm in the united states. he oversaw cohnreznick\u2019s go-to-market industry specialization and consulting and advisory service lines. he was also intimately involved in the firm\u2019s mergers and acquisitions and strategic and tactical activities for its public company and capital markets initiatives.\u00a0 dom joined the predecessor firm of j.h. cohn in 2002 as the chief operating officer and executive board member.<\/p>\n dom is also an independent director of ethan allen interiors inc. for several years (through 2014), dom was a member of the nasdaq listing and qualifications committee to the organization\u2019s board of directors. he formerly served as the leader of the new york state society of cpas committee for large and medium-sized firms practice management. he also was an adjunct accounting professor at c.w. post\/long island university.<\/p>\n through october 2002, dom was vice chairman at bdo, a mid-market sustainable brand and the seventh-largest international accounting and consulting firm in the u.s., with almost 50 offices and 3,400 employees.\u00a0 during his brief time with bdo, he was responsible for the alliance distribution network (at the time consisting of over 80 cpa firms, 10 law firms, and 25 consulting firms).\u00a0 he was also responsible for attracting and servicing a number of clients.<\/p>\n from 1979 through 2001, dom was with grant thornton, another mid-market sustainable brand and the sixth-largest international accounting and consulting firm in the u.s., with over 50 offices and 4,500 employees.\u00a0 he joined grant as an audit manager, became a partner in 1981, led the long island office from 1984 to 1986, became assistant managing partner of the new york office in 1986, and from 1988 to 1999, led the new york office. in 1999, esposito became a regional managing partner and for two years, through 2001, was the firm\u2019s chief executive officer.<\/span><\/p>\n between 1996 and 1998, and while he was ceo, esposito was on the partner board and was also on the board of grant thornton international \u2013 the worldwide umbrella organization. in these capacities, he developed strong experience in strategic thinking and execution, international relationships, corporate governance, partnership matters, branding, expense control, client relationships, and new business development.\u00a0 as ceo, he took grant thornton to record earnings, consummated the largest line-of-business sale in the firm\u2019s history, developed a major joint venture with axa financial, and made the largest practice acquisition in the firm\u2019s history. from 1969 to 1979, esposito was with price waterhouse (now pwc), servicing ibm when he was promoted to manager in 1976.<\/p>\n dom is a cpa, has been quoted in national\/local media and has appeared on radio and cable tv. esposito has also testified before the securities and exchange commission.\u00a0\u00a0 he received his m.b.a. from st. john\u2019s university and his b.s. from ferris state university.\u00a0 accountingtoday, one of the leading trade journals for the accounting profession, named esposito one of the most influential people in the profession for two consecutive years.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\npartner\/ceo, cohnreznick, llp<\/p>\n
\nmanaging member, arthur bell, cpas<\/p>\n
\nmanaging partner, singerlewak llp<\/p>\n
\nmanaging partner, berdon llp<\/p>\n
\nmanaging director, kreischer miller<\/p>\n
\nmanaging partner, daszkal bolton llp<\/p>\n
\nceo, friedman llp<\/p>\n
\nfounder\/partner, raich ende malter & co. llp<\/p>\n
\nmanaging partner, hein & associates llp<\/p>\n
\nmanaging partner, anchin block & anchin llp<\/p>\n
\nmanaging partner, o\u2019connor davies llp<\/p>\n
\nco-founder\/partner, bernstein & pinchuk llp<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n
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contents include:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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from the foreword by the author<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
scaling for growth<\/span><\/h3>\n
the mid-market opportunity<\/span><\/h3>\n
building a sustainable brand<\/span><\/h3>\n
run with ‘the big dogs’<\/span><\/h3>\n
the magic sauce<\/span><\/h3>\n
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<\/span><\/em><\/p>\nabout the author<\/strong><\/span>
\ndom esposito, cpa<\/span><\/h3>\ncohnreznick national growth director<\/span><\/h4>\n
bdo and grant thornton<\/span><\/h4>\n
cpa, partner, mba, leader, influencer, media celebrity<\/span><\/h4>\n
a note from the publisher<\/span><\/h4>\n