Posts Tagged ‘growth’
Bridging the Gap: Staying Independent vs. Selling or Merging
Most of the firms we work with on succession planning start off with a strong preference to remain independent, and not sell or merge in order to address the need to payoff and replace retiring owners. The common reasons we are given for this inclination are- Control-Most owners of small to mid-sized CPA firms like…
Read MoreThey Don’t Want to Be Owners!
In our ongoing series about bridging the gap between management and emerging leaders, we would be remiss in not addressing the topic of moving from emerging leader to owner. The perception among many in our profession is that there are fewer individuals at the senior and manager levels who aspire to be an owner and,…
Read MoreKeeping Your Team Members Connected, Engaged and Energized
A recent survey conducted by the AICPA showed one of the biggest concerns accounting firms are facing today is employee retention and engagement. This is no surprise and is endemic throughout the entire profession. As the economy takes a turn for the better, the rate at which team members are leaving their current employment or…
Read MoreThe Culture of Continuous Improvement
Lean Six Sigma and Change Management are popular concepts in accounting firms today. Most firms start their “Lean Journey” with an eye toward improved efficiency and controlling engagement costs. But after a successful first project, many leaders in our profession rave about all of the ancillary benefits they are beginning to see within their organizations. …
Read More6 Tips for Fostering Leadership in Your Organization
Leadership is one of the top issues facing accounting firms today. We often hear firms say they can’t find or don’t have good leaders in their organization. As most of us know, leaders don’t usually fall off trees. In any organization, fostering leadership takes time and intention. As a current leader, you have to be…
Read MoreSponsorship-Barrier to Exit for Talent
Jayne is a woman with ten years of experience in public accounting. She is certified and versatile in multiple areas of practice in which she might contribute now and in the future. She has deep community roots in the major metropolitan area in which she works and she has shown great promise in promoting the…
Read MoreEliminate The Mystery through Communication & Inclusion
When I begin to work with a new CPA firm client, one of the most common issues I encounter is the lack of open, honest, on-going communication between firm leadership and firm team members. In many firms, some leaders are still in the mindset that many of the management and partner topics need to confidential.…
Read MoreSurvey says… Using survey results to improve your business
Can you name the top two key factors to an accounting firm’s success? If you said Employee Satisfaction and Client Satisfaction, then you are exactly right. You have probably thought about it, some of you may have even tried to conduct a survey before, so why the hesitation and procrastination? The topic of surveying comes…
Read MoreRansomware Awareness
There has been a recent surge of Ransomware attacks on accountants whose workstations were not adequately protected and backed up, leading to some firms paying a ransom and others recreating the data (and wishing they would have paid the ransom instead). For those of you not familiar with Ransomware, it is a term for malicious…
Read MoreWhy Do You Care Where I Work? Six Reasons to Go Virtual
Firms must move – and move now – to support virtual work environments. I’ll admit I’m biased. For fifteen years, I have run a completely virtual business. When not on the road speaking, teaching or consulting, each of our team members works from home in cities across the country. From our inception, the information assets…
Read More