عرض العناصر حسب علامة : شركات المحاسبة
الأحد, 10 يناير 2021 12:17
هل حوكمة شركتك ونماذج تشغيلها فعالة؟
تحتاج شركات المحاسبة الصغيرة والمتوسطة التي تسعى جاهدة للبقاء مستقلة إلى تجنب "الفخاخ " المحتملة التي يمكن أن تعيق نموها وتهدد استقلاليتها في النهاية
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المحتوى بالإنجليزية
Are your firm’s governance and operating models effective?
By Dom Esposito
Small and midsized CPA firms that are striving to stay independent need to avoid the potential “sand traps” that can stump their growth and eventually threaten their independence.
Regardless of your firm’s size, it’s absolutely essential that you avoid ineffective governance and operating models that will get in the way of achieving growth at an acceptable rate of 6 to 8 percent per year (which is easier said than done organically) and staying independent. If you land in this sand trap, your firm will eventually stagnate and ultimately die or have to merge up with a larger firm.
Today, more often than not, larger firms (and those that aspire to be larger firms) look to one partner group to govern (usually referred to as an executive board, partner board or executive committee) and a second group of partners (the senior operating leadership team) to drive strategy and to oversee day-to-day operations. To be most effective, these two groups need to complement each other. In many firms with highly regarded brands, these two groups comprise different partners to foster healthy checks and balances within the firm.
Unfortunately, all too often, at many of the small and midsized firms, these two groups and their responsibilities are vested with just a single governance and operating committee appointed by the CEO or managing partner. While it’s easy to fall into this trap, this isn’t a healthy way to run a firm. Sometimes it creates a mentality of us versus them. It also creates a good old boys club that becomes inbred. This unhealthy environment often results in favoritism (which is terrible for morale), hampers revenue growth (which is terrible for the partners’ wallets), and makes it difficult to nurture future leaders (which threatens the viability of a firm).
So, let’s take a look at a model for effective governance and operations:
Executive board
Effective governance at any size firm can be achieved by an executive board comprising both senior partners and more junior, high-potential partners — perhaps five to nine in total, depending on the size and complexity of your firm. Generally, the CEO or managing partner is an appointed member, and other members are elected by the partners at large to rotating three-year terms with a limit of two years. The executive board usually meets one day a month (twice when it gets close to compensation time). In the interim, between face-to-face meetings, the executive board holds a video conference or conference call to discuss matters that can’t wait for the next regularly scheduled meeting. The responsibilities of the executive board usually include: (a) approving the firm’s strategic plan and holding the CEO and other firm leaders accountable for the plan’s implementation, (b) approving mergers, acquisitions or a firm name change, and (c) overseeing the successful resolution of partner matters (such as compensation, lateral hires outplacements and new internal admissions).
Senior operating leadership team
Depending on the size of your firm, effective day-to-day operations are best accomplished through a senior operating leadership team comprising the CEO, COO, regional managing partners, office managing partners, audit, tax and consulting leaders, and a go-to-market leader. Again, some of these positions may not be appropriate in your firm today because of its critical mass, number of service lines and/or number of locations. Nevertheless, regardless of size, in addition to the CEO, every firm, at a minimum, should have an office managing partner, three functional leaders (in audit, tax, and consulting or advisory services), and a go-to-market leader (many firms do not have this position today).
While all positions are important, I want to emphasize the importance of a go-to-market leader, who is typically responsible for driving industry and consulting strategies both at the operating office and individual partner levels. This partner, who generally has a small client load and a reduced number of billable hours compared to other partners, is the partner shepherd who leverages their strategic skills into others. If you don’t currently have such a partner in your firm, I highly recommend you consider one.
The senior leadership operating team usually meets one day a month, like the executive board. These meetings create subtle peer competition and promote the sharing of best practices. In between face-to-face meetings (typically held to handle an opportunity that requires quick collaboration), the operating team usually holds a video conference or a conference call. The operating team’s responsibilities usually include reviews of key management tools that enable a firm to execute success.
Trying to grow and staying independent requires a firm to avoid the many potential traps in practice management. Effective management is the key to success, but unfortunately many small and midsized CPA firms do not follow the best practices for corporate governance and operations
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الثلاثاء, 05 يناير 2021 12:22
كيف تبتكر داخل شركة محاسبة؟
الابتكار يمكن أن يدفع شركات المحاسبة إلى ما وراء طرق التفكير القديمة والعمليات التي عفا عليها الزمن
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المحتوى بالإنجليزية
How to innovate within a CPA firm
By Jody Padar
Innovation: It’s one of my favorite things. It can push CPA firms past the old school ways of thinking and outdated processes. It ensures we’re providing clients what they really want. Once CPAs adapt a truly innovative mindset, their whole approach to business and client relationships change.
Recently I spoke with Heath Alloway, director at Upstream Academy, on this very topic. He shared some really interesting perspectives on CPA firm innovation. We talked about misconceptions surrounding innovation, how to foster an innovative mindset, choose ideas to develop, bringing innovative ideas to market, and more.
As we get ready to kick off a new year, and in the spirit of starting fresh, here are tips for how to innovate in your CPA firm.
What do CPAs think innovation is?
Innovation can be scary. It can mean different things to different people. The way that many CPAs view innovation, according to Alloway, often revolves around misconceptions. Clearing up what innovation is, and what it is not, is a good first step to creating that innovative mindset.
Alloway explained that innovation doesn’t have to be something new. It doesn’t need to be some new invention or process. It can be an incremental change. This is an easier pill to swallow, right? You can still innovate your CPA firm in small steps, over time.
Second, innovation in technology doesn’t actually have to involve tech. Yes, often a firm that is undergoing change is also reevaluating its tech stack. But that’s not always the case and that’s fine.
Third, and this one is big, is that innovation doesn’t have to come from the person in charge. More than likely, firm partners are the ones hindering innovation. They’re scared, don’t want to rock the boat, whatever the case may be. Innovation can start anywhere in the firm. In my experience, innovation usually happens from the bottom up, because those are the people closest to the problems.
Finally, innovation is not imitating what everyone else is doing. Alloway said if you’re looking at the competition and launching a new service line, you’ll never be innovative. You’re just copying others.
“Anyone in your firm can innovate at any time,” he said. "It’s more of being able to identify problems and then working to provide solutions to bring value.”
That’s what innovation is — it’s not a big, open-ended goal that always involves technology and originates in the corner office. Innovation is more nuanced and uniquely adapted for each CPA firm environment.
How can CPA firm leaders help to foster innovation?
I strongly believe if you’re doing best practices, you’re not innovative. What we’re looking for from innovation arenext practices. Radical firms that want to foster this sort of open-ended, solution-based environment can start by understanding that they don’t need a perfect plan.
This isn’t counterintuitive at all, by the way. Perfection is the enemy of completion, as the saying goes. As a CPA firm leader you can help jumpstart an innovative mindset when you provide clarity that you and your team don’t need the perfect plan.
Your plan “is going to evolve over time … that adaptive mindset and culture [are] the biggest takeaways,” said Alloway.
How do you know which ideas to act on?
Most innovation happens from the bottom up. The challenge for firm leaders once they make it known that they’re open to ideas is sorting out the so-called million-dollar ideas from the ones that maybe need a little more work. Alloway suggested creating a process around innovation. I love this because innovation and efficiency require effective processes.
There are three buckets he recommended:
Generating and tapping into innovative ideas
Deciding whether to act on ideas
Taking an idea to market
The real task for the second bucket is figuring out whether to fail fast or move forward. This mentality suggests that there are no “bad” ideas, but the timing may not be right or the details need to be worked out.
Alloway shared three questions to ask when making this determination:
Can it make money?
Do our clients want it?
Can we build it or purchase it?
Don’t make assumptions. Talk to your clients. Run the numbers.
How do you take an innovative idea to market?
Let’s say you have a virtual suggestion box and someone submitted a really great idea. It’s potentially profitable. You’re reasonably sure there’s a demand. You need to take the idea to market. Start by getting out of the “services” box and think like a product developer. Actually, create a prototype.
“This could be a sketch on a whiteboard. It could be putting [the prototype] on paper,” Alloway said.
Then, go to three or four of your top-level clients. Have a conversation and find out what they would want, need and use.
Don’t just focus internally and assume you know what clients would want. And don’t get hung up on trying to develop the perfect service or product offering. Take what you know, roll it out, test it, and learn as you go.
How do you build an innovative culture?
Saying that innovation is important and demonstrating that it’s important are two very different things. For the firms that want to grow, they need to challenge themselves a little. An innovative culture is one where everyone knows it’s okay to fail. Not all great ideas will work. And you will invest money on a project that doesn’t deliver. People need to know that you will spend time working on these innovative ideas, even if nothing happens. That’s okay. Give your people permission to fail. That’s first.
Second is to understand that for innovation to happen, the traditional billable hour model has to be modified. I’d say eliminate it totally, but for many firms that’s out of the question – at least at the beginning. What you don’t want is someone investing four or five hours per week or per month into developing an idea only to punish them for not hitting their utilization rates.
Third is to create a safe space for people to share ideas. This could be in team meetings or you can send out surveys. Ask staff to identify their greatest asset, challenge and opportunity. See what they come up with. In meetings, pose a problem and ask people to bring their best idea to the table. Vote on the top ideas and start developing those ones a little more. Either of these activities will help foster a sense that firm leadership wants to get better and hear from everyone.
As your CPA firm is building out or refining a plan for 2021, make sure innovation is at the center of it. There are many ways to grow, but only one that will ensure long-term, sustainable growth that puts clients and staff first. There is no better time to begin investing in innovation … and the future of your firm.
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الإثنين, 14 ديسمبر 2020 12:09
فرص كبيرة وسط تحديات COVID-19
توجد فرص كبيرة وسط تحديات COVID-19
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الإثنين, 23 مايو 2022 14:49
إنفوجرافيك.. مؤشرات الأداء الرئيسية لأصحاب شركات المحاسبة
مؤشرات الأداء الرئيسية لأصحاب شركات المحاسبة
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الثلاثاء, 27 أكتوبر 2020 13:18
عدم تطبيق الحوافز يؤدي إلي فقدان المواهب المحاسبية
يفقد أرباب العمل المواهب المحاسبية إذا لم يتم تطبيق الحوافز
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الثلاثاء, 27 أكتوبر 2020 11:30
مؤشرات الأداء الرئيسية لأصحاب شركات المحاسبة
المحاسب جيد في الأرقام. جيد حقًا في الأرقام. إذن، ما هي الأرقام التي تستخدمها لإدارة ممارستك؟
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الثلاثاء, 13 أكتوبر 2020 11:22
أربع خطوات لتصبح شركتك افتراضية
بينما كان مفهوم الشركات الافتراضية والفرق البعيدة موجودًا منذ عدة سنوات، فقد كافحت العديد من شركات المحاسبة لإجراء التغيير في نموذج أعمالها لعدد من الأسباب
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الأحد, 13 سبتمبر 2020 12:09
خمس طرق لتعزيز القيمة مع العملاء
تعمل شركات المحاسبة في سوق تنافسي بشكل متزايد منذ بعض الوقت
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الخميس, 27 أغسطس 2020 14:06
كيف يمكن لشركات المحاسبة إعادة تنشيط قوتها العاملة بعد COVID-19؟
"الوضع الطبيعي الجديد" هو العمل عن بُعد.
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الثلاثاء, 04 أغسطس 2020 14:42
هل لا تزال الاستضافة السحابية هي الحل الأمثل؟!
هل لا تزال الاستضافة السحابية منطقية؟
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