How to Make Partners More Accountable

Source: RedZone—Play of the Month

Here is where partners should be more accountable:

• Leadership (not just managing).
• Client satisfaction, cross-selling, and retention.
• Engagement profitability and practice management.
• Continuously upgrading the client base by marketing for quality, not quantity, and disengaging low-realization clients.
• Developing and retaining professional staff by partner coaching and mentoring.
• Continuously enhancing technical skills and developing an expertise in niches that are in demand.
• Acting as a positive role model to staff.
• Using technology to increase engagement efficiency and becoming more organized.
• Promoting the firm to referral sources and the business community.

Many small firms compensate partners based upon formulas that recognize collections as the primary factor and ignore many of the factors above. This is one of the main reasons why smaller firms don’t reach the next levels of success. By having partners formally accountable to each other there is a much better chance of reaching peak potential.

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From RedZone—Play of the Month, January 2009, Accountants Advisory Group, www.AccountantsAdvisory.com, 845-265-9046.