Here are the pros and cons/challenges of part-time partnership distilled from this article:

Pros:

• The firm will be better positioned to retain partners (and others) who otherwise might leave the firm.
• Recruits looking forward to partnership will be attracted by part-time partner possibilities.
• Partners will be able to devote more time to families.
• Firms with people-centered cultures may be well suited to part-time partnerships.
• Clients also deal with the need for flexible arrangements for their executives; therefore, clients may be accommodative.

Cons/challenges:

• Partners may react negatively unless there is a clear plan for managing client relationships. The part-time partner will have to relinquish some clients.
• The firm may lose some value—partners have marketing networks that may suffer.
• The firm may lose some mentoring and training the partner provides.
• Clients will have to adjust to the partner’s schedule. Meetings may not be as easy to arrange.
• The firm may have to provide technology for the partner to use at home.
• The part-time partner must avoid “work-creep.”
• The part-time partner will have to find time to cultivate relationships with other partners and staff.
• There may be a seasonal aspect to the part-time partner’s schedule, to accommodate tax work.

From Partner’s Report—The Monthly Update for CPA Firm Owners, April 2006, p. 1. For subscription information contact Institute of Management & Administration, Inc., 3 Park Avenue, 30th Floor, New York, NY 10016-5902. One-year subscription $349. 212-244-0360, [email protected].