July 2012 Leadership Forum
Vol. 4 No. 7, July 2012
The Leadership Forum is a panel of the most prominent thought leaders in the profession. Each month we ask them to respond to a question dealing with CPA firm management and leadership.
This month we asked two questions:
- What are the three most important issues that CPA firms are dealing with today?
- Merger activity has been booming for several years. Do the regionals and large locals, who are doing many of the mergers, see a decline in mergers because there are fewer firms that are both successful and have a desire to merge up?
Consultants and Other Prominent Observers
Question 1 - What are the three most important issues that
CPA firms are dealing with today?
| William Carlino | Transition Advisors | www.transitionadvisors.com [email protected] |
| The top concerns have and will be for the forseeable future for CPA firms are the economy, attracting and retaining top talent, and succession. The economy takes longer to affect the profession because ... More | ||
| Rita Keller | Keller Advisors, LLC | www.ritakeller.com [email protected] |
| ... Attracting people, developing them and retaining them has moved up a notch on most firms' radar screens this year. Firms are focusing on developing better defined career pathways ... More | ||
| Bob Lewis | Visionary Marketing | www.thinkvisionary.com [email protected] |
| ... Not marketing, but sales. These are different kinds of people with different skills and the marketing people are not trained on how to manage or train a sales person ... More | ||
| Marc Rosenberg | The Rosenberg Associates | www.rosenbergassoc.com [email protected] |
| ... Growth - the recession and the still sluggish economy is making it difficult to grow internally ... More | ||
| Terrence Putney | Transition Advisors, LLC | www.transitionadvisors.com [email protected] |
| ... Lack of adequate leadership resources for the long term - There is a dearth of talent available in many firms to provide the leadership necessary to carry the firm through to future generations ... More | ||
| Bryan Shelton | The Rainmaker Consulting Group | www.therainmakeracademy.com [email protected] |
| ... many firms are looking for ways to develop accountability within the partner group and focusing on the business of the firm. In increasing accountability, firms are now attempting to set goals for financial metrics including ... More | ||
| Douglas H. Thompson, Jr. | CPA Choice, LLC | www.cpamerica.org [email protected] |
| Growth, succession and technology. | ||
| Lisa Tierney | TIERNEY Coaching & Consulting | www.TIERNEYCoaching-Consulting.com [email protected] |
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| Jennifer Wilson | ConvergenceCoaching LLC | www.convergencecoaching.com [email protected] |
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Consultants and Other Prominent Observers
Question 2 - Merger activity has been booming for several years. Do the regionals and large locals, who are doing many of the mergers, see a decline in mergers because there are fewer firms that are both successful and have a desire to merge up?
| Jay N. Nisberg | Jay Nisberg and Associates | [email protected] |
| ... Many firms want a check and there are definitely fewer firms willing to write a check but many still are depending on the desirability of the firm being acquired. There is also significant variances in the multiples ... More | ||
| Joel Sinkin & Terry Putney | Transition Advisors | www.transitionadvisors.com [email protected] |
| ... On the contrary, activity is on the increase as was expected. On the sell-side the biggest issue firms are addressing as they seek upstream mergers continues to be succession needs. A huge portion of mid-sized and smaller firms do not have adequate talent developed within their firms ... More | ||
| Jennifer Wilson | ConvergenceCoaching LLC | www.convergencecoaching.com [email protected] |
| No, the number of great smaller firms considering a move upward continues to grow. I predict steady to increasing numbers of combinations occurring in the coming years. | ||
Firm Leaders
| Anonymous | ||
| I would say it will remain at a constant pace. The firms active in this area seem to be chasing top line revenue numbers versus profitability. | ||