July 2013 Leadership Forum
Vol. 5 No. 7, July 2013
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's question is:
Which of the following is the larger issue that you see in CPA firms today: growth in revenue, growth in talent or succession? Explain why you selected the one that you did and add your comments.
Consultants and Other Prominent Observers
| August Aquila | Aquila Global Advisor Group, LLC | www.aquilaadvisors.com [email protected] |
| ...Succession planning is all about creating options for the individual and the firm. The longer one waits, the fewer the options... More | ||
| L. Gary Boomer | Boomer Consulting, Inc. | www.boomer.com [email protected] |
| ...Without talent development, it is difficult to grow revenue or successors. Great leaders identify and develop their successors (talent)... More | ||
| Jean Caragher | Capstone Marketing | www.capstonemarketing.com [email protected] |
| ...Growth in revenue will enable firms to attract and retain talent, which in turn will aid in succession... More | ||
| William Carlino | Transition Advisors | www.transitionadvisors.com [email protected] |
| While revenue growth remains an ongoing challenge, succession planning and talent retention has nearly reached crisis levels... More | ||
| Bob Lewis | Visionary Marketing | www.thinkvisionary.com [email protected] |
| ...At every client we see the same issues where the majority of the professionals have minimal sales experience which is creating a void in the leadership succession. The bottom line is, there just are not well trained sales oriented CPAs... More | ||
| Bill Pirolli | DiSanto Priest & Company | [email protected] |
| ...A growing firm with no succession plan is great short term...but trouble long term. Of course, you can't have a great succession plan without talent, so it is a bit of a trick question... More | ||
| Marc Rosenberg | The Rosenberg Associates | www.rosenbergassoc.com [email protected] |
| ...In terms of the clients I am with these days, talent is the hands-down larger issue. Growth is slower than before the recession, but it's coming back. Developing people is still a huge challeng... More | ||
| Joel Sinkin | Transition Advisors, LLC | www.transitionadvisors.com [email protected] |
| ...The succession topic forces us to look at our talent on the bench in a more realistic way which will tell us if we can handle growth, can handle succession... More | ||
| Joe Tarasco | Accountants Advisory Group | www.accountantsadvisory.com [email protected] |
| ...The number of partners and managers in the CPA profession who fall into the definition of "Comfort Zoners" has reached epidemic proportions and is at the root of the talent and succession planning problems... More | ||
| Lisa Tierney | TIERNEY Coaching & Consulting | www.TIERNEYCoaching-Consulting.com [email protected] |
| My clients are relaying a stronger need around finding talent to do the work that's been coming in and also assisting with transition plans for senior partners. They really do go hand in hand... More | ||
| Jennifer Wilson | ConvergenceCoaching LLC | www.convergencecoaching.com [email protected] |
| ...Revenue growth and succession would both be far less of a concern if firms had focused on developing their people and retaining their best and brightest. This lack of investment has left many firms scrambling... More | ||
Firm Leaders
| Richard A. Berkowtiz | Berkowitz Pollack Brant | |
| ...Successful succession plans and growth in revenue will not be possible without a robust program to attract, recruit, retain and develop talent throughout your Firm... More | ||
| D. Paul Regan | Hemming Morse, CPAs LLP | |
| ...So many leaders of firms today are heading into retirement. Continuing the existence of those firms is dependent on succession... More | ||