October 2012 Leadership Forum
Vol. 4 No. 10, October 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's question is: Please comment on lateral mergers as an alternative succession plan to upstream mergers or acquisitions for firms with an aging partner group. Are lateral mergers an alternative to upstream mergers or acquisitions as a succession planning tool for firms facing an aging partner group?
Consultants and Other Prominent Observers
| August Aquila | Aquila Global Advisor Group, LLC | www.aquilaadvisors.com [email protected] |
| ... Two key elements in any merger should be leadership and culture ... More | ||
| L. Gary Boomer | Boomer Consulting, Inc. | www.boomer.com [email protected] |
| Generally, lateral mergers do not provide the missing structure that differentiates the best from the rest. The five areas of the missing structure are ... More | ||
| William Carlino | Transition Advisors | www.transitionadvisors.com [email protected] |
| ...the lateral mergers I've seen or read about tend to occur more as a synergistic strategy for growth ... More | ||
| Bob Lewis | Visionary Marketing | www.thinkvisionary.com [email protected] |
| ...The problem with equals, even when the solution is designed specifically for succession is the establishment of control ... More | ||
| Marc Rosenberg | The Rosenberg Associates | www.rosenbergassoc.com [email protected] |
| Any merger --up, down, sideways, lateral -- is a solution to a succession planning quagmire if it provides cures for lack of succession, which include primarily young talent, young partners or young future partners, management knowhow ... More | ||
| Joel Sinkin | Transition Advisors | www.transitionadvisors.com [email protected] |
| ...Other areas of concern become who will have the surviving culture ... More | ||
| Jennifer Wilson | ConvergenceCoaching LLC | www.convergencecoaching.com [email protected] |
| ...If the purpose of merging is to provide a successful exit for your firm's leaders, you solve nothing if the other firm is seeking a similar exit ... More | ||