Solutions for succession
Succession for CPA firm leaders has become a huge issue in the accounting profession as members of the Baby Boom generation have reached retirement age. These stories can serve as resources for CPAs as they navigate these issues.
CPA firms struggling with succession
As Baby Boomer partners reach retirement age, they are having difficulty delegating work to staff members and developing leaders to replace them.Succession issues likely to fuel urgency around retention of women CPAs
With leaders from the Baby Boomer generation retiring, the CPA profession is looking for new leaders to step forward.Retirement: Avoid the pitfalls and plan for the possibilities
Strategies can help CPAs succeed in closing out their careers.Preparing for what’s next
CPAs do a masterful job of taking care of their clients’ business, but they also need to make sure they look out for their own. Practice-continuation agreements can minimize the chaos in the transfer of a CPA practice to a successor.How to admit new partners: A fresh approach
Accounting firms seeking long-term viability must infuse the partnership ranks with fresh blood when the time and terms are right. A method called AAV can help with this process.Benefits of an employee stock ownership plan in succession planning
Practitioners should be aware of the many advantages of using an ESOP when a business owner is near retirement.How to price an owner’s interest in a CPA firm
Many accounting firms are facing a daunting challenge paying for partner retirements. Long-standing buyout agreements often aren’t calibrated for today’s demographic and market realities. This article shows how firms can assess and adjust the terms and types of buyout agreements to facilitate successful ownership transitions.Succession series
Learn about CPA firm valuation, managing owner transition, and more in this 12-part series covering nearly every angle of the succession topic in articles written by Joel Sinkin and Terrence Putney of Transition Advisors LLC in New York City.
- Part 1: Mergers emerge as dominant trend
- Part 2: The long goodbye
- Part 3: How to select a successor
- Part 4: A two-stage solution to succession procrastination
- Part 5: How to value a CPA firm for sale
- Part 6: Seven steps to closing a succession sale
- Part 7: Alternative deal structures for succession
- Part 8: How to manage internal succession
- Part 9: Managing owner transition through an owners’ agreement
- Part 10: How to maximize client retention after a merger
- Part 11: The culture test
- Part 12: Do’s and don’ts of due diligence
The “Road House” school of leadership
- Firms need to build depth
- The “Road House” school of leadership
- Leaders need more than strength
- Accounting firm sales: The five factors
- Approaches to succession planning for PFP firms
- The internal succession assessment
- Biggest mistake firms make with NextGen
- What makes NextGen clients different
- How to land and keep NextGen talent
- Firing a client: How and when to do it
- The 2020s: A decade of change
- How small firms should approach new technologies
- Signs of a bad workplace culture
- Encourage employees to take time off
- 5 P’s that define workplace culture
- How success relies on workplace culture
- When to change the partner compensation plan
- Ensuring partner compensation is in line
- Consider nonfinancial metrics when compensating partners
- Three best practices for partner compensation
- Three factors in effective firm management
- Three steps for transferring ownership
- Factors keeping top talent on board
- Three keys to retiring with grace
- How to motivate and retain talent
- Reasons top talent doesn’t leave
- Low-cost strategies to retain talent
- Why CPAs should always prepare engagement letters for clients
- What kinds of tax services result in the most expensive claims?
- How to deal with a difficult tax season
- The most important part of an engagement letter
- Why it’s so important to document client discussions
- Using timesheets effectively
- Firm economics: The business of accounting
- The economics of developing a niche
- You need to get into the cloud ASAP
- Millennials need to show some respect; Boomers need to listen
- What firms can do to keep Millennials
- The challenge of communicating with decentralized workers
- Leaders need more than strength
- The “Road House” school of leadership
- Firms need to build depth
- Why clients love the fee-for-service model
- How CPA firms can attract and retain Millennials
- Making your practice accessible to older clients
- Why you’ll make less next year
- What young professionals need
- Take down the walls
- Can a wall-less office work?
- Why firms should give three price choices
- Why customers hate hourly billing
- High-growth areas in accounting
- What CPA firms actually sell
- CPAs have customers, not clients!
- Characteristics of a good managing partner
- 2 pros and 1 con of going digital
- The keys to going paperless
- One firm’s path to paperless
- How going paperless can increase a firm’s value
- What businesses want from their CPAs
- How to show value to clients
- Smarter, faster business decisions
- Interview questions for hiring managers
- How the cloud helps clients
- How to fight fatigue
- The impact of anytime, anywhere work
- Saying goodbye to the billable hour
- The No. 1 challenge for accounting firms
- Why business intelligence is important to CPAs
- Does your firm need a retreat?
- The importance of the decision space
- The internal succession assessment
- Accounting firm sales: The five factors
- The cloud and CPA specialization
- Maintaining success: The top 3 obstacles
- Gen X, Millennials: Bridging the divide
- Partner accountability obstacles
- How marketing estate planning is changing
