Strategy, Leadership & Management
Discover the possibilities for exponential growth and learn the secrets of great firm leadership while managing People, Planning and Processes to a strategic advantage.
Technology's Bleeding Edge
September 2007
“You don’t have to know how to build the watch, but you had better be able to tell time.” I made this observation not long after buying my first IBM PC. Not only has technology advanced significantly since that date, the rate of change has increased significantly. The excitement generated by new technologies may cause you to invest too early—or lull you to sleep and resist change. Knowing when to invest is as important as knowing what to invest in.
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Dealing With Under-Performing Partners
August 2007
How a firm deals with an under-performing partner defines the strength of its management. Well-managed firms deal with it in a professional manner rather than ignoring the problem. In today’s environment some firms accept low performance because of the shortage of qualified personnel. I believe that is exactly the wrong way to approach this issue.
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The Best Part of the Strategic Planning Process
July 2007
"We were a good firm before, but we became quite a bit more profitable - and we've retained a lot of our key staff. I think a lot of that had to do with focusing on the key priorities that we set in that (strategic) plan." Steve McDonald, Managing Partner, Abdo Eick & Meyers, LLP.
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Intelligent Succession
July 2007
Great leaders develop successors. Where is your firm’s intelligence? Is it in the partner group? Is it in your staff? Or is it in both your staff and partner group? The answer is a significant indicator of your firm’s destiny.
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The Keys to Transforming Your Firm
June 2007
Market conditions are changing. There is a shortage of quality talent, regulation is increasing, and competitive forces are on the rise. How should firms position for the future when many have just experienced their most profitable year? What is the motivation to change?
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Business Continuation
May 2007
For years I have observed firms wrestle with the development of disaster recovery and business continuation plans. Much has been written about the technical aspects and the justification for such plans. In reality, I have seen IT professionals spend countless hours developing a reasonable strategy only to have the partners vote to literally do nothing rather than fund the budget.
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The Time Sheet is Only One Measurement of Performance
March 2007
While the time sheet is an integral part of most accountants’ lives, it is not the measurement of performance that many believe. A time sheet is nothing more than an accountability tool. In my opinion, the profession has erred because the time sheet was never intended to be a measure of value or a pricing tool.
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Gary's Insight: Emerging Technology
February 2007
Do you ever return from a Circle meeting wishing that you could share some of the ideas you learned but finding it difficult to put into the right words? It’s kind of like telling a story about something funny that happened and ending it with, “well I guess you just had to be there.” At other times the words come out fine but the thoughts don’t make the same imprint as hearing directly from the industry expert.
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Performance Starts at the Top
February 2007
Many firms, large and small, have their share of non-performing partners. These lackluster partners may develop and remain at their firms as a result of many factors: a limited talent pool, succession issues, fear of conflict, personal loyalties, undefined standards for partner performance, ages of the partners and complacency—to name a few.
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A Look Ahead at 2007
December 2006
I would like to start with a sincere “thank you” from the entire Boomer Consulting team. Our clients and partners have strengthened the networking power of the Boomer Community and made 2006 a successful and fulfilling year for all of us at Boomer Consulting.
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Boomer Technology Circles - Right For You?
December 2006
I’ve yet to enter group therapy, but I have coached little league baseball. When I started, it didn’t take long to make this observation: Just about any message—like throwing to the proper base—is delivered a hundred times more effectively by a peer during a game than by a coach during practice. This is essentially the message I hear from our Circle members. Listen to some of their comments below and hear for yourself! – Scott
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Managing Technology to a Strategic Advantage
October 2006
Technology is the accelerator that allows Planning x People x Process to result in Exponential Growth. Not only does it accelerate the growth of business, it is clearly subject to acceleration itself. New products, new features, new updates – just keeping up with the changes is an important and time-consuming job responsibility.
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Still Good to Great
October 2006
One of the leading issues in the accounting industry continues to be retention and attraction of quality people. After all, an organization is only as good as the people who make it up. While Jim Collin’s Good to Great has been in the business section of book stores for a number of years, the concepts he covers are timeless. They are especially relevant to our industry as we continue to build teams that allow us to transform our firms from good organizations to great ones.
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Problem Solving and Looking into the Future
October 2006
The other day I had lunch with a good friend from the past. We worked together when we first started our careers in public accounting—more than 20 years ago! Public accounting was very different than it is today. She left the field after the Arthur Andersen debacle, and I stayed—choosing though to switch to the practice management side.
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Technology Plan and Budget
September 2006
Review this document for a three-year outline that exhibits what you need to include in a thorough Technology Plan and Budget.
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Reliable Technology - Don't Settle For Less!
September 2006
Are you happy with your firm’s technology? Do you treat technology as a strategic asset by planning and budgeting for it? Questions like these typically result in a variety of answers from personnel within the same firm. It is no wonder that most firms need to work on consensus building. Unfortunately, those with the strongest opinions typically have the least amount of knowledge.
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Know Thy Firm
September 2006
Do you know of any accountant who approaches his or her work without thinking it through? Can you find a single one who does not give careful attention to detail? Not only have they pursued the necessary education to do their jobs, they regularly get acquainted with each client, listen to their concerns and make every effort to understand their particular needs and priorities. The result is happy clients and an ever-increasing bottom-line.
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Culture - A Sustainable Competitive Advantage
September 2006
Boomer Consulting has written numerous articles over the years and most have stressed, in some way, the importance of people and culture. Looking back on my MBA education at the University of Texas at Austin, I read nearly 200 case studies and can assure you this is not just a bunch of “touchy feely” rhetoric without merit. At the heart of every issue addressed were people and culture.
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Tips On Conducting a Successful Firm Summit
September 2006
Why a “Firm Summit” and not a “retreat”? “Retreat” implies that you are looking to the past and moving backwards. “Firm Summit,” on the other hand, implies a more ambitious approach—one that incorporates a broader participation base that will distinguish your firm from its competition. The purpose of a Firm Summit is to bring leaders and firm members together along with outside expertise and facilitation in order to initiate strategies for exponential growth.
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Great Partners Make Great Firms
August 2006
What does it take to rise to the position of partner in an accounting firm? While the criteria vary from firm to firm, I believe it is an interesting and generally difficult question for firms to answer. I have asked existing partners to list what they require in a new partner and they tend to come up with a list of skills and criteria for which many of them probably would not qualify. Most managing partners readily admit that too many partners were made partners for the wrong reasons over the past 20 years.
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Why Technology Projects Fail
May 2006
You just completed your annual firm partner meeting and made the decision to move forward with the selection and implementation of a content management system. You want to insure success. What are the critical factors? Why do some firms succeed while others fail? Can anything be done up front in order to make sure everything comes together?
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Technology Strategy For the Future
February 2006
“You don’t have to know how to build the watch, but you had better be able to tell time.” I made this statement when I acquired my first IBM personal computer. Not only has a lot happened with technology since that date, the speed of change has increased significantly. Technology has the ability to excite you and cause you to invest too early or the ability to lull you to sleep and resist change. Knowing when to invest is as important as knowing what to invest in.
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Book Review: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
February 2006
Intriguing title, isn't it?! The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni is a quick read with powerful applications. Along with his first two best-selling books, The Five Temptations of a CEO and The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive, he uses his unique storytelling ability to illustrate the five areas of dysfunction within teams.
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Partner or Manager?
February 2006
Managers trump firms when it comes to the attraction and retention of people. Are your partners acting as managers? According to Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman in their book, First Break All the Rules, employees leave managers, not companies. I believe the same is true for CPA firms. Employees leave partners/managers, not the firm.
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Internet Strategy
January 2006
What is your firm’s internet strategy? Perhaps you don’t have a web strategy and your goal has simply been to maintain a respectable website. In today’s environment just having a site is no longer a competitive advantage. In many firms, the website has been delegated to the marketing department, firm administration or human resources. Little thought has been given to the objectives behind the site and a related economic model.
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IT Planning in Mergers and Acquisitions
December 2005
It’s no secret that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are an active part of the accounting profession today. As owners reach retirement age they are looking for someone to buy them out and allow them to move on to a well-earned retirement. At the same time, growing firms are looking for merger candidates to gain clients, gain access to needed staff skills, or to establish a presence in a desired market location. With a marketplace like this of buyers and sellers it’s no wonder there is plenty of activity!
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Strategic Planning - Beware of Barriers
November 2005
Firms of all sizes have begun developing – or have developed – a strategic plan for their firm. As they go through the strategic planning process, many will find that they will encounter barriers that will block their way to successful implementation, even with a solid plan in place. As any good planner knows, the earlier you recognize those barriers and find ways to overcome them, your chances for success will improve. Proactive and successful firms today are implementing two important strategies in their strategic planning process that help them advance quickly and ensure successful execution of their plan. The tasks are not difficult, but it does take commitment on the part of the owners to ensure realization.
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Managing with Metrics
October 2005
Average is where the best of the worst meet the worst of the best. Most firms don’t consider themselves average, yet many are not performing to their capabilities due to outdated attitudes toward billing and technology. Poor billing policies are only exacerbated by technology and visa versa. Value billing is talked about, but in reality few firms are utilizing it and maximizing the potential return on their technology and training investments.
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Merger and Acquisition Strategies
September 2005
Activity has never been greater than today in the merger and acquisition arena. Firms of all sizes are faced with the fact they must grow to maintain quality people and profits. Growth can come organically or thru through merger and acquisition. Typically, the first question partners ask focuses on practice values. There are important considerations such as the quality of the practice, leadership, location, client base, talent and culture that determine value of any practice.
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Strategic Planning - Do It Right
July 2005
The key to a good strategic plan is to keep it simple. Write it down, but keep it short and to the point. If done correctly, it can be captured on a single page. But let’s back up a bit. How do you get to this point? How do you develop a clear, concise, easy to understand strategic plan for your firm?
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Is It Time To Re-Think Your IT Commitment?
July 2005
CPAs become creative when pushed to solve problems without their traditional resources and that primary resource has been an abundant supply of affordable labor. That has changed and firms must look at ways to do more with less while maintaining or increasing profitability.
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Leadership + Training - A Success Story at Ostroff Fair
May 2005
It’s the 15th of February and your firm is just going into the heart of tax season. The managing partner learns that the document management implementation is not going as planned. In fact people, including partners have lost their commitment to the project and are saying that the change is too difficult (among other excuses). You have to make a decision, pull the plug on the project or figure out a way to make the project succeed. What would you do?
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Siegfried Story - The Big Story ... about a firm's annual retreat
May 2005
I just experienced the most differentiating firm retreat (I prefer to call it a firm summit). It occurred on May 12-15, 2005 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. I know what most of you are thinking…the partners must have had a great time. You are right…they did, but not for the reasons you are thinking.
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A Firm of Shared Vision or Shared Service
May 2005
Professional service companies can be successful as either shared services or shared vision firms although there are limitations on shared services firms. Your question may be, “What is the difference?” Shared services firms can grow and prosper financially, while shared vision firms can provide more than just financial results. Shared vision firms can also provide exponential growth as well as a differentiating culture where individuals are rewarded for their significance in support of the firm’s strategic objectives. Shared vision provides direction, growth and integration with personal goals and a differentiating culture.
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Thinking Versus Charge Hours
March 2005
Do partners in your firm have time to think or are they only focused on book of business and charge hours? Successful firms think differently than ordinary firms. They also value the “thinking process” and provide time for multiple types of thinking. To change your firm, you must change the thinking of the partners. This isn’t an easy task given the fact most firm leaders do not embrace change.
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If Jack Welch Was Your Managing Partner
February 2005
I feel safe in saying that things would be different in all firms and significantly different in most firms if Jack Welch became your managing partner. There are many valuable lessons that can be gained by looking at successful leaders in other industries. Jack Welch, recently retired CEO of General Electric and author of his best selling book, Jack…Straight From The Gut offers some valuable lessons for the management of any business including an accounting firm. Your first reaction may be that managing a company like GE is totally different because they mostly sell products. Wrong!
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Ten Rules of Technology Management
January 2005
With the scarcity of qualified and experienced staff, the importance of technology continues to grow in today’s accounting firm. Firms simply must do more with fewer people while raising production to offset increasing labor costs. In order to do so, they must either terminate less desirable clients or focus on improving their processes and technology. Perhaps your firm needs to do both?
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Strategies for a Changing Environment
October 2004
Joseph A. Schumpeter coined the term “creative destruction” in his book Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy published in 1942. Much has been written about it recently due to the fact industry life cycles are becoming shorter. Environments are dynamic, not static and therefore firms cannot simply focus on “core competencies” as a basis for firm strategy. If they do, they will be preparing for the past rather than the future.
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Firm Summit - Top Ten Topics
October 2004
As the season approaches for firm summits (or retreats if you focus on the past), the following top ten list of topics will or may appear on your agenda. Many firms use these meetings to focus on the results of the current year and plan for the coming year. While this sounds logical, it doesn’t always produce strategic results. The tendency generally is to gravitate toward tactical rather than strategic thinking.
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Wanted: A Managing Partner - Expectations
October 2004
What do the partners of the firm expect their Managing Partner to provide for them? Some of them will want a visionary leader, one who can not only see opportunities for the firm, but also inspire others in the firm to make the changes necessary to obtain those opportunities. Others may have expectations that require the Managing Partner to be more cautious and conservative in their approach to firm leadership. What happens when the expectations of the group are not the same? Obviously, there will be dissent among the group and the firm will not make the progress they are looking for as they elect the leader of the firm.
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Strategic Assets - Investment or Depletion
September 2004
In most firms, net income per partner is an important measurement of how the firm is performing. In today’s environment another important measurement is the level of investment the firm is making in training, learning and technology. People and technology are the top two areas of investment in most firms; however, it is easy for firm leaders to get caught in the “net income per partner” trap and as a result reduce the future value of their firm.
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IT Leadership
September 2004
The leadership skills required in Information Technology today are similar to that of a managing partner or chief executive officer. However, the decision making styles and focus may be somewhat different. The trend in corporate governance is to include IT leadership in the Board Room rather than only consult when there are problems or special projects. This comes from the fact that IT is being viewed as a strategic asset in growth organizations rather than as overhead.
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Five Strategies for Improvement in 2005
June 2004
Firms are faced with opportunities and challenges as they head into the 2005 busy season. Most firms have had a good year but are concerned over the inability to attract people and the challenge they face in how to handle the workload during busy season. However, in the same sentence they are concerned about growing and marketing their services to a broader base of clients. Without growth, firms stagnate and lack the ability to provide opportunities to staff (retention) and maintain income levels for partners.They often become over-partnered creating other problems.
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Funding or Performance Constraints
May 2004
Is your firm funding technology at “good enough” levels or at a level indicative of the fact technology is a strategic asset in today’s professional services firm? There is a definite distinction and firms that choose the “good enough” level often do not comprehend the connection between funding constraints and performance constraints.
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Holding Your Managing Partner Accountable
March 2004
Managing an accounting firm is not an easy task due to the nature of the ownership and the fact that too often everyone thinks they are in charge; but in reality, no one really has the power and control to lead and manage effectively. The majority of accounting firms have a managing partner in title and responsibility, but often without the authority and power to lead effectively and efficiently.
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What's Next in Technology?
February 2004
Frequently I am asked what the next technology is going to be that will have a major impact on the accounting profession. My response is that I am not sure it will be a technology but rather how technology is utilized to eliminate or reduce dangers facing the profession.
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The Focus of Firm Management
February 2004
While there are seminars and on-the-job training for managing partners, there is no book or school on how to manage an accounting firm. Too often managing partners get strapped with administrative duties and fail to lead the firm toward strategic objectives. It is often lonely in the managing partner’s role, as they have to enforce discipline, manage partner disputes, deal with financial issues and in many firms simultaneously manage a book of business in order to retain security and status. This is not a formula that entrepreneurial coaches prescribe.
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How Do We Do That Around Here?
January 2004
As we work with firms around the country, we at Boomer Consulting, Inc. still see far too many instances of poorly documented or fragmented standards, policies, and procedures. Jobs are being done in ways that have evolved over time with little regard to the capabilities of modern software systems.
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Integration Rather Than Application Strategy
January 2004
Despite significant investments in technology, most firms have not realized their vision of integrated applications that seamlessly share client and firm data. In fact, most firms currently have a stable of applications that represent departmental requirements rather than integrated firm solutions. The net result is that most firms are required to enter redundant data, such as the clients’ names, addresses and telephone numbers, into multiple applications.
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Managing IT to a Plan
January 2004
The management of IT in professional service firms has evolved to the point where it is relatively easy to distinguish the firms who are getting the top returns on their IT investments. We see three primary management styles in the accounting profession when it comes to IT management and the returns tend to correlate directly with those styles:
- Reactionary
- Manage to a budget
- Manage to a plan
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Technology Projects - Select Them Carefully
July 2003
There is an old saying to pick the low-hanging fruit first. The same is true when it comes to selecting technology projects. Many firms are in the position that they have already completed the easy projects and now the task of selecting projects and successfully implementing them is getting harder. It requires far more than an investment in hardware and software in order to get a substantial return. Many projects today such as integrated financial reporting, document management, workflow initiatives and CRM (customer relationship management) require cultural changes. Is your firm committed?
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What is it Going to Cost?
February 2003
One of the first questions partners ask when it comes to technology is how much is it going to cost? It is a relevant and timely question as we look to the future given the current status of the profession and the economy. Let’s start by asking a question, “What has to happen over the next three years for you to feel you and your firm have made significant progress?” While this seems like a reasonable question, many CPAs avoid documenting their expectations so they can’t or won’t be held accountable. You can call this strategic planning if you wish.
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Getting the Right IT Support Ratio
January 2003
What is the right IT support ratio (support personnel to end users) in a public accounting firm? This is one of those questions that the answer is…“it depends”. It depends upon many factors, but the following factors seem to be the most relevant: