January 21, 2019

IN OUR OPINION, PERSPECTIVE #75 — JANUARY 21, 2019

(A Continuing Series for Leading CPA Firms)

THE MANAGING PARTNER; THE HEART AND SOUL OF A CPA FIRM

“The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set   for themselves. “. –Ray Kroc

A managing partner (we prefer that the title be chief executive officer) is the heart and soul of any CPA firm. Without an effective managing partner, a firm runs the very real risk of not reaching the next level of success. This begs the question — what best describes the role and responsibilities of a managing partner?

In Our Opinion, the key role and responsibility of a managing partner is to be the shepherd, or orchestra leader or quarterback if you prefer, of the partner group. Perhaps the simplest way to describe the shepherd role is to start off by highlighting what a successful managing partner is not.

A successful managing partner is not:

1. The #1 Biller Among the Partner Group:

It is someone who also isn’t the partner with the highest billable charge hours. Depending on the size of the firm, some day-to-day client responsibilities for a managing partner are essential. And while a successful managing partner usually carries a very small client load to stay grounded in client service and to remain credible with the partner group, billings and chargeable hours are truly a very small part of the job. In our view, a managing partner’s clients are the partners; giving them the opportunity to maximize their strengths while minimizing their weaknesses. A managing partner has to be readily available for big opportunities or problems and is someone who creates an environment of trust among the partners.

• Someone Who Comes from the Outside the Existing Partner Ranks:

That’s too risky, particularly if someone comes from outside of the professional services firm environment. We don’t know of one situation where such a tactic has been successful at one of the Top 100 firms. The “outsider” obviously doesn’t know the firm’s history or culture or the partners’ individual strengths and weaknesses. The “outsider” also isn’t attached to the firm’s vision and strategic plan. Please stay away.

3. Two Partners Functioning as Co-Managing Partners:

Oftentimes, in the spirit of political correctness, it is not unusual for firms to select co-managing partners. It’s a safe decision that doesn’t offend quality partners who compete for the position. While from time to time, we have found that this kind of arrangement works, many times it doesn’t and is therefore a step that we believe should be taken with lots of caution. Too often firms with co-managing partners are plagued with inaction or conflicting directions with little, if any, consistency on strategy. If co-managing partners could be avoided, we encourage firms to take the bold step and the tough decision — select the right person for the job today and make sure that you do the best to retain the other contender(s) for the position. We acknowledge retention is not very easy to accomplish. So, the best advice we can give is to avoid a scenario like this completely by being very clear as to the characteristics a firm is looking for in a managing partner — then go for it. 

4. A Part-time Committee:

Firms can’t operate by part-time committees. A firm needs to make decisions and move on. Sure, a firm needs oversight committees such as a management committee or an operations committee to provide oversight and direction to the day-to day operations. A firm also needs an executive committee for corporate governance, partner matters and strategy. But a firm can’t possibly prosper if the key leadership role is delegated to a part-time committee who reacts to situations when time permits. It’s a recipe for disaster. No one is steering the ship, thinking about strategy and the future while, at the same time, making sure that the necessary blocking and tackling is being tended to. This is important to make sure the firm is operating on all cylinders and is delivering on its metrics and performing high quality services.

To us, an effective managing partner has to set the tone at the top and has a very big impact on the firm’s culture, behavior and compensation of the partner group. Being a CPA firm leader requires a person to walk the talk, to lead by example, “to do as I do, not

as I say”. It’s a very challenging and daunting responsibility. As a leader, every word a managing partner says, and every action taken has a tremendous impact not only among the partner ranks but also throughout the firm. So, why doesn’t every firm have one, full time managing partner?

In Our Opinion, in many cases it comes down to trust and security. Many firms select a new managing partner from their ranks at an age somewhere between 45 and 53. Candidates are usually excellent client relationship partners with substantial client service

responsibilities. The thought of giving up a substantial portion, if not all of the client relationships that have been developed over years of service, is very scary to many. For sure, there is a risk in being a managing partner. Candidates ask:

• What happens if I’m not successful? In the spirit of trust, I lose most of my client

responsibilities and begin to lose touch with my outside referral sources. I’ll have nowhere to go but to exit the firm when I’m no longer managing partner.

This is a very real concern and we have found many firms do not want to recognize the severity of the concern. Instead firms say, “trust us” and while that is easy to say, history has found that this trust has been misplaced.

IN CONCLUSION 

Firms need to be very careful in selecting their managing partner. The goal should be to ensure a high probability of success. That’s not only good for the managing partner, it’s also good for the firm and for future managing partners. Our advice is that firms consider “protecting” the managing partner with an agreement, with compensation and severance provisions, that ensures employment for two or three years after the person steps down as managing partner. While this is rarely done in today’s world, we suggest that the lack of such an agreement could very well be one reason has difficulties in attracting effective managing partners and, as a result, are unable to achieve the next level of success.

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Dom Esposito, CPA, is the CEO of ESPOSITO CEO2CEO, LLC — a boutique advisory firm consulting to leading CPA and other professional services firms on strategy, succession planning and mergers, acquisitions and integration. Dom, voted as one of the most influential people in the profession for two consecutive years by Accounting Today, authored a book, published by www.CPATrendlines.com., entitled “8 Steps to Great” which is a primer for CEOs, managing partners and other senior partners. In Our Opinion, is a continuing series of perspectives for leading CPA firms where Dom shares insights, experiences and wisdom with firm leaders who

want to “run with the big dogs” and develop their firms into sustainable brands. Dom welcomes questions and can be contacted at either desposito@espositoceo2ceo.com or 203.292.3277.