Tax Season Ending, Can Retreat Season Be Far Behind?

Congratulations to thousands of CPA firm partners.  The good news is there is only one week left in your tax season.  After the 15th, take some time off and rest up.  When you return from your break, the really good news happens:  It’s time to begin the rest of year!

That’s right.  The peculiar cycle of the CPA firm year begins with no planning or strategy implementation from January through June.  So, if you haven’t already begun thinking about the rest of the year, now is a good time to start.

From May 1 through mid-summer is the “retreat season.”  That’s when partner groups convene their annual retreat, leaving the rest of the year to execute retreat action plans.  What kind of a firm do you want to be in 5 years?  If you decided this last year, are you on track?  How can you resolve your greatest problems and challenges?  How can you become a better firm, regardless of how good you are now.

Here are the award winning topics on CPA firm’s retreat agendas these days:

• Do we have a succession plan?  80% of first generation firms never make it to the second.  Are you going to win this war or become another casualty?

• What are you REALLY doing to develop your staff into leaders and future partners?

• In a post-recession economy, a “new normal” has evolved, with sluggish growth in the 3-6% range for most firms.  What can you do to burst out of this malaise?

The cost of convening a two day retreat for an 8 partner firm is roughly $50.000 (assumes partners are 50% billable and you hire an outside facilitator).  Unless you make your retreat an impact event, that $50,000 will be wasted.  Our monograph Guide To Planning The Firm Retreat is a step-by step guide for organizing your retreat so that you are able to point to that $50,000 as an investment, not a cost.

Along with the strategic planning theme of many retreats you may also want to read CPA Firm Succession Planning:  A Perfect Storm.