Announcement: Rosenberg Associates Named to the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting Today and 2024 Outlook

Accounting Today recently released its ranking of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting. This award lists the thought leaders and change-makers who are shaping the profession.

Marc Rosenberg, CPA, and I were named among the Top 100 list this year. Accounting Today editors cited these reasons:

Kristen: “Under Rampe’s leadership, Rosenberg Associates has expanded its reach with CPA firms, bringing her practical and accessible tools to more accountants than ever. And while the company has a long history of practice management consulting, the rapid evolution of the field means Rampe’s emphasis on clarifying complex concepts to meet new challenges is especially essential.”

Marc: “To say Rosenberg wrote the book on running an accounting firm is an understatement: He’s actually written 16 of them, distilling the wisdom he shares in his blogs, his consulting engagements, his speeches and more into a single shelf full of answers to every question a firm leader might have about how to build and manage a successful practice.”

We want to thank our clients for providing the opportunities to make a difference in the profession.

Perspectives on Influence

Accounting Today asked: What is the most important issue currently facing the accounting profession?

Kristen’s Response:

Simply put, the staffing shortage.

The absence of an adequate talent pipeline has compelled many firms to formulate a response to workforce demands for improved work-life harmony, increased flexibility, and more significant investment in career development.

But there is more work to do. Firms must adopt strategies to reduce burnout, improve pay (particularly at lower levels), better leverage technology, and cull poor-fit clients.

Marc’s Response:

All the following, which are heavily interconnected:

• Dire shortage of labor with no end in sight.
• Difficulty getting staff to return to the office.
• Partners’ frustration is at an all-time high due to the above. Their skyrocketing income in recent years has not eased their pain.

The new, expanded second edition of our book, CPA Firm Staff: Managing Your #1 Asset, addresses • talent management • retention • flexibility • importance of the boss • mentoring • leadership development • advancement • performance feedback • recruiting, and other issues.

Order your copy today!

Accounting Today asked: How would you fix the pipeline problem of too few people entering the profession?

Kristen’s Response:

To make the profession attractive to future accountants, we need better marketing and recruiting efforts beginning in high school and college, and we need to improve compensation and showcase it.

I’ll never forget when my roommate in college showed me her pay stub from her full-time (busy season) internship. It had a comma in it! I had never seen a comma on my own pay checks, which helped me decide that public accounting was the place for me. We need to show that pay in accounting keeps pace with other professions, so we’re not passed over.

Marc’s response:

There is no one cure. Firms need to pursue many remedies. Some are:

• Reducing the need for the pipeline by being much more selective about which clients to accept and retain, and raising prices significantly—thus earning more by working fewer hours.
• Hiring non-accounting majors to perform CPA firm work.
• Outsourcing and offshoring.
• Eliminating the self-destructive and failed 150-hour rule.
• Making the job of a partner more appealing to staff. Partners can start by working more reasonable hours. When staff see how much partners work, they are turned off.

2024 Outlook

Our mission at Rosenberg Associates is to help CPA firms build and maintain successful, independent practices with people who love their work and feel fairly rewarded. Here’s how we plan to do that in 2024:

• Keep our approach practical, making complex concepts and conversations accessible to our clients and readers.
• Work with clients seeking valuable outcomes for their firms. There’s a type of client we work best with: those that are ready to change and benefit significantly from external support.
• Develop the best team of consultants in the industry. The ability to have multiple professional opinions on complex issues and a top-notch support team to keep us focused is essential to our client service.

As the new year begins, we look forward most of all to another year of positively influencing accounting firms, practitioners, and the industry to be a sustainable, enjoyable, and rewarding profession at all levels.