Posts by Marc Rosenberg, CPA
The accounting profession has come a long way since the first CPA exam was administered in New York, in 1896. Outside events, such as the creation of the SEC and the tech revolution, have dramatically changed CPA firms’ service portfolios. In the early 80s, a legendary CPA industry consultant, Don Istvan, told practitioners that accountants…
Being an owner of a CPA firm is one of the coolest jobs anyone could want (assuming your dream job isn’t to be a Hollywood producer, astronaut or shortstop for the Cubs). You make great money, do work you enjoy and work with clients with whom you have a mutual relationship. You do this for…
2022 is just around the corner. If you’re planning key strategic initiatives for next year, here are my responses to the annual Rosenberg Survey Analysis and advice for what will define a successful future for firms. Now that we are more than a year from the start of the pandemic, what do you feel are…
We are big believers in the case study method of learning. So, we have created a set of facts (a story) for a mythical CPA firm (although the facts below are a composite of actual experiences) that we will use in reviewing the art and science of allocating partner income. The story 1. $20M firm….
In bowling, a perfect game is 300 but the top professionals average around 230. In baseball, you’re a star if you get a hit 30% of the time. In CPA profitability, if every aspect of managing a firm was optimized, the income per equity partner (IPP) would be roughly $1.5M. The actual average, per the…
If you’re a CPA, you have had blinders on if you were unaware of the merger frenzy in the CPA industry for the past ten years or so. An avalanche of aging baby boomers coupled with a voracious appetite for growth by larger firms (and “larger” can be a firm as small as a few…
Overview Three months into the pandemic in 2020, the vast majority of firms projected revenue and profit reductions and staff layoffs. Fortunately, this fear was unfounded. Not only did declines not happen but revenues and profits increased as unveiled in the newly released 23rd annual edition of The Rosenberg MAP Survey. And there were virtually…
Many years ago, I was overjoyed that the MP of one of Chicago’s largest local firms (long since merged out of existence) called me in for a meeting. Today, I would have asked what the guy wanted to discuss before shlepping to his office. But 20 years ago, I was just happy he called me….
We worked with a 10-partner CPA firm a few years ago to change their income allocation method from an incredibly complicated formula that was deeply flawed to a compensation committee (CC). We talked to the partner group recently to get their feedback on how things worked out. Why did you adopt the CC? It…
In July, President Biden signed an executive order that made it more difficult for non-compete agreements, in general, to be enforceable. In Illinois, a more restrictive version of this change is ahead of the curve, making it more challenging for Illinois employers to enter into non-compete and non-solicitation agreements with employees. I have heard that…
Marc Rosenberg, CPA
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