Rosenberg Associates Blog

Buyout Schmyout: A Partner-Candidate Asks If It’s Worth It

Avatar photoKristen Rampe, CPA / May 10, 2023

We occasionally receive lengthy replies to our blogs and like to share our readers’ perspectives. A senior manager of a three-partner firm in the Midwest wrote to us on the topic of succession and buyouts, following my April Fool’s blog on raising the minimum retirement age to 85. This is Part 1 of a 2-part…

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Poll Results: Retention Effectiveness Strategies for CPA Firms

Amanda LilleyAmanda Lilley, CPA, SHRM-CP, PHR / May 2, 2023

We polled our audience of CPA firms to find out the average turnover percentage in 2022 and what retention strategies firms plan to implement after this latest winter busy season to try to keep staff from joining the mass exodus that is common for public accounting professionals at this time of year.   Based on 63…

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Linking Employee Compensation to Performance

Amanda LilleyAmanda Lilley, CPA, SHRM-CP, PHR / April 18, 2023

Firms use compensation as a standard reward for performance in areas such as meeting billable hours expectations, performing at a high technical level, delivering exceptional client service, taking on additional training or leadership duties, or mentoring staff.    Just as importantly, firms use compensation to give employees something to look forward to. Employees are motivated to…

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From Failing Plans to Successful Change

Avatar photoMatt Rampe / April 12, 2023

Times have changed dramatically for CPA firms: staffing crises, remote workers, technological advances, retiring partners, new expectations about what a work week should look like…. Traditional strategic planning has become less effective. We need a new model that works in our new era. Let me introduce you to it. The Decline of One Person Having…

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A Morning with the MP of Aprio, Richard Kopelman

Avatar photoMarc Rosenberg, CPA / April 5, 2023

Our Chicago large-firm roundtable brings in premier MPs from across the country to share their management practices with us. Our most recent visitor was Richard Kopelman, MP of Atlanta-based Aprio, the twenty-fifth largest CPA firm in the U.S., with revenue of $340M, 80 equity partners, 80 non-equity partners, and 1,500 total personnel.  One would be…

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Firm Retirement Age of 85 Averts Staffing Crisis

Avatar photoKristen Rampe, CPA / April 1, 2023

A satirical blog post in celebration of April Fool’s Day. Struggling with the ongoing talent shortage facing the accounting industry, local CPA firm Watts, Taber and Fiske recently made a change giving them a viable option for staying independent. The firm raised its minimum age for partner retirement from 62 to 85, which gives the…

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What To Do When a Partner Doesn’t Want to Retire

Avatar photoMarc Rosenberg, CPA / March 21, 2023

A firm on the East Coast with 11 partners and revenue of $28M asked me this:       QUESTION  A long-time partner, a “nice person,” is 69. She has been a fairly good rainmaker over the years, but during the past five years or so, she has slowed down and transitioned many of her clients. She…

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Three Ways to Make Your Firm Attractive to Employees (Future and Current)

Amanda LilleyAmanda Lilley, CPA, SHRM-CP, PHR / March 15, 2023

Originally featured on Accounting Today… I’m amazed—maybe, by this point, I shouldn’t be—at how often the topic of recruiting and retention comes up when talking with clients. I could be working with a client on how to redesign their compensation system or admit a new partner, and without fail, somehow we get onto the topic…

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What MPs Can Learn From General Eisenhower

Avatar photoMarc Rosenberg, CPA / February 26, 2023

One of the saddest things about history is how much of it is forgotten as the years move on. About 15 years ago, a survey asked high school students if Germany was an ally or enemy of the US in WW2. Most responded “ally.” How unfortunate. But it proves how major historical events are shuttered…

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Commonly Omitted Provisions in CPA Firm Partner Agreements

Amanda LilleyAmanda Lilley, CPA, SHRM-CP, PHR / February 21, 2023

Partner agreements are a key organizational document for any business, including CPA firms. Firms normally don’t find themselves needing to refer to them, but in the event that they do it’s important to have the right provisions included to be able to effectively handle situations as they arise. Many partnership or operating agreements from CPA…

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