Rosenberg Associates Blog
Kristen Rampe, CPAOriginally published in Accounting Today. Partners at firms that have chosen to remain independent are now asking whether a firm’s internal buyout multiple should be adjusted. Some believe the multiple should be increased to reflect the additional value that could be captured by selling externally to private equity (PE) or through a traditional sale to…
Chrystin McHughRosenberg Associates’ most-read blogs of 2025 reveal a profession at an inflection point: firms are grappling with private equity, leadership dynamics, talent, and pricing. These blogs paint a picture of what’s top-of-mind for forward-looking firm leaders as they sharpen their strategies, stay competitive, and increase profitability. Our knowledgeable team authored these blogs that sparked interest and…
Matt RampeA firm I worked with this year said, “We have a pay-equal partner compensation system, and the cracks are starting to show! No one is taking advantage of it, but it is frustrating the high performers, and I have no leverage to improve my lower-performing partners. I want a comp system that rewards performance. How…
It’s that time of year again, when we get to enjoy the bounty of data available through the Rosenberg Survey, with gratitude to all the firms that put in the effort to respond. Here’s what we’re noticing. Average revenue is up, as usual, though the increase is smaller than last year. Profits are also up,…
You may have seen my interview earlier this year with Russell Shapiro on the topic of partner compensation. We spent close to 45 minutes discussing various aspects of allocating CPA firm income. One of the many topics we discussed was how to get buy-in on changes to a partner compensation system. Change management is the…
Welcome back to our analysis of insights from the Difficult Partner Dynamics Quick Poll conducted in August 2025. If you missed our first blog in this series, catch up here. In this post, we explore how unresolved partner issues affect compensation and, more importantly, look at ways to resolve them. We’ll also share real-life examples…
Originally produced by Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC. In a recent conversation on changing partner compensation systems in accounting firms, Russell Shapiro, Partner at Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC, speaks with Kristen Rampe, Managing Partner of Rosenberg Associates, about updating systems, including how to plan and implement a change and the questions that arise during these types of changes….
The complexities involved in allocating income to a group of owners is not for the faint of heart. With numerous decisions to create a plan that fairly rewards individuals for their contributions to the firm’s profits, it’s easy to fall back on what you’ve heard others doing. In some cases, those plans might work out…
There are many reasons for a sizeable spread in partner income at a CPA firm. For example, at a firm that has both a founder nearing retirement and a first-year partner, the spread would be wide. Some firms are the opposite, with two to four founding partners agreeing to share all profits equally. No spread…
Multi-partner CPA firms need to ensure the right person or people make comp allocation decisions. In addition to the mechanism used to allocate income, such as a formula or the criteria used in partner evaluations, firm owners need to specify who will determine the allocation. Sometimes that means “who’s on the comp committee,” but it…
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