Rosenberg Associates Blog

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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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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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2022 Rosenberg Associates Remote Work Survey

Amanda LilleyAmanda Lilley, CPA, SHRM-CP, PHR / November 29, 2022

Remote work has had undeniable effects on the CPA industry in recent years, which have been more incredibly challenging for accounting firms. From grappling with how to handle the onboarding, training, and mentoring of staff, to trying to maintain pre-pandemic client relationships and business development levels, firms have been faced with challenges not seen in…

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Poll Results: 2022 Planned Year End Salary Increases

Avatar photoKristen Rampe, CPA / October 19, 2022

We polled our audience of partners to find out what CPA firms are doing when it comes to 2022 pay adjustments for employees. Based on 137 responses, the most common average percentage increase planned for year-end staff salary adjustments was 10%–13%, followed closely by 6%–9%. Not surprisingly, larger accounting firms are making larger adjustments. That…

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Successful Employee: How to BE

Avatar photoMarc Rosenberg, CPA / September 15, 2022

One of the great things about my job as consultant in the past 20 years is the opportunity I’ve had to work with over a thousand CPA firms to learn their best practices…and also what not to do. I have created hundreds of handouts and templates based on these experiences. (These handouts have been incorporated…

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6 Things Today’s Employees Want From Firm Leaders

Amanda LilleyAmanda Lilley, CPA, SHRM-CP, PHR / July 13, 2022

As featured on accountingWEB.com. Retention is front of mind for the leaders of many CPA firms, as the accounting industry grapples with a labor market that favors the employee more than the employer. Some call it the Great Resignation; others refer to it as the Great Reshuffle. Regardless of what term you prefer, focus attention…

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Responding to Staff Who Decline Being Partner Because of the Long Hours Worked

Avatar photoMarc Rosenberg, CPAAvatar photoKristen Rampe, CPA / July 5, 2022

We were conducting a workshop for staff on the business of public accounting, how firms make money, why they should care that the firm is profitable, how the firm is managed and, lastly, why CPA firm partners have a great job. This workshop, which we commonly convene for firms, was for the professional staff of…

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Retain Your Team Using Stay Interviews

Avatar photoKristen Rampe, CPA / June 28, 2022

“Stay Interviews for CPA Firms” was one of the most popular articles I wrote a few years ago. Below is a refreshed version for today’s labor market. With the continued challenge of finding talented team members, keeping the ones you have is even more critical. The cost of recruiting, lost work and time to train…

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Should Partners Cut Their Comp to Pay Staff Better?

Avatar photoMarc Rosenberg, CPA / June 14, 2022

I had lunch with the MP of a $12M firm recently and, naturally, the conversation turned to what’s on the minds of all CPA firms: the challenges of retaining staff, making their jobs more desirable and getting them to covet being a partner. This firm’s income per equity partner is about $600K, with the MP…

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People looking in desert for new talent.

CPA Firm Talent Crisis: What Can You Do?

Amanda LilleyAmanda Lilley, CPA, SHRM-CP, PHR / January 11, 2022

Amanda Lilley works alongside Kristen Rampe and Marc Rosenberg on practice management projects. She is a CPA and licensed HR professional and is based in Portland, Oregon.   The talent supply crisis for CPA firms in the United States has reached unprecedented levels. For an industry that has traditionally seen a steady flow of new…

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