Celebrating the Legacy of Don Scholl: A Pioneer in CPA Firm Management

Don recently passed away peacefully at his home at the age of 88.

Who was Don Scholl? I’m glad you asked.

He was not a CPA but knew our business better than most CPAs. He was one of the first consultants to understand that CPA firms should be managed like a real business instead of a group of collegial, democratically minded partners who managed by committee and were inept at getting things done. This discipline became known as MAP – Management of an Accounting Practice. I’m pretty sure that records have not been kept on this, but Don was one of the very first consultants to speak at a new kind of conference: MAP conferences.

State of the CPA profession when Don got started

This is what greeted Don when he started working with accounting firms in the late 1970s. Nothing below is exaggerated, and everything has dramatically changed for the better.

1. Few firms had managing partners; if they did, they were administrative figureheads. The real management was done by management committees.
2. MPs often were the firm’s best rainmaker, and many lacked leadership skills. In addition to their internal duties, almost all MPs managed a large client base, greatly limiting the time devoted to managing the firm. As a result, firm management suffered enormously.
3. Administrative work (different from management and leadership) was dispersed among the partners and a handful of clerical people. Partners at many firms performed functions such as reconciling the bank account, doing the payroll, etc. The position of full-time firm administrator (today expanded to include COOs) with no client duties had yet to be created.
4. Business development was taboo, not only because our code of ethics expressly prohibited it, but also because CPAs could not possibly imagine themselves selling
5. Staff were a dime a dozen. If people left or were fired, they could easily be replaced before they walked out the door.
6. All CPA firms were partnerships, C-corps or S-corps. No LLCs, LLPs, etc.
7. The national firms consisted of the Big Eight and, to a lesser extent, Grant Thornton and BDO. All other firms were primarily local with a few described as regional.
8. Consulting was virtually non-existent in the portfolios of CPA firms’ services. A familiar adage at MAP conferences was that Type 1 services are those that clients need but don’t necessarily want (tax returns, audits), and Type 2 services are those that clients both need and want (consulting, help managing their business, solving their problems). Don was instrumental at helping firms understand that Type 2 services were the future of the profession.
9. Partner income was often allocated based on ownership, seniority or both. The partners wanted no part of performance-based factors or accountability.
10. Very few mergers occurred. Baby boomers were young and in their prime.
11. Very few had a personal computer. When I started my career as the COO at a large Chicago CPA firm, we had a few scattered rooms where a few Compaq “luggables” were available for common use. The thought of each person having their own computer in their office was a few years off.

Don met these challenges head on and was part of a growing cadre of consultants to usher in the age of professional CPA firm management.

Some activities that Don will forever be known for

• His primary gig was always practice management consulting to CPA firms from coast to coast. Lots of partner retreats, practice management reviews, strategic planning and a heavy dose of partner issues.
• He created MFR (Management For Results) meetings. They started as Don’s brilliant idea to start small groups of MPs who met for a two-to-three-day meeting. Before long, Don had convened a massive number of these. They were so successful that many of these groups asked Don to convene reunion meetings every year. Premier MPs from across the country attended MFR meetings.
• He co-founded the Association of Accounting Firm Administrators (now the CPAFMA) in 1984 and was their long-time advisor and mentor. This, of course, coincided with the birth of the firm administer position, today expanded to include COOs.
• He co-founded the New Horizons Group, a think tank of the country’s top CPA firm consultants, which exists to this day. In the early years, he ran our meetings with the same expert manner that he facilitated partner retreats.

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A few words from top CPA industry leaders

“Truly a historic and huge name in our profession.”—Barry Melancon

“Although Don retired approximately 15 years ago, he will be remembered as one of the top consultants in the accounting profession. He advised and transformed many of today’s great CPA firms going back to the 1980s.” —Allan Koltin

“We would probably not be where we are today without Don coming before us.” —August Aquila

“A true gentleman with a great sense of humor.” —Gary Shamis

“A bright mind, he also was one of the early innovators of MP roundtables.” —Jennifer Wilson

“He knew how to bond a group to find solutions.” —Carl George

Final thoughts

Many of you are too young to remember Don. But know this: whatever knowledge you have about managing a CPA firm most likely originated with people like Don Scholl.

We will miss Don and will treasure our fond memories of him. We shall forever value the knowledge and friendship he shared with us.

May his memory be a blessing.