Partners L O V E Their Jobs!

A consistently strong observation I have made about CPA firm partners is that they really love their jobs.  They love their clients.  They love their work and its challenges.  They love solving problems.  They love the freedom and flexibility of being a business owner.  And they love making more money than they ever dreamed of – partners in local firms earn, on average, roughly $350,000 a year.

What puzzles me is why partners don’t make a greater effort to communicate this to their staff.  Many firms don’t even share with their staff how to become a partner or how CPA firms make money.  And firms often ask their promising staff if they want to be a partner.

What a disconnect!  I constantly hear partners complain about today’s young people.  Their common refrain:  “Today’s staff don’t want to be a partner.”  My experience in interviewing and surveying hundreds of staff is that they may say they don’t want to be a partner, but the obstacle is that they don’t know what it means to be a partner, and how great a job it is to be a CPA firm partner.

So partners – start talking to your staff about how much you love your job!  I’d like to hear from  you – what are YOU doing to tell your staff how great a job you have?