Training: An eye-opening “Best Practice”

I recently led a group of managing partners in a discussion of best practices.  One firm, Porte Brown, an 8 partner, 70 person firm in Chicago, shared a practice with the group that was a real eye-opener.  Bruce Jones, Porte Brown’s MP, said:  “The first Wednesday of every month (except in the tax season), the entire firm shuts down for a mandatory  all-day training session.”

Since Porte Brown is a client of mine, I was already familiar with this firm’s fanatical commitment to consistent and efficient processes  — it’s a hallmark of this firm’s excellent track record for growth and profitability.  But I didn’t know about the monthly training day practice.  Dave Bandel, a Porte Brown Partner, drilled down for me:

“All 70 people attend the training day.   The meeting starts with an update of administrative issues, current marketing events, and a review of all new clients for the month and how they were obtained.  Next, department heads give a heads-up on current department issues.  This includes an IT segment where new software, IT tips and new hardware are discussed.  After excusing the admin staff, we dive into presentations on general practitioner knowledge, most of which are tax related. After a break, we regroup our personnel for a tax session, followed by an accounting session, all led by firm personnel. Towards the end of the day we have separate practice group meetings such as manufacturing, construction and not-for-profit.”

It’s very unusual to find CPA firm practices that are substantively different from one another.  Porte Brown’s dedication to efficient processes and a mandatory, monthly one day training session are truly differentiators for them.