The document discusses challenges and strategies for building high-performance CPA firms, emphasizing the need for unified vision, growth in a mature market, and the importance of employee engagement. Key issues include retaining talent, managing succession, and adapting to market changes while maintaining effective leadership and culture. The presentation advocates for strategic planning, alignment throughout the organization, and continuous learning as essential components for success in a competitive landscape.

1. Building the High Performance CPA Firm
How to get a bigger BOUNCE!
Tom Hood, CPA, CITP, CGMA
CEO
MACPA
Business Learning Institute

2. Download
today’s
slides
at
…
www.SlideShare.net/thoodcpa

3. app.gosoapbox.com
CCH2012

4. Respond to a Poll
Ask a Question
Vote up a Question

11. What’s your biggest challenge?
Operating as a shared vision firm versus as a shared services firm.
Operating as a one-firm mentality. Most just do not get get it!
Getting everyone on the same page.
We are in a mature market so the biggest challenge is continuing to grow in this market and expanding into complimentary
markets
Staffing, net billing per charge hour
Finding and hiring top talent
Growing top line revenue.
Finding and keeping young talent.
Motivating staff
Achieving a unified strategy among the partner group.
Pricing
Maintaining a work/life balance.
getting all on the same page
We have several partners. We all agree on a vision for our firm, we just can't agree on how to get there. We can't seem to jump
start the process.
Effiency teaching staff analytical thinking
Identification and Development of the next generation of leaders
Moving from a silo practice to one firm mentality.
Upcoming partner retirements, some greed by old group on buy out, some lack of commitment by the new group. Too much self
interest, not enough "best interests of the company" thinking.
Growth
So if you don't have the commitment from the owner group to spend the time (retirement etc). Do you just blow the whole
thing up before wasting your own valuable time ?
Growth, expanding niches
Finding and keeping young talent that are eager to advance within the company
Finding time to be strategic. Too much time working in the business and not on the business.
Qualified staff
Senior/founding partner is retiring in a year. Challenge to keep his client base in firm
Significant amount of growth and the decision makers were good at running a small to medium firm. However we are moving to
become a large firm, and they don't know how to operate as such.
Making a plan.
Not having our work product look like a commodity.
All of the above
Changing partner behavior to align with strategy

12. The new normal is anything but…

13. MANAGING
THE
SEA
CHANGE
• Change
• Complexity
• Compliance
• Convergence
• Compe33on

14. Changes in the Profession
55 Firms in T100
Mega-mergers
Counter trends?
www.bizlearning.net

15. What is
your
biggest
challenge?

16. AICPA Major Firms Group
www.bizlearning.net

17. Top Ten Issues for MFG
1. Regulatory/Legislative (56)
2. Private Company Leadership (47)
3. Capital Markets Awareness / Recognition (34)
4. Rethinking Business Model (25)
5. Protect Audit/CPA Franchise (20)
6. Risk Management (Audit efficiencies) (20)
7. Leadership Development / Succession Planning
(19)
8. Global / International (Clients / IFRS / Branding)
(17)
9. Leveraging Technology & Social Media (17)
17

18. 2011 AICPS PCPS MAP Issues
www.bizlearning.net
18

19. The Three Barriers to Growth
1. Need for Executive Team to grow in
their abilities to delegate & predict
(connect & collaborate)
2. Need for systems and structures to
handle complexity that comes with
growth
3. Need to navigate the increasingly
tricky market dynamics of a larger,
rapidly changing marketplace
Source: Verne Harnish - Author of Mastering the Rockefeller Habits

20. What does a high
performance firm
look like?

21. A tale of two firms
• One founded in
1921
• One founded in
1977
• One has 967 staff &
$202 million in
Revenue
• One is Top 20 and
the other is no
longer in existence
www.bizlearning.net

22. A tale of two more firms…
www.bizlearning.net

23. And two more…
www.bizlearning.net

24. CCH
Future
Ready
Research
-­‐
2011
Being Future Ready Relies On:
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Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.
Foundation of best practices
And
Processes, business management,
people and solutions that are
adaptive to change

25. CCH
Future
Ready
Research
-­‐
2011
Future Ready Firm
• Staffing & Firm Culture
• Workflows & Processes
• Tools & Technology
• Practice Management &
Analytics

26. What sets you
apart? How are
you different?

27. The Guru on Firms
“Those people talk about having a strategy
with a longer-term view, but the operational
reality is vastly different. They want the
money right now. In practice, cash is
everything…
What's missing are whole firms that are
built on discipline and strategy.”
David Maister - FastCompany

28. ROI = ROP
ROP = ROA x ROC x ROL

29. Return on Investment
Cri;cal
Areas
Investment
Return
People
2%
20%
Processes
2%
15%
Organiza3on
Structure
2%
10%
Culture
1%
20%
Leadership
1%
10%
Informa3on
10%
15%
Technology
82%
10%
Source:
Informa3on
Masters
–
Secrets
of
the
Customer
Race
by
John
McKean
www.bizlearning.net

30. The 5 questions you must answer
• Who are we & why do we
exist?
• Where are we going?
• How are we going to get there?
• How is our progress?
• What happens when things
change?
www.bizlearning.net

31. Lessons from the Built to Last:
1. Clock Building, Not Time Telling
2. Embrace the Genius of “AND”
3. Preserve the Core & Stimulate
Progress
4. Seek consistent alignment
Source: Built to Last – Jerry Porras & Jim Collins

32. High
Performance
Organiza3ons
–
Strategic
&
Systema3c
Why
Reassess
Why we do & Renew
what we do.
Purpose &
Critical What did we learn? How
is the world changing?
Values
Turning
Point
The
Where are Bounce
Link &
we going
Leverage
Our envisioned future. How are our day to
What do we want to be, day activities
do, create, experience,
connected to our
and have?
purpose & strategy
How are
we going to
get there
Our strategic
Initiatives and priorities
Copyright 2012 – Business Learning Institute

33. Start with why?
People don’t
buy what
you do, they
buy why you
do it!
www.bizlearning.net

34. Lessons from Steve Jobs
Steve
Jobs
returns
to
Apple
aSer
being
away
for
13
years
on
Jan
8,
1999,
$1
billion
in
red.
www.bizlearning.net

35. Sinek’s Golden Circle
Conven3onal
Remarkable
www.bizlearning.net

36. Strategy as Process:
Our i2a Framework
www.bizlearning.net

37. Turn the Flywheel with Alignment
“Alignment is a mode of belonging
that is not confined to mutual
engagement. The process of
alignment bridges time & space to
form broader enterprises so that
participants become connected
through the coordination of their
Alignment focuses on the energies, actions, and practices.
future and builds trust.
Alignment is about getting Through alignment, we become part
their discretionary effort. of something big because we do
what it takes to play our part."
- Etienne Wenger
Communities of Practice
www.bizlearning.net

38. Why executives should care about
Employee Engagement
Gallup studies proved that corporations with higher
engagement levels generated:
• 27% higher profits
• 50% higher sales
• 50% higher customer loyalty
• 38% above average productivity
“Employee Engagement is an outcome-based concept.
It is the term which is used to describe the degree to which
employees can be ascribed as aligned and committed to their
organization such that they are at the most productive.”
-The International School of Human Capital Management
www.bizlearning.net

39. Example of Strategic Plan on a Page
Produced
for
AICPA
www.bizlearning.net

40. Example of Strategic Plan on a Page
www.bizlearning.net

41. Strategic Thinking – not episodic strategic planning
What happens when
things are changing
fast?
www.bizlearning.net

42. The Cameron Paradox
The
faster
things
change,
the
more
important
it
is
to
look
Kim
Cameron
-­‐
Associate
Dean,
Execu9ve
Educa9on,
the
Ross
School
at
University
of
Michigan
ahead.
www.bizlearning.net

43. What CPAs think about the future
30 Future Forums
1,000 CPAs
Identified these top trends
http://www.bizlearning.net/live/i2afutureforums

44. Use your scouts

45. i2a Process Map for Accelerated Strategic Growth
What do Develop
So what? Imagine the Share with
I know? Firm-wide
possibilities
Seek the
insight past the others and
Find the edges of
Strategies
what you know and
expand them.
obvious. and create your
desired future.
Inspire to
action
FIRM LEVEL
OFFICE & INDUSTRY/SERVICE GROUP LEVEL
INSURE YOUR STRATEGIC
CHOICES AND DIRECTION BY EC = Executive Committee
COLLECTIVELY CONSIDERING OMP = Office Managing Partners
YOUR PAST, PRESENT
GL – Group Leaders
PTR = All Partners
AND FUTURE CONTEXTS
MGR = Managers
S&A = Staff and Admin
ANNUALLY.
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN
www.bizlearning.net

46. Feedback From a Session
250 partners of a top 15 firm
www.bizlearning.net

47. Can you pivot?
Pivot =
A Change
in
STRATEGY
without a
change in
VISION
Eric
Ries
–
author
of
the
Lean
Startup
www.bizlearning.net

48. Training as a Competitive Edge
In a world of unrelenting change, about the only
sustainable advantage is learning. Competitors can copy
your products, duplicate your technology, and replicate
your processes, but as long as your organization is
learning faster than theirs, you will always remain ahead.”
David Garvin – Harvard Professor

49. Find your Edge
In a period of rapid
change and increasing
complexity, the winners
are going to be the people
who can learn faster than
the rate of change and
faster than your
competition.
- Tom Hood, CPA,
CITP,CGMA
CEO of the MACPA & the
Business Learning
Institute
49

50. Superior Talent Generates
Results"
& Superior Learning Strategy
Generates Superior Talent
ü 26% higher revenue per employee
ü 40% lower turnover among high
performers and 17% overall
ü 29% higher level of engagement
ü 36% higher readiness in leadership
and management
50
ROP = Return on People

51. What today’s workers want
• Engage
your
top
performers
• Coach
tomorrow’s
leaders
• Manage
your
Millennials
Think AMP
• Autonomy
• Mastery
• Purpose

52. Benefits to
organizations
Training and
development is the
most highly valued
employee benefit. The
number choosing
training and PWC Report - Managing tomorrow's
development as their people: Millennials at work: Perspectives
from a new generation
first choice of benefit is
three times higher than
those who chose cash
bonuses.
52

53. h[p://cpa.tc/bounce
www.bizlearning.net

54. Customized to meet your
firm Competencies and
aligned with your strategy
www.macpa.org

55. Training aligned to strategy creates employee
engagement
Gallup studies proved that corporations with higher
engagement levels generated:
• 27% higher profits
• 50% higher sales
• 50% higher customer loyalty
• 38% above average productivity
“Employee Engagement is an outcome-based concept.
It is the term which is used to describe the degree to which
employees can be ascribed as aligned and committed to their
organization such that they are at the most productive.”
-The International School of Human Capital Management
www.bizlearning.net

56. How do you tip the odds in your favor?
Strategy as Process
using a simple framework that
can be repeated
And cascaded
throughout your
organization • Engagement
• Alignment
• Commitment
Rocket fuel • Accountability
for strategy
www.bizlearning.net

57. Cascading Alignment throughout the
organization creates Commitment
Cascading by understanding
the top level goals
and linking the
next level down
through the
organization
Firm-­‐wide
Sample alignment
Regional
&
Prac3ce
Levels
worksheet from
MACPA
Office
Level
Individuals
Align
Their
Goals
to
the
Firm
www.bizlearning.net

58. The Opportunity – Be the House
• 15 X – ROI on Strategy as Process &
Alignment (Jim Collins – Built to Last)
• 8 X – Engagement & Trust (Gallup)
• 10X – Return on Leadership (Information Masters)
• 20 X – Return on Culture (Information Masters)
• 3 X - Return on Positivity (Dr. Barbara Frederickson)
“In order to buy-in, I have to weigh in.” – Pat Lencioni
www.bizlearning.net

59. What can you do to boost your odds?
Tipping
point
which
way
will
they
go?
This is your
risk point!
Inner Circle Informed Pragmatists Skeptics No-Nos
Bought-in Leaders I’ll wait & see Prove it to me I don’t like this
I support it
www.bizlearning.net

60. Where do you start?
• Identifying & Correcting Misalignments
• If this is our purpose and values and these are
our strategies, what are the obstacles that get in
our way?
• Creating new Alignments
• What mechanisms do you have that reinforce
your most important initiatives?
• Granite Rock – short pay
• Onboarding?
• Innovating?
www.bizlearning.net

61. Where do you start?
• Build on Strengths
• Seek High Leverage
Opportunities
• Involve your whole firm
• Leverage Technology
www.bizlearning.net

62. It is more important to have your team:
• Thinking strategically than having a strategic plan.
• Understanding the direction and foundation (vision, values
& strategic intent) of the firm than having a detailed
five-year plan.
• Engaging in the firm’s future as a whole organization, not
just the partners.
• Aligning and on the same page than working
independently in their own silos.
• Engaging and participating than being idle observers.
• Focusing on the future than questioning the past.
You need a framework that allows you to engage and align your firm and
engage your people in the meaningful work of your organization. This
increases buy-in and discretionary effort that
defines high performing organizations.
www.bizlearning.net

63. • When it comes to retention, employees
are telling us that leadership matters:
• A workforce is far more engaged and
committed when it trusts its leadership,
receives clear communications about
corporate strategy, and believes its leaders
have the ability to execute on that strategy. In
other words, employee retention is not simply
an HR function; it should be driven by
business leaders.
www.bizlearning.net

64. Setting context & defining reality
The
four
most
important
words
for
organiza3ons
are,
“what
do
you
think?”
-­‐
Tom
Peters

65. We often attribute success, or lack thereof, to inanimate
objects like systems, processes, infrastructure, and strategic
plans. The reality, however, is that nothing NEW happens
unless we set in motion.
We must put our shoulder to the flywheel of positive change
and use our network to exponentially increase our impact.
This is leadership in the new normal!

66. Tom
Hood,
CPA.CITP
CEO
Maryland
Associa;on
of
CPAs
Business
Learning
Ins;tute
(443)
632-­‐2301
E-­‐mail
tom@macpa.org
Web
hUp://www.macpa.org
Blog
hUp://www.cpasuccess.com
hUp://www,bizlearningblog.com

67.
www.cpasuccess.com
www.bizlearningblog.com
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me
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