Staff retention at midsize firms charts new waters

An article in WebCPA talks about the steps midsize firms in particular are taking to ensure their young people stay put: More midsized firms are starting to address this issue by paying attention to what younger people need to stay engaged. Some are including younger staff members in more significant firm decisions through advisory boards;Continue reading “Staff retention at midsize firms charts new waters”

Using wikis or blogs to manage knowledge in firms

A recent article on WebCPA confused and inspired me: Accounting firms need to become more intelligent businesses by better leveraging the time and knowledge of their professional staff, according to a survey… […] Firms with a formal knowledge management program benefited from its implementation. Hmm… Intelligence, good. Leveraging knowledge, check. Formal knowledge management program, bingo!Continue reading “Using wikis or blogs to manage knowledge in firms”

Traditional partnership model being tossed aside

The way most professional services firms are organized is the partnership, which more often than not is based on the premise that the people who bring in the most business earn the biggest cut of the take. Some firms have begun to question the wisdom of this model, and are moving to an organization thatContinue reading “Traditional partnership model being tossed aside”

Bring in specialists to build niche practices

An interesting article in WebCPA talks about how some small firms are building niche practices by bringing in “Champions” from the outside: Someone with an established reputation and contacts who can hit the ground running and jump-start the program in a new organization. Going outside the firm has many advantages: Target growth areas to focusContinue reading “Bring in specialists to build niche practices”

Variety and experience at mid-size firms

I’m going to have a fast-paced week again. This week I’m working on two clients from jobs that have wrapped up field work and two clients whose field work has yet to begin. On the two post field work jobs, I’ll be auditing the consolidation of several large private companies and clearing review notes andContinue reading “Variety and experience at mid-size firms”