2020 Canada Member Meeting Schedule

Mississauga  

Member's Morning

Friday, Dec. 2 

9:00am - 1:00pm

Case Study
on Audit Standards

Speaker   

Fred Watkin, CA 

Recent entries.

• A Little Help from AIDA
• How's Your Other Audience?
• Press Kits 101

Mark Kopstick, CA

Benny Osher, CA

Jing Shen, CGA

Kopstick Osher CAs LLP
North York

Steven Varey, CMA

London

David Townsend, CA

Calgary

Suraj Gupta, CGA

Toronto

Parveen Bansal, CGA

Toronto

Gary Brown, CA

Larry Owen, CA

Ron Harder, CA

Jodi Cornish, CA

Dave Niederle, CA

Cory Miller, CGA
Brown Smith Owen LLP

Red Deer AB 

 Succession Planning: The Available Strategies and How They Work

Joel Sinkin

With the aging of the Baby Boomers, succession planning re­mains an integral part of looking to the future. This article discusses how to manage partner transition within the firm. Strat­egies for partner succession employed by

Terry Putney

firms in the accounting profession these days generally fall in two categories:  

■   Internal succession plans, where the remaining partners and or high-level staff are promoted to partner status for the pur­pose of replacing retiring partners

■   External succession solutions, which involve recruiting high-level professionals to replace retiring partners, or the possibil­ity of a merger with another firm

 

Determining which of these two paths makes the most sense for your firm, and which you are prepared to pursue, is the most important step in formulating a workable succession plan.

Determining whether you have the ability to do an internal succession plan

 

We are regularly asked to consult for firms that prefer to use an internal succession solution. Firms often feel this path leaves them more in control. However, this option may not be achievable if the firm does not have either the resources available to complete the plan successfully or processes in place to create those resourc­es. The answer to this one question may reveal the answer to whether this is a realistic choice for your firm: "Can we replace the skills and capacity of partners that intend to retire in the next five years?" A firm may have the cleverest terms ever devised to deal with the financial aspects of partner retirement, but such a plan is not viable without the ability to replace retiring partners with new partners.

 

Let's start with the role and skill set. We often see firms pro­mote managers with good rainmaking skills, as that is the most sought after aptitude for new partners. However, has any thought been given to the new partner's role at the firm? For instance, how will the new partner's rainmaking skills be used if he or she is a quality-control partner? Be sure you first re­place the role, not just the body.    

 Click Here for Entire Article  

Non Stop Referrals

The 2020 Group

Business Development for professional services firms requires structure, to function effectively. To ensure the BD process is adhered to in this way, it is essential to make full use of your network of contacts, and set up your own Referral Machine.   

Referrals are often taken for granted, and treated as freebies. Simply demonstrating a higher level of involvement in your referral plan, and implementing a solid structure to it, can dramatically improve the volume and quality of new clients for your practice. The concept of the Referral Machine conveys the necessary fluidity of the BD process; following up referrals in isolation can be arduous and inefficient. Creating established referral groups from your network of professional and personal contacts, through a variety of channels, is a great way of constantly generating referrals and improving your BD process through feedback.

Simply waiting for recommendations and referrals to gamer new business is not enough anymore. Utilizing varied means for lead generation, and being more fluid and proactive with the use of your contacts has never been more important.

Detailed below is a process we would suggest for building your own referral network.   

1.  Create Your Referral Group

Your referral groups should be made up of a varied selection from your network of contacts. This is not to say it should be just anyone; carefully select members depending on how useful their contribution can be to strengthening your BD process at a given time. Typically referral groups can be defined as: Clients, Suppliers, Social Groups, Business Associates, and Professional Bodies. Using a variety of sources for your referral groups is a great way of multi-tasking as a practice; you can give due attention to both large and smaller clients, improve relations with your suppliers through reciprocal referrals, let your personal social network reap rewards for your practice, and simultaneously improve your knowledge of other industries and sectors in an effort to improve your own way of working.

2.  How to store the data

Using a CRM or marketing database has become common practice for professional services. It can have a dramatic effect on your BD process, as it ensures a degree of discipline s applied to your lead generation. Running a system such as this accurately will encourage:

This normally comes down to appropriate follow up actions; to call people, write to them, email them, invite them etc.

• A nurturing strategy to remain in touch with people once you have met them.
• A process to thank people for introductions.
• Recording all your target partners / managers details, particularly the email addresses.
• Grouping each of the sections of the database so that you can then start to record return on investment.
• Ensuring there is some accountably in the system, so that you make those calls, or write those

  Click Here for the Full Article 

Between the Extremes: Learning to Spend Time Wisely

 Dr. John Maxwell, Leadership Impact