Mission Impossible: Finding a Successor for the Managing Partner

Most current Managing Partners of CPA firms will recall the opening scene of the TV series, Mission Impossible, when the members of the IMF were routinely selected to serve in a particular mission. They accepted the challenge with no questions asked. In contrast, it is easy to picture super talented partners in today’s CPA firms who would be the pick to succeed their current managing partner, but for various reasons, they choose not to fulfill the mission.  Finding the successor for the Managing Partner is a modern day mission impossible in many firms. In order to recruit the right candidates for this most important mission, Managing Partners need to take a hard look at their current performance model and then take a tactical approach starting with three key elements:

Leverage - Managing Partners need to expand the authority of others and narrow their own role

Accounting firms traditionally service their clients by maximizing leverage and delegation, but when it comes to firm management, these techniques are not readily applied. An administrative team with people who have the right titles and job descriptions is not enough. The Firm Administrator, Office Manager, Controller, CFO, Marketing Director and HR Director must be empowered to do a full job and not just be support personnel to the Managing Partner. Now more than ever you need to get your money’s worth from your administrative leaders. The firm’s economic commitment to administrative professionals requires you to maximize the decision-making role of the administrative group and to hold them accountable. Partners that you are considering to be worthy of your seat are accustomed to delegating to their team and holding the individuals accountable. Live by the same standards you set for your partners and make leverage and empowering a routine part of your performance model. Potential successors are leery to come into a world that operates differently from what they are comfortable with and believe in. 

Productivity – Managing Partners must be more client-centric 

Servicing clients is the golden rule at CPA firms. Charge hours and realization are key elements for successful engagement management, yet there are no comparable barometers for firm management. Most managing partners will tell you that the firm and its partners are their “client”, but would anybody really be comfortable with only one client. Managing Partners must experience the client service model just like the other partners, not only because it gives them common ground with the other partners, but additionally because they need to understand their product and be a role model for high level client service. Future managing partners will be uncomfortable relinquishing client responsibility for many sound reasons - not the least of which is personal economic protection. The current managing partner needs to demonstrate that there can be a productive balance and that having a multitude of clients is the right model. The managing partner should have practical standards for their productivity hours that are part of their performance review. They should be evaluated no differently than the rest of their partners who need to perform against a standard and be accountable for their variances. The successor candidates have developed a strong affinity for client service and you need to show them that level of service can, and should, be maintained.

Connectivity – Managing Partners must be relationship driven within their firms

CPA firms are made up of people.  In order to manage the firm properly, interfacing and connecting with people is critical. Managing partners have become very comfortable focusing on issues and initiatives that often distance them from the socialization and camaraderie that nurtures positive interpersonal relationships. The right candidates to succeed the managing partner will be people oriented and vested in existing relationships with their peers and associates. Authority may be enticing to some candidates, but the elimination of relationships will be a major deterrent. Managing partners must continue to be connected to the community within their organization. Mingling frequently with the partners purely for social purposes - as contrasted with conferring on business priorities - needs to be an active element of a managing partner’s routine. Conducting jovial and informal conversation with employees must be common. Managing partners must be human - that means they are connected and approachable. Candidates for succession will be prone to a collegial approach and are likely to prefer a limited tour as managing partner. Life after serving as a managing partner will be more difficult if relationships are cast aside while serving. Current managing partners should start to enhance relationships so they can be comfortable after they step down, be even better at their job and pave the way for their successor to be comfortable.

The life of a managing partner may not draw the same kind of interest of a hit TV show but it need not be the kind of production that discourages the right people from auditioning. Your mission is to make the life of a managing partner a comfortable reality. To help you tune your firm to a bandwidth that promotes a successful Managing Partner transition, we offer a customized program called Managing Partner on Call. We look forward to sharing our approach with you and to working together on a successful mission.