Art of Accounting: Making the one major change

Enjoy complimentary access to top ideas and insights — selected by our editors.

Over 30 separate functions make a business a business. Client or customer services are certainly important, but so is making sure you have copy paper in the scanners and staples handy. Separating out which is most important might depend on the crisis of the moment. 

Long-term growth is not going to depend on the copy paper and might not depend on a crisis with an individual client. One firm's long term might be viewed completely differently than another firm's. However, I suggest that long-term growth is important and should be dealt with as an essential part of leadership of an accounting practice, or any business for that matter. Many leaders get caught up trying to get through the day and neglect long-term growth objectives. Additionally, many issues converge simultaneously that need resolution and attention, further confusing this part of leading a business.

My suggestion is to identify the single most important change you could make that would positively affect the growth or strength of your business. There are many changes that might be necessary, and choosing one might be daunting. It might even be overwhelming, but hey, that's why you "get the big bucks!" It's also your job. If you view your job as reviewing tax returns, that's OK for you, but I don't see how that will propel your firm's growth. If you view your job as being a leader who will bring your firm to the next level or two rungs higher than that, that's great, but you need to do it.

A way to go about this is to lock yourself and your partners in a room for a couple of hours and try to identify that single most important change. If you cannot come up with one, then repeat the process a couple days later, and keep doing it until that most important change is decided upon. Then repeat the lockdown to develop a method of implementing that change. Then do it! This may take a while, but the implementation needs to start.

I know all the reasons why this is not a good time to do this. I also know many reasons why there is never a good time to start this. I also know many successful firms that have done this. They did it because they made the time to do it and had the resolve to implement what they decided. Making that most important change was the single most important thing they could do to strengthen and grow their practice. They did it and you can too, if you want.

Do not hesitate to contact me at emendlowitz@withum.com with your practice management questions or about engagements you might not be able to perform.