Shortly after Accounting Today named James Moore the No. 1 Best Firm for Women in 2020, and while COVID was continuing to stretch firm members, managing partner Suzanne Forbes did the obvious: She donned a pink wig and green eyeshades while lip syncing “We Are the Champions” on a Zoom call with a couple hundred members of the firm. It was a moment of well-deserved zaniness in a challenging year. For Suzanne, who joined the Gainesville, Florida-based firm in 1987 and became managing partner in late 2019, it was also a moment of “unexpected relevance.”
Relevance matters a lot to Suzanne, as I learned when we first met several years ago while she was leading the firm’s real estate group. I was impressed by her passionate focus on growth. And now as MP, that passion is manifested in a strong connection between driving revenue and strengthening culture — empowering employees to make a difference.
During the pandemic, Suzanne explained during a recent interview, staying relevant required meeting fast-changing regulatory needs. It also meant moving beyond compliance to provide advisory services. And finding ways to stay up close and personal with clients and employees, despite digitally imposed distance.
Happiness is good business
Suzanne makes a convincing case for the role of happy employees in sustaining relevance and growth. While traditional metrics matter a great deal at James Moore (the firm saw 10% growth, or twice the annual average of large accounting firms, in 2020!), Suzanne goes beyond growth for growth’s sake, instead emphasizing the why.
The thinking goes something like this: When employees are satisfied, respected and empowered to do work that matters, they are in the best position to make a difference. That leads to long, flexible careers, grateful clients, and long-term growth.
James Moore’s people-first approach goes even deeper. Suzanne sees self-actualization, the opportunity to make the most of one’s talents, as the embodiment of the firm’s ideal. Being the best possible employer means not just letting employees prioritize family, but helping them do it. Though her children are now young adults, in the past Suzanne would enter their recitals, games and other events as nonnegotiables on her calendar. And she expects the same from her team.
We show up!
With the pandemic receding into the background, Suzanne recognizes that some pandemic behaviors and approaches (“COVID keepers”) were worth preserving. Borrowing from a Pitbull song lyric, “When things get tough, that’s when we show up.” Firm leaders were present and highly supportive. They made a point to recognize above-and-beyond behavior, like working late on Saturday night to complete a Paycheck Protection Program loan application to give a client the best chance of getting needed funds.
A state-of-the-firm virtual event (the one with the pink wig) that focused on people and intentional culture, purposeful growth, the move to advisory, and innovation, showcased Pitbull’s “Rise” as a theme song.
Suzanne also used the opportunity to remind her team that, like Pitbull says, “It’s not how you fall, it’s how you get back up.” She encouraged them to continue to operate proactively, even without a crisis nipping at their heels.
There was plenty of fun, too, like a raucous name-that-tune competition with intense competition for gift cards. (“The chat room went wild,” Suzanne recalls). You shouldn’t need a pandemic to get a little crazy now and again.
When regular “pulse surveys” canvasing employee views of professional and personal well-being revealed high levels of anxiety, James Moore retained the services of mental health providers. The option to talk to a professional was well received.
In terms of client interaction, Suzanne says the pandemic pushed the firm into a higher level of proactivity, with members reaching out as never before to assess client needs and respond in innovative ways. The result was an impressive uptick in business and frequent client comments like, “I don’t know how we could have made it through without you.”
Outlook: Sunny
James Moore’s focus on people and culture is clearly meeting its mark, and the firm has a trophy case of awards to prove it, including being one of Accounting Today’s Best Firms to Work For and a fastest-growing firm. Suzanne Forbes’ leadership seems destined to bring the firm continued recognition, appreciative clients, and employees determined to make a difference.
