抖阴成年

鈥淎n accounting firm鈥檚 assets are their people,鈥� says , co-managing partner at Friedman, a tax & accounting consulting firm. 鈥淐onstant planning, training, and strategic hiring are of significant importance to ensure transitions of key personnel in an orderly fashion.鈥�

With that said, historically legal and accounting firms have been slow to embrace well-planned succession management. , managing director and head of coaching at Preferred Transition Resources, describes the conundrum of succession and retirement planning as one that is 鈥渇raught with emotion鈥� that forces us to 鈥渆xplore personal, societal, and industry assumptions around aging, financial security, health and wellness, and, dare I say, mortality.鈥�

For the most part, Brady adds, this has been the status quo action for law firms. 鈥淚t makes everyone uncomfortable, so we opt to ignore it.鈥�

For law firm and accounting firms, the most sensitive area around succession planning by far is the difficulty in approaching the soon-to-be-transitioning partner. 鈥淓motions can be mitigated by incorporating the idea of a post-practice transition into the firm’s overall talent management strategy 鈥� similar to the way firms have institutionalized orientations, mid-level, and new partner retreats,鈥� notes Brady, adding that the key is for the firm to understand the retiring partner鈥檚 plan for leaving the organization and providing support.

Knowing the retiring partners target date, for example, will allow the firm to gather the resources in place to assist the partner in their personal planning as well as to deal with the more emotional parts of retirement.

In addition, both law firms and accounting firms generally agree on the importance of several other key steps needed to build solid succession plan for partners. These steps include:

• Grasping the departing partners鈥� client reach and what other parts of the firm the partner touches 鈥� Having a good picture of the transitioning partner鈥檚 big revenue-producing relationships and any internal and industry commitments can create potential growth opportunities for remaining high-potential talent within the firm.

• Knowing the firm鈥檚 rising stars 鈥� Identifying the well-respected candidates who are ready to take over client relationships within a particular practice, for example, is another essential step that both accounting and law firms agree is important.

• Creating training and development plans for successors 鈥� Once the internal candidates are identified, the retiring partner, along with the firm鈥檚 human resources leaders, can assess the candidates鈥� ability to become the new relationship owner. This will require the firm to put together a training and development plan to best address any current leadership, skill, or knowledge gaps among the candidates.

• Involving clients in the selection of the successor 鈥� Giving clients a say in terms of who takes over the relationship is a critical element that both law firms and accounting firms indicate is important for sustaining that client鈥檚 satisfaction.

• Developing incentives and tweaking compensation practices 鈥� A common but problematic scenario that often arises at this time is the compensation policy of accounting and law firms. In many cases, these policies work against a successful succession because rewards may be focused on originations. And this often compels partners to perceive their revenue-producing relationships as 鈥渕y clients鈥� rather than 鈥渢he firm鈥檚 clients.鈥�

Further, within these steps, large variations between accounting and law firms exist in practice. More specifically:

Proactively bringing up retirement and succession planning 鈥� 鈥淭o execute a successful transition of clients and responsibilities, it is critical to proactively and continually discuss retirement and succession planning,鈥� notes Friedman鈥檚 Berk, adding that succession planning is one of the key determining factors for continued prosperity and longevity of a firm. Friedman has found success in establishing 鈥渁 culture where everyone knows there is, or will be, a specific plan for each and every individual鈥檚 succession, with no exceptions,鈥� Berk says. In contrast, few law firms have formal succession planning processes, even though now they are talking about it more, according to , a partner at Adam Smith, Esq.

Differing approaches to pay-outs, post-retirement 鈥� Another variation between law firms and accounting firms is the alignment of compensation incentives following a partner鈥檚 succession. For accounting firms, period is typically 10 years, with the total aggregate amount payable to retired partners each year usually capped at some portion of the annual revenue or net income. On the law firm side, however, the financial ties to the firm, post-retirement generally don鈥檛 exist.

Multi-layered communication 鈥� No succession plan goes well without good communication among the person who is leaving, the individual or individuals who will be succeeding them, the clients, and other colleagues within the firm. With the culture of the organization impacting the scope of the communication around one partner鈥檚 retirement, both law firms and accounting firms could improve their communications to promote better transparency. 鈥淒ialogue is the only way to come up with workable solutions for everyone,鈥� Brady notes.

Getting past the microculture that 鈥渋t鈥檚 my client. and I know what鈥檚 best鈥� which permeates the culture of partners in both legal and accounting firms is essential, not just for good communication, but to create a winning strategy for the client, the retiring partner, firm lawyers, and the firm itself.