The CPA Firm - icpau.co.ug PMC Presentations/MANAGING...The CPA Firm 28-Nov-17 CPA Mark Omona Practice Management Course. Agenda • Change is the new constant ... • Develop a range

The CPA Firm

28-Nov-17

CPA Mark Omona

Practice Management Course

Agenda• Change is the new constant• Its a Business Too!• Firm Structures• Managing Yourself• Professional Fees• Balancing Risk and Reward

28-Nov-17 Practice Management Course

The Profession is Changing!• New competitors – new entrants into

the market place• Even the Big Four now have products

for SMEs• Using technologies such as Xero are

providing real time services to SMEs?


Future Accounting Firms• More change in the profession than ever

before• Clients are able to use technology to deliver

results – to prepare their own tax returns & accounts

• Govt is increasingly requiring online filing• Technology companies are delivering cloud-

based applications• Accountants are increasingly the

replaceable middlemen


Lessons from the UK• ICAEW Report on the Value Added

Profession- 1993 and The Profitable & Sustainable Practice - 2003

• Some firms brought in specialists for particular services

• Develop a range of advisory services to meet an existing need


Research from the UKFirms with a 30% one-year growth said:• Developed proactive, hands on advisory

services• Had continous contact with their clients• Look for new opportunities for their firm• Advisory services account for 50% of their

turnover• Rebranding – differentiate yourself• Integrated marketing strategy – online &

offline• Client referrals – dedicated client manager


Research from the UKFirms with a 30% one-year growth said:• Professional referrals• Investment in staff & internal promotion• Investment in recruitment• Sales & marketing alignment• Prospect targeting – target sectors• Performance metrics – measure everything• Strong framework of values• Manage efficiency levels• Enhance customer experience• Innovation


Why do you want to go into practice?


Its a business!• Highly regulated environment• Strongly ethical environment• Strong compliance demands• Where will you find the clients?


Its a business!• Stick to What You Know • Talk about the value that you provide• Contact your professional references• Partner with other professionals in your

space• Be patient, be confident, keep growing

& keep expanding!


Firm StructureSole Practitioner

• Income from Personal Services or Loan? • Full time or part-time?• What are the risks?• Continuity arrangements• Separate the business from your private

dealings?


Firm StructurePartnerships

• Partnership Agreement– Share profits, risks and responsibilities

• Risk of joint and several liability • Succession • Limited partnerships • Non-equity partnerships


Firm StructurePartnerships –Other Considerations

• Have you delegated decision making authority (power of attorney)?

• How are disputes resolved? • Frequency and timing of meetings.• Managing outside interest & obligations• Specific roles and responsibilities• Productivity levels• How is entry/exit price determined? • What happens on death/disability of partner?


Managing Yourself• Improve Your Self Management Skills• Stop Holding Yourself Back• Prepare yourself adequately before

jumping in. • Learn how to market yourself.


Your Personal Development Plan

• Assess your own competence• Are you still up-to-date?

– Rate of change is high– May need to specialise– Revitalise your development plan– Develop your unique advisory skills

• Go beyond compliance– Clients do not care how the engine works– Assume you are technically competent and

until they discover you are not 28-Nov-17 Practice Management Course

Trusted Business Advisor• Understand your client• Are consistent• Help clients see things

from a new perspective• Challenge assumptions• Make the client feel

comfortable• Don’t force the solution

down on the client• Criticise and correct

gently

• Are in it for the long haul• Help the client to think• Give options to the client

& help them understand the options

• Are smart in ways that the client is not

• Client can depend/rely on you


Firm Structure


Why do partnerships in Uganda struggle?

Firm StructurePartnerships –Other Considerations

• Non-chargeable work• Managing partner• Retirement age• How do you share the rewards?


Professional Fees• Time-based billing• Pre-packaged services • Value pricing


Balancing Risk and Reward


Change• “It is not necessary to change”

(W. Edwards Deming)

• “It is not the strongest of the species that survives nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change”(Charles Darwin)

• “Survival is not mandatory”(Deming)


Worth quoting

• The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken– Samuel Johnson

• You can’t solve a problem with the same thinking that created it– Albert Einstein


Recommended reading

• Clients4Life– Mark Lloydbottom, FCA and Dave Cottle,

CPA– Published by ICAS


The meaning of success



Documents

The CPA Firm - icpau.co.ug PMC Presentations/MANAGING...The CPA Firm 28-Nov-17 CPA Mark Omona Practice Management Course. Agenda • Change is the new constant ... • Develop a range