Future Communication

I briefly played for a coach who put forth the following axiom when referencing offense and defense:

“On offense you have to maintain; on defense you have to communicate.”

I often wondered why you needed to communicate just 50% of the time in a game, and many of us openly questioned both his coaching credentials and overall knowledge of the subject matter. Apparently, the school board did as well and released him after just two underperforming seasons. My guess is he didn’t communicate too well with either his players or his employers.

 

I broach the all-important topic of communication after reading “CPA Firm Leadership: Communication Drives New Possibilities,”

a white paper released by the CPA Consultants’ Alliance, a cadre of several  of the most high-profile consultants in the profession, and — in the interest of full disclosure — a group that includes our CEO, Terry Putney.

The publication analyzes the facets that go into what CPA firm managers and leaders need to do in order to fashion a work environment that will recruit top-level talent, what it takes to keep them there, and how to develop leadership for the future.

As I and many before me have often noted, there is a looming succession void with 77 million or so Baby Boomers girding for retirement, which began back in 2011 and runs through 2028. To put that shocking exodus from the work force into perspective, consider that every eight seconds someone in the United States turns 65. So by the time you finish reading this blog, roughly 40 more people will have hit that milestone.

True, there will be some succession relief from the 50 million or so Gen Xers, according to the paper, but not enough to replace their predecessors on a 1-to-1 basis. Sort of like Social Security, where the 1950s worker-to-payee ratio was 16:1 and now stands at about 2.5:1.

That’s unsustainable, no matter how you spin it.

The CPCPA surveyed some 788 respondents currently employed in the public accounting sector, most of whom were from medium-to-large firms and nearly half of which were partners or shareholders.

In terms of job satisfaction, it was a good news/bad news scenario — an overwhelming number of respondents maintained they would continue or very likely continue in the public accounting sector. Conversely, the trouble spot for those looking for an exit was the senior post — nearly 22% of those polled reported they were likely or very likely leaving the profession.

The reasons ranged from too much pressure and not enough of a life outside the office to the stress of tax season, and salary and benefits not commensurate with experience. But perhaps more importantly, many complained of their job not posing enough of a challenge. Trust me; nothing short circuits the morale and initiative of a promising employee faster than the combination of routine and a glacial pace of change.

But hey, it’s not like you haven’t heard the above-mentioned complaints before — multiple times.

In fact, try this: Think of the last conference or meeting you attended when there wasn’t ONE session dedicated to employee training and development. For those keeping score at home, my last conference program in fact offered six.

I won’t spoil the ending of the paper, so I’ll encourage you to click on the link and read on.

It’s hardly a secret that our company deals with internal and external succession issues and all modesty aside, we’re very good at it. Fact is, most of you will speak with us on a transition issue eventually, but if you begin planning for your firm’s future leadership now and know what it takes to get there, you will have the luxury of it being on your timetable and not ours.