Same Time Next Year?

Was it really one year ago that I nearly had to tap into the FAA network in order to find a flight home from Florida in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy?

Since then I’ve questioned the wisdom of leaving a venue that was 75 degrees and sunny in order to get to a 50-degree house without power and running water. Then exactly four days later, I attended a conference in  California  only get caught in the eye of a Nor’easter on the return trip that kindly afforded me a bed for the night on the floor of the Detroit airport.

I’m happy to report, that thus far, I’ve encountered far kinder and gentler, weather on my conference schedule.

Yet, despite the brighter climate outlook, the same problems continue to plague the profession one year later but for many practitioners, it’s business as usual. And by “usual” I mean inertia.

For example let’s take succession planning. I’m often asked when should a firm begin mapping out a formal succession plan. My answer is simple: the day a firm opens its doors for business.

But rarely, if ever, is that strategy followed.

But apparently no matter which survey you read on succession planning – or more accurately lack thereof – there’s still a lot of resistance – or denial – about the urgency of when to begin. And there’s no need for a “spoiler alert” when I tell you what happens if a firm waits too long.

Earlier this week I attended a conference which featured a number of learning tracks (including succession planning and M&A) and between 150-175 practitioners.

Some conference-goers who visited our booth seemed earnest in their determination to ensure continuity of their firms and were genuinely interested in our services. Others meanwhile, came by armed with an urgency only to get their bingo prize cards stamped and collect one of our cell-phone holder giveaways.

In this space last year, I reported on the quadrennial PCPS Succession Survey from the AICPA and the shockingly low numbers of firms with formal succession plans in place.

More recently, the National Society of Accountants indicated that just 28 percent of the firms in a poll revealed that they had a succession plan.

But I guess everyone’s priorities are different.

There are some people who will always do their best impression of an ostrich when it comes to making critical decisions. But at least they will still have a good solid cell phone holder with our contact information when things inevitably turn dire.