Firm leaders gather in San Diego for North America Meeting
18 June 2016
Senior accounting and law professionals met in San Diego last week to renew and expand their connections and discuss firm strategy.
A memorable event
Over the three day period, we managed to successfully blend discussion and insights on strategic issues such as succession, recruitment, staff retention, IT and digital marketing. I would like to thank our internal and external facilitators who led the round table discussions, training and benchmarking sessions that combined to create a very memorable event."
A successful North America Managing Partners Meeting & Leadership Forum took place from 15-17 June at the Omni Hotel in San Diego, with over 30 managing partners and members of executive committees attending from leading North American CPA and law firms, as well as from India and the UAE.
The Managing Partners Meeting was led by John Jones of Linkenheimer and explored issues such as how to differentiate the firm as a great employer and how to find, motivate and retain high quality people. Ken Miles adds: "Firms need to find creative ways to attract good staff and keep their people, using a combination of team environment and compensation - there is no magic bullet. However, we shared ideas at the session that will equip member firms well to achieve their staffing goals."
Digital marketing has changed the way professional services are marketed, forever...
At the Leadership Forum on day 2, a presentation and training day from Randy Shattuck of The Shattuck Group explained to members how digital marketing has changed services marketing forever, specifically the way people make decisions about the professional advisors they hire. During an absorbing session, Shattuck provided valuable learning and methodologies for implementing a digital marketing plan that will generate leads from ideal clients.
"Professionals need to dissect their clients' psychological motivations or, quite simply, their 'why'. Failure to understand this will result in the professional failing to move beyond being seen as a 'technician' and an inability to connect with the client."
Today, tomorrow and the future
Day 3 afforded members the opportunity to acquire knowledge about Alliott Group's strategic plans, and to receive an update from Mike Platt of The Platt Consulting Group on the results of the INSIDE Public Accounting 2016 National Benchmarking Report and how their firms compare, where growth is coming from, and the latest trends and predictions from futurists in the accounting industry. Platt explained that tax work is growing and is currently enjoying 10-20% growth across firms of all sizes. Alliott Group firms were highlighted as having major success in services areas related to outsourcing, micro niche sectors, sales tax consulting and M&A services.
Platt also outlined the need for accounting firms to really define the service levels they provide to clients categorised as 'A, B, C or D clients' - for example, firms may need to offer 'A clients' access to partners outside of regular hours including their cell phone numbers.
The ground is shifting under our feet
And last was a session centred on cyber security which provided an update on 'IT in firms - now and in the future'. The session explained why professional services firms need to pay attention to cyber security risks and looked at the latest trends in the industry, including cloud technology, use of artificial intelligence and the Windows 10 update.
Members were warned: "The ground is shifting under our feet. Companies need to take precautions now - just one click on a link in an email could blow up your digital life."
There was time for rest and relaxation during the meeting, with members and Executive Office staff enjoying a ball game and dinner at PETCO Park and dinner at Roy's on the San Diego waterfront.
"Companies need to take precautions now - just one click on a link in an email could blow up your digital life."