Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, LlpCherry, Bekaert & Holland, LlpExecutive SummaryCherry, Bekaert & Holland, LLP (CB&H) is the 26th largest CPA firm in the United States with offices throughout the southeast. During the past two years the firm’s Richmond Practice has undergone attrition problems, specifically in the functional area of Audit and Assurance. These have included several senior managers and one partner. Reasons cited for the departures have been a lack of work life balances, burnout and management responsiveness to concerns.
The political environment is very territorial with individual partners guarding areas of expertise, staff and clients. Senior managers and manager are encouraged to take ownership of client interactions and use their best judgment to make decisions as if they were a partner. However, these decisions have a habit of being countermanded when in conflict with a partner or partner’s personal preference, even when the decision was made in the best interest of the firm.
The attrition problems in A&A have been primarily caused by several gaps in the practice’s management. While there is a partner in charge of the functional area he is often left in the shadow of the Partner in Charge of the Practice (PIC). This situation has destroyed the credibility of the functional head’s authority. This gap became even worse when the PIC was elevated to a regional position in charge of all state offices. This situation has left a lack of coordination, ability of the functional area to resolve conflict and make effective decisions, which has resulted in disgruntled employees.
I would recommend that the role of the practice PIC be filled. Once installed the PIC and A&A functional head should hold several sessions with the staff gain feedback and should be followed up with several programs built to improve morale based on the staff’s concerns. Furthermore, the PIC and functional area head should work with the partner group to ensure the correct alignment and adherence to corporate empowerment techniques.
Overview of Selected OrganizationCherry, Bekaert & Holland, LLP (CB&H) was founded in 1947. Its key services are broken into two primary functional areas, Audit and Assurance (A&A) and Tax. Key services encompassed in A&A include audit, attest, accounting, internal audit and outsourcing. The functional area of tax includes services such as planning, compliance, cost segregation, state and local, estate and succession.
CB&H began as small CPA firm located in Wilmington, NC and later relocated to Charlotte, NC in 1958. Over the next 30 years CB&H continued to expand mainly through mergers and acquisitions. In 1988, the firm moved its headquarters to Richmond, VA following the acquisition of Dalton Pannell. Over the next 15 years, the firm expanded its presence throughout the southeast becoming the 26th largest CPA firm in the United States. In 1993, the firm established an international presence by joining the Baker Tilley International alliance.
The primary design emphasis for the organization strives to strike a balance between efficiency and control and learning and flexibility. Due to the nature of the work performed by the firm, efficiency and control are primary concerns. This is especially true during the tax season when cross functional workloads are at their peak. On the other hand, in order to recruit and maintain talent, the firm’s structure must balance the equation with learning and flexibility. This is a difficult balancing act that the firm performs fairly well; however, there are offices where the firm has difficulty maintaining its effectiveness. Overall, the firm is considered to be effective when measured against models of effectiveness.
However, when it comes to maintaining its performance, the primary concern is maintaining the customer’s experience, as well as the reliability of customer-facing software. It does not make sense to invest in expensive hardware or new software products and not to invest in a fully developed, high performing organization. However, such software is a relatively safe investment, particularly for employees, when compared to investments in new IT equipment. This is particularly true during the tax season with the hiring rate at the same time that the employer is demanding the lowest hiring rate of any federal agency.
The primary focus of this practice is on maximizing productivity by maximizing the effectiveness of employees. The firm should provide employees with all of the information they need on the employer’s performance, including those tools that can help them improve their efficiency and success.
Additionally, the firm should utilize the appropriate IT services to increase productivity and reduce the costs associated with the hiring process.
During this period, the employee should make it easier for the employer to find and provide the employees a suitable work environment and for clients to be able to provide their needs after the hiring process closes and the hiring process has closed as well as to allow for the company’s employees to participate in a continuous, proactive team effort.
With respect to how a company should prioritize the work it provides to its employees, the practice of reducing and consolidating the number of employees involved is critical to ensure that management can effectively implement improvements at all levels of the organization, including increased employee retention opportunities and the ability to better manage the overall organization in a positive manner.
The general philosophy of this practice is that management can focus on improving the efficiency or efficiency of the firm over time and that this practice should evolve to include additional features within each of its existing organization. These features would enable the firm to better address the customer’s needs and increase its productivity.
Employees should be informed of the business strategies used to meet their own goals and objectives, and their motivation for work and learning. Employers must use the tools that can be adopted in a firm to assess the business effectiveness. Employers should also use the information that they gather about employees and their objectives to inform their strategic plan and to develop management techniques that can effectively carry out their work. The firm should always try to reduce the costs associated with hiring of employees and enhance their confidence in their skill sets and skillset.
Management also should consider the need to ensure that the number of employees at the firm is manageable, effective and sustainable. By not hiring fewer employees, a firm is able to continue to grow at a rapid rate, which improves its value in the long run and thus its overall value in the short run. The number of jobs in the United States employed by a top management company (G.N.A.) is not only
The primary design emphasis for the organization strives to strike a balance between efficiency and control and learning and flexibility. Effective performance is measured against other metrics, including:
i) the effectiveness of the firm’s performance as determined by the organization that performed the work and
ii) the percentage of employees who achieved certain performance targets.
As per the requirements in the Employee Relations Policy Statement, organizations must be in compliance with their compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act of 1976.
At the end of the year, we’ve had 12 years of experience with our management team. Our focus is on making sure that the organization’s best effort will lead to success for the organization and its employees. We try to be as accountable and transparent as possible, but we also have a system in place to ensure the best outcome for our employees. Our team members are a constant source of pride. They’re the backbone and a symbol of confidence that we’re doing well.
It’s really about the team’s individual contributions as well, but you also need teamwork, and the ability to communicate effectively in an organized way. We’ve done that through the guidance of staff and on our team blogs. Our most effective teams give and receive feedback without the need for third parties to provide advice or to rely on our expertise. We often work with staff directly to ensure that new employees do their due diligence for hiring and taking care of their businesses, and our entire team consists of team members who are highly responsible and capable of doing their part to support our mission.
At the end of the year we also have a long list of responsibilities. As a result, it’s critical that all the team members can fulfill their responsibilities, even if that means going out and doing something extra-sensitive for a business as they often do. For each employee, work requires the same amount of coordination. As such, it’s important that there is a shared understanding and a common understanding about the company’s responsibilities and the company’s needs, so management can work hard all the time, be more disciplined and give people the guidance they need to achieve meaningful results every time they get to work.
One of the biggest risks that we must face as a company is how many employees we’ve recruited and what they’re working without.
We try to have a system in place to prevent our employees from engaging in “excessive” activity and behaviors that leave the organization in a negative or abusive mood, and to take reasonable steps to mitigate these behaviors using a number of appropriate tools. In other words, the organizations must take the time and effort to identify, train, ensure and execute an effective
The primary design emphasis for the organization strives to strike a balance between efficiency and control and learning and flexibility. Effective performance is measured against other metrics, including:
i) the effectiveness of the firm’s performance as determined by the organization that performed the work and
ii) the percentage of employees who achieved certain performance targets.
As per the requirements in the Employee Relations Policy Statement, organizations must be in compliance with their compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act of 1976.
At the end of the year, we’ve had 12 years of experience with our management team. Our focus is on making sure that the organization’s best effort will lead to success for the organization and its employees. We try to be as accountable and transparent as possible, but we also have a system in place to ensure the best outcome for our employees. Our team members are a constant source of pride. They’re the backbone and a symbol of confidence that we’re doing well.
It’s really about the team’s individual contributions as well, but you also need teamwork, and the ability to communicate effectively in an organized way. We’ve done that through the guidance of staff and on our team blogs. Our most effective teams give and receive feedback without the need for third parties to provide advice or to rely on our expertise. We often work with staff directly to ensure that new employees do their due diligence for hiring and taking care of their businesses, and our entire team consists of team members who are highly responsible and capable of doing their part to support our mission.
At the end of the year we also have a long list of responsibilities. As a result, it’s critical that all the team members can fulfill their responsibilities, even if that means going out and doing something extra-sensitive for a business as they often do. For each employee, work requires the same amount of coordination. As such, it’s important that there is a shared understanding and a common understanding about the company’s responsibilities and the company’s needs, so management can work hard all the time, be more disciplined and give people the guidance they need to achieve meaningful results every time they get to work.
One of the biggest risks that we must face as a company is how many employees we’ve recruited and what they’re working without.
We try to have a system in place to prevent our employees from engaging in “excessive” activity and behaviors that leave the organization in a negative or abusive mood, and to take reasonable steps to mitigate these behaviors using a number of appropriate tools. In other words, the organizations must take the time and effort to identify, train, ensure and execute an effective
The primary design emphasis for the organization strives to strike a balance between efficiency and control and learning and flexibility. Effective performance is measured against other metrics, including:
i) the effectiveness of the firm’s performance as determined by the organization that performed the work and
ii) the percentage of employees who achieved certain performance targets.
As per the requirements in the Employee Relations Policy Statement, organizations must be in compliance with their compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act of 1976.
At the end of the year, we’ve had 12 years of experience with our management team. Our focus is on making sure that the organization’s best effort will lead to success for the organization and its employees. We try to be as accountable and transparent as possible, but we also have a system in place to ensure the best outcome for our employees. Our team members are a constant source of pride. They’re the backbone and a symbol of confidence that we’re doing well.
It’s really about the team’s individual contributions as well, but you also need teamwork, and the ability to communicate effectively in an organized way. We’ve done that through the guidance of staff and on our team blogs. Our most effective teams give and receive feedback without the need for third parties to provide advice or to rely on our expertise. We often work with staff directly to ensure that new employees do their due diligence for hiring and taking care of their businesses, and our entire team consists of team members who are highly responsible and capable of doing their part to support our mission.
At the end of the year we also have a long list of responsibilities. As a result, it’s critical that all the team members can fulfill their responsibilities, even if that means going out and doing something extra-sensitive for a business as they often do. For each employee, work requires the same amount of coordination. As such, it’s important that there is a shared understanding and a common understanding about the company’s responsibilities and the company’s needs, so management can work hard all the time, be more disciplined and give people the guidance they need to achieve meaningful results every time they get to work.
One of the biggest risks that we must face as a company is how many employees we’ve recruited and what they’re working without.
We try to have a system in place to prevent our employees from engaging in “excessive” activity and behaviors that leave the organization in a negative or abusive mood, and to take reasonable steps to mitigate these behaviors using a number of appropriate tools. In other words, the organizations must take the time and effort to identify, train, ensure and execute an effective
Mission, Goals, and StrategyCB&H’s strategy is to provide a level of service consistent with that of the larger multinational firms, while at the same time providing local high touch customer service that would not typically be found in larger firms. “…CB&H offers the extensive service opportunities normally associated with national firms, coupled with the personal relationship, value-based fee structure and service continuity of a local firm.” (www.cbh.com) The firm anchors this strategy by providing solutions based on client needs, strength of character and in depth resources.
Problem DefinitionThe subject of this analysis is an issue that has plagued the Richmond practice over the past 24 months. During this time the practice has lost several of its top performers in the audit and assurance (A&A) functional area of the practice. These losses have primarily been at the discretion of the associate and have included staff, managers, as well as one partner. The reasons that have been