Episode description

Episode 105. In today's interview, "Accounting Firm Leadership Priorities with Gary Shamis."

Gary Shamis is a former top 40 US accounting firm managing partner who sold to BDO in 2015. He is now CEO of Winding River Consulting, a high-level strategy consulting for the Restaurant, CPA, and professional services industries. Amongst many other accounting accolades, Gary won EY Entrepreneur of the Year and is a Top Ten Managing Partner Elite (Accounting Today) where he was called the “very model of the modern managing partner. he was awarded Most Admired Peer (INSIDE Public Accounting) and has more than a dozen appearances on the Most Influential list (Accounting Today). He has served within the ranks of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and is co-author of How to Manage Your Accounting Practice: Taking Your Firm from Chaos to Consensus.

Key takeaways from this episode include:

◆ how the accounting firm managing partner role has not changed as it should over the years

◆ what managing partners should really be doing and working on in accountancy firms

◆ how most managing partners in professional firms come into the role by accident rather than intention

◆ why leadership has never been more important than now for accounting practices and the profession

◆ whether it's harder being a CPA or accounting firm managing partner now or at any time in the past

◆ challenging and reforming the outdated hierarchical business model in accountancy firms

◆ the increasing importance of outsourcing for accounting practices to remain competitive

◆ the impact of hybrid and virtual working on talent and performance in accountancy firms

◆ how accountancy has misunderstood advisory for years but is now starting to step out of the compliance comfort blanket

◆ the 3 optimum ways an accounting firm can grow and generate new revenues

◆ how the old ways of networking and business development are now much less effective for accounting firm growth

◆ what stops many accountancy firm managing partners from planning their exit and succession properly

◆ how accounting practices can maximize human capital to drive growth and culture

◆ why CPA firms and accountancy practices should protect their employees in a global talent war

◆ the single biggest challenge faced by accounting firms today (it involved baby boomers)

◆ what millennials and Gen Z really want from a cultural and career perspective in accountancy

◆ how accounting firm leaders can establish a strong employer brand to become the right choice for fresh talent

◆ how the accounting firm website has replaced the marketing brochure

◆ the conflict that most professional firm websites encounter in trying to attract both staff and clients

◆ why accountancy practices are less concerned with client attraction and more concerned with talent attraction

◆ what some firms are doing to pivot the resources and focus of their marketing departments

◆ the main reasons young people are turned off a career in accounting and finance

◆ the three cohorts of accounting firm managing partner and the needs of each

◆ why the traditional accounting firm retreat no longer works for leaders and partners

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-shamis-wrc

https://windingriverconsulting.com

NOTE TO LISTENERS:

The Accounting Influencers Podcast is a CPE-accredited daily radio-style show with four segments coming out every Monday which are repeated on the other 4 weekdays as standalone episodes, plus a bonus 'from the client's perspective' episode on Saturdays. On Sundays, listeners get a short min trailer for the coming week's episodes.

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