4 Keys to Winning the Competitive Battles in Accounting

Posted by accountingweb on Jun 8 2011 2283 printer friendly

by Jean Caragher and Rick Telberg
SevenKeys CPA

Organizations with strong learning cultures have 37 percent greater employee productivity, are 32 percent more likely to be first to market and are 17 percent more likely to be market leaders in their segment, according to Bersin & Associates’ 2010 study High Impact Learning Culture.

The same research shows that most companies do not understand this area well, despite the opportunity to drive tremendous performance improvements with almost no additional expense.

Among accounting firms, less than 1 in 4 CPAs say they get the training they need, according research conducted for the Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management. (Click here to download the free executive summary.)

And yet, when we separate the leading firms from the laggards, based on their performance in achieving their chosen goals, we find stark differences.

SevenKeys CPA Leaders are:

1. Three times more likely than laggards to conduct training that their people need;

2. Three times more likely to conduct training that supports personal goals;

3. Two and one-half times more likely to conduct training that their people want; and

4. Three times more likely to conduct training that supports their business strategy.

The challenge is that in many firms, the learning culture isn’t “owned” by any one person or department — not the CPE coordinator, not HR, not a specific partner.

And it’s not just about CPE. A great learning culture fosters creative and dynamic knowledge sharing across rank and silo. In the end, a great learning culture creates a far more competitive firm.

Who’s taking ownership at your firm for creating an agile, competitive learning organization?

For more about the Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management, download the executive summary (PDF, 11 pages) at http://sevenkeyscpa.com/exec.

View the discussion thread.

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The SevenKeys CPA

A blog by Jean Caragher and Rick Telberg
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