Improving Accountability in Your Firm

Improving partner and staff accountability is essential in these economic times.rnI think many partners associate accountability with increased conflict and typically shy away from addressing the issues. As a result most accountability discussions take place after the fact when there is no possible chance of changing the results.rnThese conversations usually focus on fault and blame and in most cases are not productive and in some instances have had a very negative impact on partner and staff relationships. There is a very clear and simple way to improve accountability at every level of your firm and all you have to do is follow a proven process. MOTIVATION In Abraham Maslow’s book, Motivation and Personality, he discusses two types of behavior, “coping” and “expressive.”rnCoping behavior is where an individual is reacting to the behavior of others, while expressive behavior is doing what is important to you. He further states that an individual cannot be motivated when they are coping with another person’s behavior and will only be motivated when they are in an expressive mode of behavior. Of course it is impossible for us to avoid both of these behaviors every day of our lives, but what we do want to focus on as effective leaders is to make sure our people are in the expressive mode as often as possible, to improve their motivation.rnIn public accounting, the work and, in most cases, the feedback concerning that work is given after the fact -review notes about the job, annual performance reviews and, in many cases, discussions concerning why a promotion or a raise is not going to happen because some unknown expectation has not been met.rnThe one excuse given to most staff when they are not getting a promotion is “You’re just not ready yet,” but in most cases they have not been told what it takes to be ready. In effect we place most of our employees, and sometimes even partners, in the coping mode much too often. If you want your employees more accountable you have to have to define success in advance of the task or period of time by using what I call success plans. SUCCESS PLANNING Smart, younger individuals joining the accounting profession have often been very successful in their educational pursuits and are not used to failing. This typically is not the case in their first few years of public accounting, as it’s not uncommon to feel a little inadequate at the beginning of the profession.rnI know I felt like I didn’t know much when I first joined the profession and was reminded of it constantly by those above me. Everyone wants to be successful but to do so they have to know how to achieve that success in advance of their performance.rnOur profession, in general, does a very poor job of communicating performance expectations–according to a national survey of non-owner accountants I conducted several years ago. A significant number of the respondants replied that they did not know exactly what was required to get a raise or get promoted, nor did they get the feedback they felt they needed to be successful.rnWhat is needed is a formalized process to communicate the requirements for a specific task or position and how success will be measured. If improved accountability is the goal all parties need to know what is required in advance. Review notes and backward looking evaluations might well have some influence on future performance but do not have any impact on what has already taken place. There is a better way to get to get your partners and staff to take ownership and agree to be accountable.rnTHE CYCLE OF ACCOUNTABILITY, PERFORMANCE AND SUCCESS™rnTo begin the cycle of accountability, performance and success (CAPS™) the person in the supervisory roll must clearly communicate the ultimate goal and help develop a plan to achieve that goal. Whether the task is doing a tax return, auditing cash, responsibility for an entire client engagement or annual job performance the time needed to complete the cycle will vary significantly but the CAPS™ process follows the same flow.rnToo often we try to shortcut the process and then are disappointed when we don’t get the result we wanted because our expectations had not been clearly communicated and success had not been clearly defined.rnDIRECT AND SUPPORTIVE SUPERVISIONrnStaff accountants with less experience need more direct supervision as they haven’t been exposed to the complexities of public accounting before. Specific instructions concerning the steps to be performed, the time expectations and frequent checking and feedback are needed to make sure you get the result you want rather leaving it up to chance.rnSupportive supervision techniques are used with those individuals that have more experience. General instructions are given as to expectations and we generally tell the experienced accountant that if they have any questions to please let us know.rnUsing an inappropriate supervision technique can lead to not getting the job completed timely or successfully or in some cases it can demoralize your experienced staff. Inexperienced accountants getting supportive supervision don’t know when they have a question and experienced accountants will accuse you of micro managing if you use direct supervision techniques with them. You should always consider the individual and the task to be performed to determine which supervision technique to use during the course of the project. IMPROVE ACCOUNTABILITY IMMEDIATELY Here’s how you can immediately improve accountability and performance in your firm:rnCommunicate your expectations clearlyrnDiscuss the plan to accomplish the goalrnMake sure the plan is understood and agreed to and that success is definedrnUse direct or supportive coaching/supervision techniques appropriatelyrnGive timely feedbackrnCelebrate success