We often think about what more we can do to improve our businesses. What if less is the way? One of my favorite quotes is by the late Peter Drucker:
“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”
In an accounting practice, this principle can be applied to all sorts of things. For example, which clients should we not be working with? What lines of business should we exit? The beauty of stopping, is the capacity it creates to do things we enjoy, are really good at, or help us move our business forward.
Start small though….what can you delegate to others on your team?
Dan Sullivan, the founder of Strategic Coach coined the term Unique Ability. He even wrote a book about it, if you want to discover yours. I run my business based on the belief that we all should be working in our Unique Ability.
I find that when we have successful staff, we are all working predominantly within a set of day-to-day tasks that we like and are good at doing. As you would assume, that looks different for different people.
First- what are you and your team actually doing?
What are you doing day to day? How much time does that task take you? Are you good at it? Do you like it? Once you have inventoried your average work day, you can get your team to do the same. You might be surprised at how things might get rearranged for the better…or eliminated altogether. You may really hate doing reviews but someone on your team does them quickly and efficiently and likes them. Let that person take over reviews in order to free you up.
What this inventory of tasks will do is highlight not only how to rearrange tasks within your office, but will highlight where you need to make a hire. You need the right team you can really trust to take ownership of the projects you let go. The task inventory will also help you make an accurate job description if you do need to make a hire.
Need help getting started?
Download our simple, practical, free 3-Bucket Delegation Tool to help you build a better accounting firm. Share it with your team as well to build capacity firm-wide.
P.S. – Whenever you’re ready, here are 4 other ways we can help:
- Seller FAQ: Answers to the questions sellers are asking. From practice value, to timing, we’ve got you covered.
- Strategic Guide to Selling your CPA Practice Video: The how-to of selling a CPA firm.
- Accounting Practice Academy: If you’re looking for benchmarks, our 8-week workshop has a community of established firm owners that will help you get perspective, reduce your owner hours, and raise your bottom line. Email ibrennan@poegroupadvisors.com with “APA” and we will fill you in on the details.
- If you want to chat about your exit strategy, email bball@poegroupadvisors.com with “strategy call” or request a call here.
