Guide to Practice Management for Small- and Medium-Sized Practices Third Edition Small and Medium Practices Committee International Federation of Accountants 529 Fifth Avenue, 6th Floor New York, NY 10017 USA The Guide to Practice Management for Small- and Medium-Sized Practices was prepared by the Small and Medium Practices Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). The committee represents the interests of professional accountants operating in small- and medium-sized practices and other professional accountants who provide services to small- and medium-sized entities. This publication may be downloaded free of charge from the Publications & Resources section of the IFAC website: www.ifac.org/publications-resources. The approved text is published in the English language. IFAC’s mission is to serve the public interest by: contributing to the development of high-quality standards and guidance; facilitating the adoption and implementation of high-quality standards and guidance; contributing to the development of strong professional accountancy organizations and accounting firms and to high-quality practices by professional accountants, and promoting the value of professional accountants worldwide; and speaking out on public interest issues. The SMP Committee extends its appreciation and thanks to its Practice Management Guide Task Force for assisting the committee in developing this Guide. The Practice Management Guide Task Force consists of committee members Florin Toma (Chair), Giancarlo Attolini, Stuart Black, Aboo Abdulwahid, Cemal Ibis, Uttam Prakash Agarwal, Ricardo Rodil, and Christina Foo. For further information, please email [email protected]. Copyright © December 2012 by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). All rights reserved. Permission is granted to make copies of this work to provided copies are for use in academic classrooms or for personal use and are not sold or disseminated and provided that each copy bears the following credit line: “Copyright © December 2012 by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). All rights reserved. Used with permission of IFAC. Contact [email protected]. for permission to reproduce, store, or transmit this document.” Otherwise, written permission from IFAC is required to reproduce, store, or transmit, or make other similar uses of, this document, except as permitted by law. Contact [email protected]. ISBN: 978-1-60815-130-1 Contents Guide to Practice Management for Small- and Medium-Sized Practices Preface Request for Comments Introduction Use by IFAC Member Bodies Glossary of terms Module 1: Planning for your firm Module 2: Practice models and networks Module 3: Building and growing your firm Module 4: People power: Developing a people strategy Module 5: Technology and e-business Module 6: Client relationship management Module 7: Risk management Module 8: Succession planning i Preface Welcome to the third edition of the IFAC SMP Committee’s Guide to Practice Management for Small- and Medium-Sized Practices. In this edition, we have taken the opportunity to update the end-of-module further readings and IFAC resources as well as make minor presentational improvements. Mindful, however, that many users may be in the process of translating the Guide, we have endeavored to keep the revisions in this edition to a minimum. The main changes from the second edition relate to the inclusion of new or enhanced guidance and related references and further readings on knowledge networks (Module 2), pricing (Module 3), marketing using social media (Module 3), building a business advisory practice (Module 3), and cloud computing (Module 5). First released in 2010 and developed with CPA Australia, the Guide provides comprehensive guidance to help SMPs operate more proficiently in the increasingly complex and competitive global marketplace for professional services. IFAC is grateful to its member bodies Consiglio Nazionale dei Dottori Commercialisti e degli Esperti Contabili and Certified General Accountants’ Association of Canada for providing some of the funding for the Guide’s initial development. Organized into eight stand-alone modules, the Guide provides SMPs with knowledge of practice management principles and best practice guidance on a whole range of practice management topics including strategic planning, managing staff, client relationship management, and succession planning. In order to help member bodies and practices maximize the use of this Guide, the SMP Committee has developed the Companion Manual, Guide to Practice Management for Small- and Medium-Sized Practices (www.ifac.org/publications-resources/companion- manual), that provides suggestions on how to make best use of the Guide. Finally, the IFAC SMP Committee welcomes readers to visit the Small and Medium Practices area of the IFAC website (www.ifac.org/SMP), which, in addition to the Guide, hosts a wide collection of free publications and resources, including links to relevant resources (www.ifac.org/aggregator/sources/8) from IFAC member bodies and other organizations. Giancarlo Attolini Chair, IFAC SMP Committee December 2012  ii Request for Comments This is the third edition of the Guide. We consider the Guide to be of high quality and useful in its present form, but like any publication, it can be improved. Hence, we are committed to updating the Guide on a regular basis to ensure it reflects current best practice and is as useful as possible. We welcome comments from IFAC member bodies, practitioners, and others. In particular, we welcome views on the following questions. 1. How do you use the Guide? For example, do you use it as a basis for training and/or as a practical reference guide, or in some other way? 2. Do you believe that the Guide has appropriately included all of the relevant aspects of practice management? If not, which elements would you suggest be added to or deleted from the Guide? 3. Do you consider the Guide’s contents to be sufficiently tailored to the key practice management issues faced by small- and medium-sized practices? 4. Do you find the Guide easy to navigate? If not, can you suggest how navigation can be improved? 5. What other references, further readings, and resources do you suggest be included? Please be as specific as possible. 6. In what other ways do you think the Guide can be made more useful? 7. Are you aware of any derivative products—such as training materials, forms, checklists, and programs—that have been developed based on the Guide? If so, please provide details. Please submit your comments to: Paul Thompson, Deputy Director, SME and SMP Affairs at: Email: [email protected] Fax: +1 212-286-9570 Mail: Small and Medium Practices Committee International Federation of Accountants 529 Fifth Avenue, 6th Floor New York New York, NY 10017, USA iii Disclaimer Practitioners should utilize the Guide in light of their professional judgment and the facts and circumstances involved in their firm and each particular engagement. IFAC disclaims any responsibility or liability that may occur, directly or indirectly, as a consequence of the use and application of the Guide.  iv Introduction Purpose The Guide aims to assist practices in operating in a safe, profitable and professional manner. The Guide seeks to do this by providing practical guidance across a whole range of practice management topics. The Guide is intended to improve the management and operational efficiency of SMPs so as to ultimately make them more sustainable and successful. As such, the Guide is intended to: address the opportunities and challenges faced by SMPs; improve the competitiveness, profitability, and sustainability of practices; enhance the expertise, competence, and efficiency of those managing practices; provide practical assistance to those engaged in managing practices so as to provide an environment conducive to the provision of high quality services; showcase global best practices and latest practice management techniques. Intended Users As the title suggests, this Guide is primarily directed at professional accountants working for or as SMPs. While the primary users are likely to be those managing the practice and senior professional staff, certain parts will be useful to more junior staff and as an introduction to the practices for new staff. It is also considered suitable as a reference guide meant for everyday use. In addition, SMPs may find the Guide helpful when it comes to providing general business advice to SMEs; likewise professional accountants working in SMEs may find it useful. Finally, students, educators, training providers, researchers, and international development agencies may find the Guide useful. Topics Covered While the Guide covers a diverse range of topics, both strategic and operational, the depth and nature of coverage varies according to the topic. Where there is a high degree of homogeneity of practice and custom across jurisdictions, a topic is covered in depth. But for topics which are especially jurisdiction-sensitive—for example, practice structure, employment law, etc.—coverage is more generic and principle based, making it suitable for local adaptation. A brief outline of each module follows. Module 1 Planning for your firm The essential ingredient for success is for every firm to know its own strategy—the path that the partners and employees wish to travel. There is not necessarily a single right or wrong direction for a public accounting firm. Successful firms can be highly specialized or general, focusing on