CPA Partner Roles

Thursday, February 08, 2007

George Cumpata, CPA and managing partner of the 20-partner, 150-person Chicago-based Gleeson, Sklar, Sawyers & Cumpata-a full-service firm with niches in litigation, business valuation, real estate development and disaster planning-places a high value on communication. It helps keep everyone in tune with the firm's goals, he says. "The key to a workable compensation system is to have clearly defined roles for all your partners," says Cumpata. After that, "you really have to find ways to communicate. The biggest downfall firms encounter stems from lack of communication-and it gets tougher as your firm gets bigger." (See "Say It Again, Sam," right.)

Cumpata, who was on the five-partner compensation committee for several years prior to becoming managing partner (and head of the committee) six years ago, says a firm needs to adjust as it grows. "We're three to four times the size we were six years ago. Growth is a good thing, but along with the increase in size you have to build processes that accommodate it. A firm with 150 people operates very differently from a firm with 45," he says. Small practices can keep their compensation systems simple and egalitarian; midsize and fast-track firms need plans that allow for growth; and large firms-where management can't know every partner personally-need to rely more on objective data, he says.

The firm has three levels of partners: equity, income and associate, with a slightly different base pay by group. They span all ages from CPAs approaching retirement to those in their forties and early fifties to an "aggressive" group of younger partners. The firm's compensation program must marshal the group’s diverse abilities and help partners meet development goals. "At our firm we redefine our roles every year, a process that takes about three weeks for 20 partners," he says. The exercise is the baseline for each partner's yearly performance.