Practice Made (More) Perfect: Transforming a Financial Advisory Practice Into a Business(Bloomberg Financial)

A revised and expanded look at how to thrive and prosper in the financial advisory business A new and revised edition of the eye-opening, no-nonsense handbook on managing and growing a financial-advisory business, Practice Made (More) Perfect is packed with industry insight and practical ideas that every leader and manager within a financial advisory practice needs to know in order to get the most out of their business. Regardless of how little time is available or how seriously challenged a firm may be, this book contains the information that can help. The principles of sound management apply to firms of all types, and the tools provided in this book are guaranteed to be applicable under practically any circumstances. Written by industry expert Mark Tibergien, one of the "25 Most Influential" people in the financial services industry A new edition of a bestselling Bloomberg title Includes fresh insight on recent topics, including how advisors responded during the latest meltdown, the implications of the aging advisory profession, the challenges of attracting and keeping both clients and staff, the role of organizational design in a growing business, recent changes in compensation planning and implementation, and key information on leadership and management in today's financial world Many financial advisers run their businesses as if acquiring more clients will solve any and all problems, but without a strategic framework, more clients just lead to more demands and less time to meet them. The truly successful firm will build strategy, structure, and processes that will ultimately translate into increased profits, cash flow, and transferable value.

Table of Contents:
Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvii Introduction xix Chapter 1 The Financial Advisory Business: What’s Next? 1 What Are Top-Performing Firms Doing? 3 The Business as Client 4 10 Things to Think About 4 Chapter 2 Strategic Business Planning: Defining the Direction 11 Muddled Messages 12 What Is Your Strategic Differentiator? 14 What Is Strategic Planning? 14 The Strategic Planning Process 16 Chapter 3 Managing Workflow: The Back Office Moves Forward 35 Sources of Inefficiency 36 Achieving Efficiencies 37 Does Efficiency Come at a Cost? 39 Managing Risk 45 Chapter 4 Building Leverage and Capacity 55 Getting to the Next Stage 56 Becoming a Market Dominator 57 The Challenge of Growth 58 The Entrepreneurial Crossroads 59 Cornerstones of the Professional Practice 66 Models That Work 68 Leveraging Your Affiliations 72 Big Is Beautiful 76 Chapter 5 The Human Capital Plan: People Who Need People 81 The Problem You Can’t Do Without 82 Aligning Human Capital with Strategy 83 The Nature of the Work 86 The Nature of the Worker 90 The Interviewing Process 93 Chapter 6 Creating a Positive Workplace: Professional Development 99 The Career Path 101 The Appraisal Process 104 Coaching and Development 107 The Workplace 109 Building a Foundation 114 The Four-Way Test 115 Lessons on Inclusion 125 Chapter 7 Rewarding Behavior and Performance: Compensation Planning 129 Developing a Plan 135 The Components of Compensation 139 Establishing Base Compensation 149 Establishing an Incentive Compensation Plan 150 Owner’s Compensation 153 Chapter 8 Reading the Financials: Financial Management 155 Fundamentals of Accounting 155 Constructing a Financial Statement 156 Tying the Financials Together 165 Chapter 9 Income, Profit, Cash Flow: What the Numbers Are Saying 167 Formatting the Financials 168 Analyzing the Income Statement 169 Analyzing the Balance Sheet 179 Analyzing the Statement of Cash Flow 184 Financial Impact Analysis 185 Chapter 10 Managing Growth: The Search for Solutions 189 Harnessing Resources 190 Using Financial Leverage 192 Managing Cash Flow 194 How About Equity? 195 Referral Agreements and Joint Ventures 196 Practice Acquisitions 199 Investments in New Initiatives 203 Chapter 11 Exit, Stage Left 205 The Price of Indecision 206 Sale Planning versus Succession Planning 207 Wisdom or Obsolescence? 209 What to Do? 210 Keeping It in the Family 211 How to Make a Partner 217 What About the Successor? 223 Merger as a Succession Plan 226 So What Do You Do? 228 Seeking Counsel 230 Developing the Assumptions 231 Take Control 232 Chapter 12 On Leadership and Management 235 What Defines a Leader? 236 Who Will Emerge? 239 Is Anybody Leading? 240 Rites of Passage 242 Ready, Fire, Aim 244 Awakening the Manager in You 248 Practice What We Preach 251 Hiring Your Boss: Do You Need a CEO? 251 Afterword 257 Appendix 261 About the Authors 297 Index 299

About the Author :
MARK C. TIBERGIEN is Chief Executive Officer for Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC, a BNY Mellon company, and a Managing Director and member of the Executive Committee for Pershing LLC. For eight consecutive years, Accounting Today has recognized Mr. Tibergien as one of the "100 Most Influential" people in the accounting profession and Financial Planning has identified him as a "Mover and Shaker" in their annual review of industry professionals. In 2011, for the ninth time, Investment Advisor recognized him as one of the "25 Most Influential" people in the financial services industry. REBECCA POMERING is a partner with Moss Adams LLP and CEO of Moss Adams Wealth Advisors, the firm's wealth management division, where she is responsible for the growth of the firm, including strategic planning, sales and marketing, team development, human capital, CPA firm integration, financial management, and mergers and acquisitions.