Comparing a firm’s input and output based on staff numbers highlights further common growing pains. The overall trend line shows positive movement up and to the right, yet this movement in anything but a straight line.

Sole practitioners (1 staff member): With an average Practice Excellence score of 45% and revenue/employee of $81,535, sole practitioners are firmly in the Laggard quadrant. Working on their own, these accountants are clearly stuck in the weeds. They are wearing many hats and strongly focused on delivering for their clients and finding new clients. Therefore, they are unable to provide the time to learn, develop and grow.

Small (2-5 staff): Average Practice Excellence score of 52% and revenue/employee of $86,848. These firms have usually determined how to leverage a small team, technology, and ways of working together to be much more efficient for their size.

Small boutique (6-10 staff): Average Practice Excellence score of 52% and revenue/employee of $70,014. Growing to this size is when a firm needs to manage the fundamental dynamics of teams for the first time. An understanding of managing and delegating is required, with which many owners—who often started much smaller—can struggle with. They get bogged down, face a drop in efficiency and can struggle to let go of things they have always done themselves.

Large boutique (11-25 staff): Average Practice Excellence score of 55% and revenue/employee of $85,702. Firm owners who have the management and strategy proficiency can quickly grow their firm to this size. Good systems and processes are usually always in place within firms who have reached this size.

Regional (26-50 staff): Average Practice Excellence score of 49% and revenue/employee of $95,770. These firms usually have multiple-partners and are often based across multiple offices. This brings a whole new set of challenges and priorities brought on by size, and Practice Excellence takes a hit. Change is harder to implement and is slow. However, effectiveness per staff member increases, most likely due to being in a position to employ more junior staff at lower salaries. They can do more for less and drive more revenue.

Medium (51-100 staff): Average Practice Excellence score of 53% and revenue/employee of $124,542. Medium-sized firms have made it over the hump and rectified much of their growing pains. To reach this size they have found an ideal balance between Practice Excellence proficiency and employee effectiveness.