The way most accounting firms have been run for decades isn’t right for the modern practice. Yet, many firms are still proportioning their managers and staff and structuring their teams based on guidelines that included desktop systems, yearly meetings with clients (and charging calls by 15-minute increments) and services that could achieve differentiation by simply being done right.

In the early 2000s, an efficient firm commonly had a ratio of 5:1 (5 accountants to 1 partner/manager), in the same office. Today, the modern accounting firm’s ratio is anywhere from 7:1 to 15:1, and often includes multiple locations.

Along the road, you have probably made reactionary changes to your team structure to improve efficiency, cut costs, or cope with personnel changes. But this type of minor tweaking can do more harm than good and negatively affect the way your team works together. If your strategies, goals, processes or services change, your structure needs to keep pace. This requires more than a casual readjustment—you need to redesign how the roles and functions integrate within your team to suit your new direction.

Redefine your functions & roles.

You need to take an entrepreneurial approach to your strategy, and doing this requires you to consider core areas and functional roles that your team may not currently include. Your accounting firm is a business, so run it like one.

If you’re not convinced of the necessity of this step, consider whether your current structure allows for work to flow through your team from commencement to sign off as quickly and seamlessly as you would like. Ask yourself whether you could effectively take on twice the number of clients you have now without needing to change all your systems, processes, and technology. Look at the way your team communicates and see if and where any issues occur. This redesign will ensure information moves through your organization with ease—your team will work better together, it will minimize the disruptions from unplanned events like the sudden departure of a staff member, and your practice will be well-equipped to scale.

Identifying gaps and problems.

Make a note of every change that has been made to your practice in recent years, especially those that you’re implementing as part of this transformation. Consider each function in your team and the individuals working in each of these areas. Take the time to speak with each team member to gain a thorough