My partner and I built our Cerritos, California, CPA practice from scratch over 11 years ago. We specialize in tax compliance and consulting for large corporations. Two years ago we were suffering from growing pains. We had grown to 18 staff and we felt like we hit a ceiling. We felt like the work was controlling us versus us controlling the work.
We were busy being busy and it was not pleasant. I was so bogged down completing work that had to be finished that I had no time to manage. Instead, I would work overtime and weekends just to get caught up. I had bright ideas but I was too busy “working” to implement them. The staff needed training and leadership but I was too busy to be an executive. Being busy did not equate to being effective.
We were too backlogged to think about adding new clients, especially big ones. I was afraid we would have a difficult time servicing a big client if one did come in. We believed that we achieved success over the years. However, my partner and I agreed that, if we could not reduce the stress and improve our efficiency, we would have to make some major changes in the practice.
When I received a call from Sterling Management, I was ready to listen because I knew we needed to change what were doing. The Sterling representative told us that what we really needed was the “know-how” to get our organization together, how to put systems in place as executives and how to make our staff more productive. I was very encouraged that we had come to the right place to find our answers.
My partner and I went for training at Sterling’s Glendale, California, headquarters. A month later, a senior consultant came to our office to train our staff and get the place organized in time for tax season.
It has made a huge difference. Our first year as a Sterling client was far better than the one before, with much more certainty and much lower stress. The staff were more productive and were happier. Additionally, we achieved some major milestones last year, including the first promotion to partner from within.
We wanted to increase productivity and to work better as a team. That has definitely happened and so much more. The whole team is excited and motivated. Our firm is now busy doing what we should be doing rather than fighting inefficiency.
If this hits home, call Sterling at (800) 933-7538.
Nitai Pathak, CPA
