The 2023 MP Elite

August 8, 2023 9:00 AM

Amid a volatile environment for talent in accounting — staffing shortages, return-to-office mandates, and even layoffs — firm leaders have only become more crucial to the conversation. The 2023 MP Elite are not only up to today's challenges but have proactively innovated to meet the very vital needs of their people, distinguishing themselves as some of the top managing partners and CEOs in accounting.

Across the board for this year's honorees, their outstanding leadership starts with a very simple — but highly valuable — skill.

"Listening to your employees and staying attuned to the needs and desires of young accountants is critical to the future success of the profession," said Market Street Partners' Kyle Bryant. "In 2023, the goals, wishes and needs of young professionals entering the workforce are vastly different than they were even just 10 years ago."

But the other side of communication — specifically, clear messaging — is just as necessary to counter the pipeline problem of fewer people entering the profession. (Read more about the MP Elite's thoughts on combatting the pipeline problem here.)

As Armanino's Matt Armanino explained, "As accountants, we have to spread the word to the next generation that our profession isn't for green eyeshades and marble floors, but instead it's for people with great imaginations who want to know what makes businesses tick and how we can improve operations to drive the economy of tomorrow."

Even with all accounting has to offer, the profession is still in dire need of adjustments to attract newer generations, which Bryant understands in painting the picture of his practice. "Walking into our office, you're more likely to see a pair of jeans than a suit and tie," he shared. "You're more likely to find folks collaborating on an issue in a conference room than you are to see closed doors. We've found that this more relaxed and collaborative approach creates a less tense atmosphere, making our team members happier and our customers more comfortable when they're working with us."

All the MP Elite prioritize this kind of culture of comfort, along with one of flexibility, inclusivity and fun — all incredibly important to young professionals. And the changing state of the profession, including more mergers with non-CPA practices and infusions of private equity funding, also ups the attraction for a population looking to carve out new career paths.

EisnerAmper's Charles Weinstein, who, along with LMC's Lee Cohen, is pioneering new PE-backed ownership structures, recognizes the appeal: "Offering a broader range of services enables our staff to stay in the profession while learning new skills and pursuing alternative career paths. Our new ownership and capital structure has enabled us to do just that."

But restructuring or large-firm capital is not required to empower people, as Suzanne Forbes can attest. Her James Moore & Co. set up an internal committee to formalize expectations and choices for a workforce that's ravenous for them.

Whether listening to the members of, or evangelizing for, the profession, Forbes and her fellow MP Elite understand that clear communication, as always, is key. "Many firms struggle with this," Forbes explained, "and it's important to be transparent as we look for the next generation of leaders."

(Read more about the 2023 MP Elite, who get transparent about their five-to-10-year plans, here.)

Matt Armanino

Armanino
CEO since 2019; joined as COO in 2008

Though not an accountant by training, Matt Armanino has a very strong idea of what accounting is all about: "This is a profession that relies on human ingenuity," he said. "It's for people with great imaginations who want to know what makes businesses tick and how we can improve operations."

That ingenuity and imagination is on display in just about every corner of the firm that bears his family name. To start, there's its strong focus on technology, and the many innovations created by its dedicated team of "Ideaticians." These include the Armanino Access app that it's currently developing to "transform the way professional services firms interact with their clients," as well as a groundbreaking benchmarking tool for nonprofits, its DataVue methodology for helping clients manage digital transformation, cutting-edge robotic process automation, and much more.

"I have long advocated (with great buy-in) the need for our firm to be prepared for a world that is more volatile and moves at an increasingly quick pace," Armanino explained. "Looking forward, I already see we have put in place the foundation for the next decade." He was referring specifically to the firm's technology, but under him it has also been on the front lines of the war for talent, with pioneering initiatives like its Accelerated Path to Manager Program, which significantly shortens employees' career path to leadership, its Armanino Celebrates Excellence recognition program, and its Industry Edge professional development certificate program.

All that imagination has paid off: Named one of the fastest-growing in the country for 2023 by Accounting Today, the firm has grown revenue 136% since he took the helm in 2019, more than doubled its number of offices, and increased staff by 120%.

Kyle Bryant

Market Street Partners
Managing partner and co-founder since 2016

With a background of having worked in a legacy accounting firm and as CFO of a venture capital firm, Kyle Bryant's dual expertise is not only crucial for where the accounting profession is heading, but for guiding his Chattanooga, Tennessee-based firm, Market Street Partners. His insight straddles two industries that are becoming more integrated, and he has merged the lessons from both to build an award-winning firm.

"These roles allowed me to see the best of both worlds: I saw a CPA firm who'd grown by establishing reliable processes and procedures, and I also got a firsthand look at the ways in which startups succeed by remaining nimble," Bryant explained. "When we started Market Street Partners, I knew we needed to find a happy medium between these two models in order to realize our goal of building a modern firm that understands the needs of Gen X and millennial business leaders, and I think we've succeeded in that endeavor."

An Accounting Today Best Firm to Work For and Best Firm for Technology, MSP owes both honors to one crucial mantra of Bryant's: listening to employees. He credits his team-driven approach of exploring solutions recommended by any of the firm's 34 employees with leading MSP to implement "several technology solutions suggested by team members that have greatly increased our effectiveness and efficiency."

Employees also direct the firm's charitable efforts through the MSP Foundation, which matches employees' donations to organizations of their choosing at 100%.

Lee Cohen

LMC
CEO and founder since 2010

At a time when a low turnover rate is as enviable as a high growth rate — and much harder to obtain — the 10% turnover that Lee Cohen has achieved at LMC should make him the envy of his peers; more important, it should make him a model for them.

The firm's list of perks, benefits and HR policies reads like the ultimate guide to best practices for retention and recruiting, from unlimited PTO and summer Fridays off, to post-tax-season gifts that have included trips to Mexico, Apple stock, retention bonus incentive plans, and much more. One key source of new ideas is the staff members themselves.

"I listen and hear what they have to say so we can continually improve," Cohen said, adding that, at the height of the Great Resignation, "We sat with each employee to see how the firm could improve. And we implemented those ideas."

Small wonder, then, that LMC frequently earns spots on local and regional lists of the best places to work — but as much attention as it pays to staff, it's not neglecting its clients, with great client service touches like a handwritten letter from Cohen welcoming each new client to the firm, and annual report cards, to say nothing of rolling out new practice areas like outsourced CFO services, mortgage consulting services, a family office and a business finance company — all in the last five years.

A report card for Cohen would note that he's grown LMC from nothing in 2010 to a $22 million firm with 85 staff, and drawn a major investment from private-equity backed platform Ascend — grades that explain his position among those at the top of the class.

Suzanne Forbes

James Moore & Co.
Managing partner since 2019; joined in 1987

Suzanne Forbes has led James Moore & Co. to some impressive stats. In her four-year tenure helming the Gainesville, Florida-based firm, it has grown revenue 68%, staff 95.38%, and — perhaps most crucial in today's talent-strapped landscape — maintained a low average turnover of 12.76%.

But one of the most valuable numbers might be No. 1: its ranking as an Accounting Today Best Firm for Women in 2020. That followed many years on the Best Firms to Work For list, due to Forbes' myriad employee-geared initiatives, including surveying employees and giving the 242 staff members remote, hybrid or in-office work options. "This has gone a long way toward retaining valued employees, as more accounting and consulting firms have begun requiring a return to the office," she said.

That has been supported by Forbes' significant advances in technology under her leadership, and the formation of a Remote Culture Committee that hosts remote events and provides a venue for her video series of firm updates, "SSWS (Shooting the Sh#t with Suzanne)" — alongside her "alter ego, WTF (What the Forbes), rocking out on a popular tune."

But as strong as the culture remains in these new working setups, Forbes supports employees when they do need to come into the office — not only in practice but financially: James Moore & Co. pays for employees to come to one of the offices for in-person training if they wish.

And ongoing employee training is just as intentional, with groups like the firm's DIEPS Committee, an internal group that clarified and set expectations around what it takes to be a director, income partner and equity partner.

Richard Kopelman

Aprio
Managing partner and CEO since 2013; joined in 1992

Not many members of the MP Elite make repeat visits, but since his initial appearance in 2018, Richard Kopelman has gone from strength to strength, one recent indicator of which is Aprio's ranking this year as the single-fastest-growing accounting firm in the country, having boosted its revenues an astonishing 86% in a single year.

Under Kopelman, the firm has grown from a single office in Atlanta to 16 different offices across the U.S. (as well as Colombia and the Philippines), and he has even bigger plans for the future: "In the next five to 10 years, my goal for Aprio is to be known, recognized and celebrated as the No. 1 business advisory and accounting firm in the U.S.," he said. "In fact, with our strategic plan in place, I actually expect this will happen sooner."

To support that vision, Kopelman and Aprio are making major investments in technology — including $5 million spent on tools and infrastructure over the past two years — and staff, with a comprehensive array of plans and programs to make the firm a workplace of choice. Perhaps more important, though, are the 31 Fundamentals of "The Aprio Way" that Kopelman established, a set of unifying motivations behind how the firm cares for its clients and its employees that underpin its extraordinary performance.

One of those fundamentals urges staff to "embrace change," and his willingness and ability to do that successfully is a major reason Kopelman is back among the MP Elite. "I practice that fundamental each and every day," he explained. "I am not afraid to unlearn what I've been taught and explore new approaches to doing business."

John Lauseng

Aldrich Advisors
CEO since 2020; joined in 2009

It's clear that for the MP Elite, people are a top priority, and John Lauseng is a prime example of that preoccupation with engaging, empowering and elevating skilled, loyal and enthusiastic employees.

At Aldrich, this takes varied forms, from the many technology investments the Top 100 Firm has made to keep staff communicating and collaborating, to the sabbaticals it offers employees every seven years, or the Aldrich Community Groups it has established to bring staff members together around shared interests. And then there are initiatives like AldrichYou, its performance management learning system, which trains employees in a wide range of business and interpersonal skills, and its POOL program (for Promoting Opportunities + Outstanding Leaders), which exposes staff to different departments and customers before they start their career track. These and other programs aim to prepare staff for leadership roles, underpinning the firm's long-term succession plan, while at the same time equipping them to better serve clients.

That, after all, is one of the major reasons the MP Elite spend so much of their time on staffing: As Lauseng knows, an outstanding client experience starts with an outstanding employee experience. Of course, you also need to offer the services that clients need, which is one reason why, over the past five years, Aldrich has launched a number of new service areas, including offerings around business transaction advisory, technology consulting and managed IT services, an architecture and engineering industry focus, and a real estate industry focus.

With an exceptional team delivering services like that, it's no wonder Lauseng and Aldrich feel prepared for their audacious long-term vision of doubling every five years.

Steven McCarty

UHY Advisors Inc.
CEO since 2019; joined in 1992

Steven McCarty has set a goal for UHY Advisors to be a Top 25 Firm — which should be in reach, not only because the Farmington Hills, Michigan-based firm ranked No. 28 on Accounting Today's Top 100 Firms list this year, but based on its standing as one of 2023's fastest growing firms, which it owes to the slew of acquisitions, new service lines (a staggering 17 since 2019 alone), additional office openings, and technology investments on McCarty's watch.

Alongside such talent-focused initiatives as its Human Resource Partner Program, its Emerging Leader Program, and its recognition and rewards platform, Celebrate U!, UHY has also been full speed ahead on hiring. "In 2020 alone, after the onset of the pandemic, we hired 150 new employees to our team over a few months," McCarty reported, increasing the firm's ranks to its current 1,669 staff members.

Leaders in the firm are part of the innovation sessions UHY kicked off in 2021, which "have resulted in many initiatives that we have already implemented or plan to implement," McCarty said. They have also spurred more technology advances over his four years as CEO than during any other time in the firm's history, according to McCarty, including innovations like robotic process automation.

These investments also translate to the next generation of talent, with UHY's recently piloted Junior Connect Program, an extension of its college-level Connect Program geared to high school-level students. "Accounting is one of the most in-demand fields today, and by introducing students to the space early, we strongly believe that we can establish accounting as one of the most attractive career paths available," McCarty said.

Jeffery Mowery

Mowery & Schoenfeld
Managing partner since 2008; co-founded in 1996

Jeffrey Mowery plans for Mowery & Schoenfeld to be a Top 100 Firm within the next five years. He also plans to take his exit from heading up the Lincolnshire, Illinois-based firm in the near future, to ensure a solid succession plan. "We plan to transition to the next generation of partners, creating a second-generation firm and solidifying our ability to continue on as the founders transition into retirement and remain a home for our employees and clients long into the future," the firm said. The next leadership team will have many accolades to live up to, with Mowery & Schoenfeld attaining numerous Accounting Today Best Firms to Work For honors over the years, as well as being named a Best Firm for Women, Best Firm for Technology, and Top Firm by AUM. Mowery himself is also returning to the MP Elite after being honored in 2016.

Additionally, Mowery has led M&S to pioneer a service model for providing quality of earnings due diligence services to the rapidly growing entrepreneurship-through-acquisition industry, an innovation that has increased that service line's revenue 55% year over year. The same focus on detail is brought to the firm's other service lines, and task forces that foster expertise in the team, like those geared to the R&D Credit, cost segregation studies, and the Employee Retention Tax Credit.

While client need has driven many of these endeavors, Mowery keeps employees the top priority, with flexible policies that include condensed work weeks, reducing overtime during peak times, unlimited PTO, offering sabbaticals as needed, increasing office closures and holidays, and culling clients to reduce overall workload.

Robert Traphagen

Traphagen CPAs & Wealth Advisors
Managing partner since 2002; joined in 1975

Robert Traphagen designed Traphagen CPAs & Wealth Advisors' strategic plan in 2011, with help from his partners, and it is "revisited periodically and is currently being revised to adapt to a new paradigm of hybrid, remote, cloud-based and AI-driven technologies."

Traphagen has been adept at adapting through his 21 years as MP, leading the Oradell, New Jersey-based firm to invest in significant advisory services, including wealth management, retirement planning, software implementation, college planning services and middle-management CFO services, among others.

He maintains the same consistency in his high-touch approach with staff, holding monthly team meetings to "discuss goals and objectives and create a knowledge sharing open forum amongst the associates."

Knowledge sharing is also a key component of Traphagen's leadership approach for his 37 staff members. "We encourage personal and professional growth by empowering our professionals to have a broad knowledge in numerous disciplines," he shared, noting that professional development is balanced with numerous health initiatives, including wellness weeks and one-on-one fitness and nutrition coaching.

"I take pride in providing leadership to my team," Traphagen said. "The success of a firm comes from the top, and I lead by example with integrity, energy, enthusiasm, dedication and commitment."

Charles Weinstein

Eisner Advisory Group
CEO since 1998; joined as a partner in 1989

Charles Weinstein has been in the spotlight a lot as of late thanks to his pioneering partnership with private equity firm TowerBrook Capital Partners, which has fueled his Top 25 Firm's M&A strategy (including merging in two Top 100 Firms), but he was highly respected by his peers for decades before that – and is sure to continue to be going forward.

"EisnerAmper will continue to stretch the traditional model of an accounting firm," he promised, not just in terms of PE investments and aggressive M&A, but also in embracing nontraditional sources of talent, and in focusing on high-value-added advisory services. Over the past three years alone, the firm has launched offerings in compensation consulting, digital transformation solutions, ESG, HiTrust, health care technology, digital assets, and oil and gas.

M&A and PE and advisory services are important for driving the firm forward, but Weinstein is quick to point out two other critical lessons he has gleaned in his more than 45 years in the profession. "Embrace the times and remain close with your people," he said, emphasizing the importance of the memories colleagues create together: "The stories about how we won back a client, how we cared for our team members, how we stood up for each other."

"I'd like to think my consistent drive to encourage and support people to achieve their goals has differentiated me," he concluded, "and that my legacy will be about how I was always chasing possibilities so that the firm (and the profession) can move forward."