What are you worth?
More money as a CPA, according to consultant Jay Nisberg, who made that explicit during his keynote at Accounting Today's Growth & Profitability Summit in Orlando. "You have to learn, as a profession, that it's okay to make money," he told the crowd. "None of you are making the kind of money you should or you deserve. Think about the value of the services you provide."
Or you could be worth your relationships: "Your network defines your net worth," according to author Tim Sanders, quoted by the Maryland Association of CPAs' Bill Sheridan during a session at CCH's 2013 Users Conference in Phoenix.
Or is it sanity, as expressed during a session at the American Institute of CPAs' Women's Global Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. "My lesson learned was to remember my self-worth," shared one panelist, in telling the story of a toxic former boss. "If you cry more than three times in your office, get the hell out."
Perception of worth remains tied to gender, with Ernst & Young's Anne-Marie Hubert sharing that among partners, women assessed themselves lower than they were evaluated, while men did the exact opposite.
Regardless of gender, personal value is internally commanded. At one point during the conference, the proclamation of, "If you're not an advocate for you, no one is," garnered a round of applause.
Still, accounting firms are in a unique position to bolster and reward personal worth. Those that made our competitive Best Firms to Work For 2013 list, who were honored at a lunch at our GroPro Summit, drastically top companies in other industries in employee engagement.
And what is that worth? As explained by Best Companies Group's Peter Burke: "There is a definite correlation between high engagement and financial performance."
