Mark C. Tibergien & Rebecca Pomering 
Practice Made (More) Perfect 
Transforming a Financial Advisory Practice Into a Business

A revised and expanded look at how to thrive and prosper in the
financial advisory business

A new and revised edition of the eye-opening, no-nonsense
handbook on managing and growing a financial-advisory business,
Practice Made (More) Perfect is packed with industry insight
and practical ideas that every leader and manager within a
financial advisory practice needs to know in order to get the most
out of their business. Regardless of how little time is available
or how seriously challenged a firm may be, this book contains the
information that can help. The principles of sound management apply
to firms of all types, and the tools provided in this book are
guaranteed to be applicable under practically any
circumstances.

* Written by industry expert Mark Tibergien, one of the ’25 Most
Influential‘ people in the financial services industry

* A new edition of a bestselling Bloomberg title

* Includes fresh insight on recent topics, including how advisors
responded during the latest meltdown, the implications of the aging
advisory profession, the challenges of attracting and keeping both
clients and staff, the role of organizational design in a growing
business, recent changes in compensation planning and
implementation, and key information on leadership and management in
today’s financial world

Many financial advisers run their businesses as if acquiring
more clients will solve any and all problems, but without a
strategic framework, more clients just lead to more demands and
less time to meet them. The truly successful firm will build
strategy, structure, and processes that will ultimately translate
into increased profits, cash flow, and transferable value.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

Introduction xix

Chapter 1 The Financial Advisory Business: What’s Next? 1

What Are Top-Performing Firms Doing? 3

The Business as Client 4

10 Things to Think About 4

Chapter 2 Strategic Business Planning: Defining the Direction 11

Muddled Messages 12

What Is Your Strategic Differentiator? 14

What Is Strategic Planning? 14

The Strategic Planning Process 16

Chapter 3 Managing Workflow: The Back Office Moves Forward 35

Sources of Inefficiency 36

Achieving Efficiencies 37

Does Efficiency Come at a Cost? 39

Managing Risk 45

Chapter 4 Building Leverage and Capacity 55

Getting to the Next Stage 56

Becoming a Market Dominator 57

The Challenge of Growth 58

The Entrepreneurial Crossroads 59

Cornerstones of the Professional Practice 66

Models That Work 68

Leveraging Your Affiliations 72

Big Is Beautiful 76

Chapter 5 The Human Capital Plan: People Who Need People 81

The Problem You Can’t Do Without 82

Aligning Human Capital with Strategy 83

The Nature of the Work 86

The Nature of the Worker 90

The Interviewing Process 93

Chapter 6 Creating a Positive Workplace: Professional Development 99

The Career Path 101

The Appraisal Process 104

Coaching and Development 107

The Workplace 109

Building a Foundation 114

The Four-Way Test 115

Lessons on Inclusion 125

Chapter 7 Rewarding Behavior and Performance: Compensation Planning 129

Developing a Plan 135

The Components of Compensation 139

Establishing Base Compensation 149

Establishing an Incentive Compensation Plan 150

Owner’s Compensation 153

Chapter 8 Reading the Financials: Financial Management 155

Fundamentals of Accounting 155

Constructing a Financial Statement 156

Tying the Financials Together 165

Chapter 9 Income, Profit, Cash Flow: What the Numbers Are Saying 167

Formatting the Financials 168

Analyzing the Income Statement 169

Analyzing the Balance Sheet 179

Analyzing the Statement of Cash Flow 184

Financial Impact Analysis 185

Chapter 10 Managing Growth: The Search for Solutions 189

Harnessing Resources 190

Using Financial Leverage 192

Managing Cash Flow 194

How About Equity? 195

Referral Agreements and Joint Ventures 196

Practice Acquisitions 199

Investments in New Initiatives 203

Chapter 11 Exit, Stage Left 205

The Price of Indecision 206

Sale Planning versus Succession Planning 207

Wisdom or Obsolescence? 209

What to Do? 210

Keeping It in the Family 211

How to Make a Partner 217

What About the Successor? 223

Merger as a Succession Plan 226

So What Do You Do? 228

Seeking Counsel 230

Developing the Assumptions 231

Take Control 232

Chapter 12 On Leadership and Management 235

What Defines a Leader? 236

Who Will Emerge? 239

Is Anybody Leading? 240

Rites of Passage 242

Ready, Fire, Aim 244

Awakening the Manager in You 248

Practice What We Preach 251

Hiring Your Boss: Do You Need a CEO? 251

Afterword 257

Appendix 261

About the Authors 297

Index 299

Über den Autor

MARK C. TIBERGIEN is Chief Executive Officer for Pershing Advisor Solutions LLC, a BNY Mellon company, and a Managing Director and member of the Executive Committee for Pershing LLC. For eight consecutive years, Accounting Today has recognized Mr. Tibergien as one of the ‚100 Most Influential‘ people in the accounting profession and Financial Planning has identified him as a ‚Mover and Shaker‘ in their annual review of industry professionals. In 2011, for the ninth time, Investment Advisor recognized him as one of the ’25 Most Influential‘ people in the financial services industry.

REBECCA POMERING is a partner with Moss Adams LLP and CEO of Moss Adams Wealth Advisors, the firm’s wealth management division, where she is responsible for the growth of the firm, including strategic planning, sales and marketing, team development, human capital, CPA firm integration, financial management, and mergers and acquisitions.