Have you ever found yourself wondering “what’s next”?
Anne-Maree Keane
Partner at KPMG in Transaction Services not only understands the challenges of professional life as a Chartered Accountant and practitioner herself but has spent nearly 20 years advising vendors and acquirers in professional services-related transactions.
Have you ever found yourself wondering “what’s next”?
“This is way harder than it used to be.”
“This isn’t my job is it?”
“I need a holiday...”
Have you said any (or possibly all) of those phrases recently? I know I have…
In a quiet moment, do you ever find yourself wondering how did the time pass so quickly? It doesn’t seem that long ago since you started out but those 20, 30 or even 40 years have just flown by.
Professionally, you are where you always wanted to be, but perhaps something doesn’t feel quite right. You can’t put it into words just yet and the dreaded “r” word is just for old people, isn’t it?
You’ve honed your craft over many years, specialised perhaps, a leader in your field you might even say. Maybe you even have that coveted “fellow” designation on the wall and a few other accolades to go with it. You might even be asked to be the keynote speaker from time to time and the audience praises you for your achievements, yet something is missing. It doesn’t feel as exciting as it used to. You don’t quite know what is wrong, but you want to unpack it a bit more and even dare to think about “what’s next”...
Financially you have everything you reasonably need and perhaps, a few special rewards or treats to go along with it as and when you want them. Being able to offer your clients the services you like to deliver, build out your personal brand and grow a practice is very rewarding isn’t it? Being paid well to do so is even better! Hopefully by now you are also starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel with many of your significant expenses, be they property, education etc. out of the way.
Here is where it starts to get interesting, and we come back to those phrases at the start of the article. You’ve most likely got the technical issues down pat but there are a whole new set of requirements in your role that you didn’t sign up for. Was it really meant to be like this? Surely you’ve earned the right to enjoy your success? Why are you working even harder than ever before, not taking all your holidays and missing out on other important events with family and friends? Why are you expected to be the IT expert, the HR consultant and just about anything else in addition to your day (and night) job? And don’t even get started on hybrid working, digital and data disruption, cyber risk, artificial intelligence and anything else everyone seems to be talking about. Have you spent a lot of time training a team or mentoring a successor perhaps only to see them walk away and do something else or they just don’t act like it’s for them after all? Maybe your own children don’t want to follow in your footsteps. Are you feeling overwhelmed yet? There’s more to life than this isn’t there?
The last three years have thrown up a lot of issues for everybody in business and many in professional practice coped by working harder and harder. That’s just what busy professionals seem to do and, in the past, it worked for you and you learned that hard work equalled career success…but you are not getting any younger are you? Often this stage of life also brings with it some sad reminders of your own health and mortality and seeing family and friends not well or pass away is something else you are dealing with in and around everything else and perhaps that is not sitting right with you.
But it’s just way too early to retire, isn’t it? You also don’t want to send out the wrong signals to your clients or staff so what do you do?
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Succession planning, transition or a practice sale in professional services is not like a traditional sale transaction. The professional and personal aspects cannot be separated from each other. That is why so many professionals avoid the issue and hope it will all work out when they want it to – completely the opposite advice to what they would give any of their own valued clients. Ahead of time the practitioner needs to start having conversations with trusted confidantes. They should also seek diverse views from those who have walked the same path. Most importantly time is needed to give proper consideration to the viewpoints and prepare the practice for the next stage. Go against your instincts for a moment and put the financial considerations to one side because before there is any consideration as to value a few key questions need be asked:
Are the professional/practice goals documented?
Is there a strategy that is current, flexible and sets out the areas for future improvement?
Have the impacts of the changing environment (technology, regulatory etc.) been considered and if there are costs involved who will bear them?
Is there a successor and/or team in place to look after the practice either immediately or as part of a staged transition?
“You know who you are, but know not who you could be.”
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