Practice Made (More) Perfect: Transforming a Financial Advisory Practice into a Business

Practice Made (More) Perfect: Transforming a Financial Advisory Practice into a Business

Released August 2011
Publisher(s): Bloomberg Press
ISBN: 9781118019313

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Book description

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.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Endorsements
  3. Series
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright
  6. Dedication
  7. Preface
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. Introduction
  10. Chapter 1: The Financial Advisory Business
    1. What Are Top-Performing Firms Doing?
    2. The Business as Client
    3. 10 Things to Think About
  11. Chapter 2: Strategic Business Planning
    1. Muddled Messages
    2. What Is Your Strategic Differentiator?
    3. What Is Strategic Planning?
    4. The Strategic Planning Process
  12. Chapter 3: Managing Workflow
    1. Sources of Inefficiency
    2. Achieving Efficiencies
    3. Does Efficiency Come at a Cost?
    4. Managing Risk
  13. Chapter 4: Building Leverage and Capacity
    1. Getting to the Next Stage
    2. Becoming a Market Dominator
    3. The Challenge of Growth
    4. The Entrepreneurial Crossroads
    5. Cornerstones of the Professional Practice
    6. Models That Work
    7. Leveraging Your Affiliations
    8. Big Is Beautiful
  14. Chapter 5: The Human Capital Plan
    1. The Problem You Can't Do Without
    2. Aligning Human Capital with Strategy
    3. The Nature of the Work
    4. The Nature of the Worker
    5. The Interviewing Process
  15. Chapter 6: Creating a Positive Workplace
    1. The Career Path
    2. The Appraisal Process
    3. Coaching and Development
    4. The Workplace
    5. Building a Foundation
    6. The Four-Way Test
    7. Lessons on Inclusion
  16. Chapter 7: Rewarding Behavior and Performance
    1. Developing a Plan
    2. The Components of Compensation
    3. Establishing Base Compensation
    4. Establishing an Incentive Compensation Plan
    5. Owner's Compensation
  17. Chapter 8: Reading the Financials
    1. Fundamentals of Accounting
    2. Constructing a Financial Statement
    3. Tying the Financials Together
  18. Chapter 9: Income, Profit, Cash Flow
    1. Formatting the Financials
    2. Analyzing the Income Statement
    3. Analyzing the Balance Sheet
    4. Analyzing the Statement of Cash Flow
    5. Financial Impact Analysis
  19. Chapter 10: Managing Growth
    1. Harnessing Resources
    2. Using Financial Leverage
    3. Managing Cash Flow
    4. How About Equity?
    5. Referral Agreements and Joint Ventures
    6. Practice Acquisitions
    7. Investments in New Initiatives
  20. Chapter 11: Exit, Stage Left
    1. The Price of Indecision
    2. Sale Planning versus Succession Planning
    3. Wisdom or Obsolescence?
    4. What to Do?
    5. Keeping It in the Family
    6. How to Make a Partner
    7. What About the Successor?
    8. Merger as a Succession Plan
    9. So What Do You Do?
    10. Seeking Counsel
    11. Developing the Assumptions
    12. Take Control
  21. Chapter 12: On Leadership and Management
    1. What Defines a Leader?
    2. Who Will Emerge?
    3. Is Anybody Leading?
    4. Rites of Passage
    5. Ready, Fire, Aim
    6. Awakening the Manager in You
    7. Practice What We Preach
    8. Hiring Your Boss: Do You Need a CEO?
  22. Afterword
  23. Appendix
    1. Worksheet 1: Practice-Management Assessment
    2. Worksheet 2: Analysis of Top 20 Clients
    3. Worksheet 3: Self-Evaluation
    4. Worksheet 4: Performance Evaluation for Professional Staff
    5. Worksheet 5: Upstream Evaluation
    6. Worksheet 6: Position Descriptions
    7. Worksheet 7: Balance Sheet
    8. Worksheet 8: Income Statement
    9. Worksheet 9: Calculations for Ratios
    10. Worksheet 10: Cash Flow Calculator
    11. Worksheet 11: Cash Budget
  24. About the Authors
  25. Index

Product information

  • Title: Practice Made (More) Perfect: Transforming a Financial Advisory Practice into a Business
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: August 2011
  • Publisher(s): Bloomberg Press
  • ISBN: 9781118019313