How do Accountants make the transition from Manager to Senior Manager?

It has become apparent in our conversation with accountancy professionals that there is a lack of detailed career planning and understanding of what is required to make a Senior Manager en route to achieving the ultimate career goal of becoming Partner.

Speaking to candidates across all tiers of the accountancy sector, including Big 4, Top 10, Top 20 and Boutique firms, we are surprised to see so many individuals who have their career aspirations defined yet lack detailed planning on how they are going to achieve these goals. This is certainly evident in making the step-up from Manager to Senior Manager / Director level.

We wanted to share our thoughts on how we advise candidates at this stage of their career on how to make Senior Manager.

Winning & Managing a Portfolio of Clients

As you progress up the career ladder, you have to shift from an individual who delivers the work to the one who wins and manages a portfolio of clients and develops client relationships.

This gear change isn't something that can be done overnight, candidates need to acquire their business development skills and the ability to bring clients into the firm.

You need to be able to demonstrate how to identify opportunities, sell the firm and the offering to a prospect and convert them into a client.
 

 
Do you have the Commercial nouse to become a Senior Manager?
 

Building a quality network of connections is a fundamental skill for all accountancy professionals and a core skill that juniors should begin to develop during the early part of their career. 

In order to stand out from the crowd when it comes to moving up the rungs of the career ladder, you need to be able to demonstrate commerciality and have a strong network of contacts who can refer work to you and whom you can win work from. 

This requires a lot of shoe leather and pressing the flesh, representing your firm in the right places and amongst the right people. You need to have an appetite to attend events and go the extra mile to get your name and face known. 

It is essential to not just build any network of contacts, being targeted is imperative. By this, we mean you need to build a network of key decision makers, in line with the sectors your firm is strong in or within a niche/specialist area in order to develop a name/reputation amongst a specific group of people. 

For example, if you have a passion for commercial property or tech, consider how and where you are going to build your contacts within this area. Identify associated professional services that work in this sector too, including financiers, lawyers and advisers.

• Are there legal professionals or firms who have an interest or specific client base similar to your focus?
• Can you attend sector-specific events/networks related to the sector your want to work in?
• Identify where the key decision makers network 

It is useful to consider speaking with seniors in your current firm who have built their respective networks in similar areas to see if they can provide advice and share knowledge. 

Is it important to begin to develop a niche at this stage?

We are seeing a shift across all service lines in the accountancy sector where firms, offices, and individuals are becoming more specialised and niche in their growth strategies.

It would be beneficial for you to develop experience in a specific area relatively early in your career so that you can hone your skills and exposure to the sector over a number of years so that when you arrive at the point to progress to Senior Manager level, you can draw on a wealth of knowledge and experience.

Clients want to work with an 'expert' who is a recognised professional in their world, someone that they look to as leader for advice and guidance.

How do you position yourself in order to build this reputation that will help you with your long-term career goals?

A question we are often asked when talking about specialising is - how do you find a niche or decide what to specialise in?

In simple terms, consider what type of work or sector you enjoy working in most. It really does come down to enjoyment and passion.

Throughout your junior years, gaining a wide and varied experience working with a broad selection of clients will help you discover what you truly enjoy. This highlights the importance of taking any opportunity you are offered to stretch yourself during the initial years post qualification.

How does the role of Senior Manager / Assistant Director differ at tiers of firms?

It is important for you to have a clear understanding of how the roles differ at each tier of the accountancy market in order for you to make informed choices where you have clarity on the responsibilities and the long-term benefits to your career. 

For example, an Assistant Director role in one firm may be preparing you to step up to Partner, in comparison to another firm where you may be parked in this position, with limited opportunity to make Partner. 

The key piece of advice is the peel back the Job Title and pay attention to the specifics of the role. You may want to consider the following questions - 

• What are you actually going to do in a specific role?
• How does business development feature in this opportunity?
• What does the trajectory to the promotion and moving up into a Partner role typically look like at this tier?
• What level of exposure to clients do you get?  

When making the step up to Senior Manager, you are a metaphorical fork in the road in terms of specialising a particular service line or shifting focus into another business area. You need to be fully aware of what is required and what this means in relation to achieving your ultimate career goals.