$1.8Mcash released from slow-moving inventory
Professional services
A 60-person firm that no longer runs on its founders' evenings
An accounting firm had outgrown the way its two founders ran it. A new structure and a weekly scorecard gave the partners their evenings back and lifted margin by eleven points.
- operating margin over two years
- +11 pts
- new team leads, each owning a client group
- 3
Ashby Marsh is an accounting firm with sixty people across two offices. Its founders still reviewed every client's books, priced every new client and answered every escalation, usually after nine at night.
What we found
Work flowed up to the founders because nothing else was set up to catch it. Fees were set by habit, and a third of clients were losing money.
What changed
We designed a structure with three client groups, each led by a senior manager with real authority over pricing and review. A short weekly scorecard replaced the founders' inbox as the way to see how things were going. We repriced the unprofitable clients together with the partners, and kept nearly all of them.
Where it stands
Margin rose by eleven points over two years. The founders now spend their time on the clients and people they choose, and the firm hired its first partner from outside.
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