11 Top Skills Every Successful Practice Manager Needs

A skilled and enthusiastic manager is a big asset to any successful business. Practice managers wear many hats including overseeing day-to-day operations, ensuring client satisfaction, and keeping the financial wheels turning. 

But what practice manager skills do prospective candidates need to be truly successful? For CPAs and tax compliance managers, this translates to a specific skill set that sets them apart. Here's a breakdown of the top attributes that will empower them to excel: 

1. Domain Knowledge and Commercial Awareness: The Foundation of Success

Domain expertise is a prerequisite for all managers. Although it is not among the most important practice manager skills, you’ll need to show considerable acumen in your field before the top brass consider you for open practice manager positions. 

Managers must be well-versed in industry best practices, and federal, state, and international tax regulations. Continuous learning is also crucial. This requires staying updated on recent changes and attending refresher and professional courses to maintain their licenses. 

Commercial awareness goes hand in hand with domain knowledge. If you want to progress to the management level, an understanding of the marketplace in which a business operates and what it is that makes a company successful is crucial.

To demonstrate this, you'll need the following:

• Aware of the organization’s mission and aims
• Have an understanding of the sector the company operates in
• Know about the political and economic issues affecting the business
• Identify the company's competitors.

Another important skill in this category is the understanding of technology and digital tools. Accounting and tax compliance managers need to know their way around technology to maximize efficiency and accuracy in the organization. This includes mastering tax preparation software, accounting software, and data analysis tools. 

2. Problem-solving and decision-making: Finding Solutions for Complexities

Business complexities are inevitable. Successful candidates who bag practice manager jobs don't shy away from challenges; they tackle them head-on. They possess strong problem-solving skills, allowing them to identify potential compliance issues, develop creative solutions to minimize tax burdens, and effectively navigate IRS inquiries or audits. 

Decision-making involves identifying an issue, weighing the options available, and taking action. As a practice manager, this calls for outstanding attention to detail and the aptitude to remain calm under pressure. The ability to make decisions can save time, boost productivity, build trust, and reduce confusion in the workplace.

3. Analytical Prowess: Planning and Strategic Thinking 

Practice managers are masters of analysis. They possess strong analytical skills to interpret complex financial data, identify tax implications, and uncover opportunities for tax minimization within the legal framework. 

Since it's a manager's job to think about the overall well-being of a business or organization and focus on the current tasks, managers need the ability to plan for the future. This means setting deliverables in line with business aspirations, reviewing existing procedures, enrolling in refresher courses, and overseeing professional development of the team.

As strategic thinkers, managers encourage innovation and change. They constantly analyze operations and identify innovative ways to reduce waste. This might involve negotiating with vendors or implementing new accounting technologies to improve efficiency, productivity, and profitability.

Strategic thinking involves the following:

• Analyzing data to come up with strategies
• Creating strategies for meeting business goals and objectives
• Coming up with ways to implement strategies
• Directing others in the completion of goal-related tasks 
• Communicating the results to company stakeholders

4. Communication: Bridging the Gap

Effective communication is among the key essential skills for practice managers. Managers should excel at both written and verbal communication. This ensures that clients, colleagues, and other stakeholders understand complex financial issues and strategic decisions made. 

Whether through email, phone calls, circulars, presentations, or meetings; as a team leader, you're the bridge of communication between employees and top-level management. You'll liaise with a number of people from entry-level staff to first-tier and mid-level managers to CEOs. 

5. Client Management & Relationship Building

Building strong relationships with clients is also among the crucial skills of a practice manager. They understand the importance of active listening, effectively addressing client concerns, and providing tailored tax advice that aligns with their unique financial situation and business goals.

But that is not all. To be fully worthy of practice manager positions, you'll also need to establish a trusting relationship with employees. A manager has to be available and accessible to all employees to solve any issues or concerns that may arise. 

To pull this off, you may need to embrace an open-door policy or arrange weekly or monthly team meetings. 

6. Meticulous Organization

Good practice management requires meticulous organization. Successful managers excel at managing deadlines, maintaining accurate financial records, and ensuring all tax filings are completed and submitted on time. 

They possess strong time-management skills to prioritize tasks, delegate effectively, maintain a smooth workflow within their teams, and have a knack for keeping track of multiple tasks simultaneously.

7. Adaptability: Thriving in a Changing Landscape

The world of tax is constantly evolving. New regulations, tax laws, and technologies emerge regularly. 

For you to successfully navigate a practice manager skills test, you need to be adaptable. You should embrace change, readily learn new skills, and continuously update your knowledge base to stay competitive in the ever-changing financial landscape. 

8. Team Leadership: Building a Collaborative Environment

Being a leader goes beyond just giving orders. Practice manager skills involve inspiring and motivating teams. Practice managers foster a positive and collaborative work environment, delegate effectively, and provide constructive feedback for growth. However, they also lead with empathy, understanding the challenges faced by staff and fostering a sense of teamwork. 

9. Ability to Delegate

Micromanagement is the enemy of productivity. Great managers delegate effectively, assigning tasks based on individual strengths. They empower their team members with ownership and provide the necessary support to ensure success.

Delegation also saves managers valuable time and reduces stress levels. In addition, it helps build employee skill sets, therefore, boosting their productivity in the workplace.

10. Lifelong Learner: Staying Ahead of the Curve

In the dynamic world of tax and accounting, continuous learning is among the fundamental practice manager skills required. Successful practice managers have a growth mindset. 

They participate in professional development opportunities, attend industry conferences, and actively seek new knowledge to stay updated on the latest trends and regulations.

11. Interpersonal skills

Practice manager jobs are all about people and being able to build successful relationships. To lead a team, you will need to earn the respect of your colleagues, which involves learning ways to effectively handle different personalities.

In essence, none of the other aforementioned managerial skill sets exist in isolation. Anyone willing to learn the ropes of practice manager essential skills should find a glue that holds them together. Interpersonal skills provide this foundation on which managers can build on to effectively demonstrate other managerial qualities. 

They include:

1. Ability to inspire and motivate

By providing goals and objectives and a clear vision for how to meet them, you can keep employees motivated to perform their best. Other ways to inspire and motivate employees include finding ways to make work more engaging and rewarding and providing positive and helpful feedback.

2. Conflict-management

This skill involves identifying the cause or causes of conflicts and coming up with quick and effective remedies.

3. Emotional intelligence

Emotionally intelligent managers often have empathy for others, a sense of self-awareness, an ability to think before speaking or acting, and a high degree of resilience.

4. Mentoring

This is a supportive role. If you've reached a managerial level, you should have gained a wealth of experience, knowledge, and skills that you can pass on to junior staff.

Conclusion

By mastering these essential skills for practice managers, candidates looking for practice manager jobs can become invaluable assets for their clients and organizations. Their knowledge, strategic thinking, adaptability, and strong leadership qualities not only ensure tax compliance, unlock new opportunities, and ensure financial success but also build a strong, motivated, and successful team. After all, a successful manager isn't just about individual brilliance; it's about unlocking the collective potential of the team they lead.