Our Firm has traditionally been very lean in the administrative department. We started our Firm at about the same time that technology transformed the accounting workplace. Our approach was to not have dedicated administrative assistants for partners; instead, we just did everything ourselves.
As our Firm and my responsibilities grew, I found it was hard to keep up with everything. After getting input from my coach, Susan Myers, and others, I finally made the decision that I needed an administrative assistant. I began a search last year.
I was very fortunate to find Marianne Bradley, who had worked for several years at a large, national CPA firm. She was in the market because her firm was relocating their downtown offices far away from the train station. As soon as I met her, I knew that I had found the right person.
Marianne brought her experience working in a CPA firm to Mowery & Schoenfeld. We did not have this huge learning curve about such things as chargeable hours and client billing and other inner workings of a CPA firm. Her experience has made the transition very easy, though I am still getting used to having an assistant.
After four months, my only regret is that I did not do this sooner. Marianne has really helped me increase my overall effectiveness and allowed me to devote my time to more important things. The lesson that I learned is that sometimes you make the investment that will allow you to do what you do best.