Bruce Thomspon, CPA and CFP, has been named as a tax partner in the Springfield, Ill., office of Sikich. Thompson was previously director of tax services for McGladrey, focused on providing businesses and individuals with tax compliance and consulting services, estate and gift planning,and general business consulting to owner-managed companies.

Almost every firm that I work with has a succession issue in the near term. Baby boomers are retiring at an accelerating rate and firms are coping (or not) with the transition issues surrounding those exits. One of the topics of conversation especially in this environment is whether the firm has a mandatory retirement age in its partner agreements. And if they do, how does the process work, what is the definition of retirement, what is the right age, what about employment after retirement, etc.

Currently, there are three primary financial reporting statements; Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows. These three statements are familiar territory for accountants. You live and breathe these numbers. You are proud to be able to produce these numbers for your clients, as you should be. However, because of the historical nature of these statements, they serve a limited purpose when it comes to making day-to-day management decisions. This is where the need for another kind of statement becomes critical.