“They may do it a little bit differently, and that’s OK.”
After 12 years as a partner at accounting firm Reynolds + Rowella LLP, Scott Crane became a co-managing partner in 2018. In early 2020, just ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was made the sole managing partner. Crane, 55, a certified public accountant, works to promote a familyfirst, teamwork-focused atmosphere at the firm. He joined the firm in 2003 as a tax manager and became a partner in 2006. The Ridgefieldbased company has 50 employees. He works with private businesses and specializes in construction, finance, manufacturing, real estate and retail, according to the firm’s website. Crane is also the audit chairman on the Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association Board and treasurer of Sunrise Cottage. Crane is the recipient of the outstanding leadership award in the Hearst Connecticut Media Group’s Top Workplaces contest for 2021. The award is based on employee surveys. Crane spoke with Hearst about his time as managing partner and how the accounting firm has adjusted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What has been the biggest challenge for you so far in your role, and how have you overcome that challenge?
I've been in the role since ‘18. I was sort of on my own since the end of ‘19 and the beginning of 2020, which is when COVID hit. And basically, we had two weeks to figure out how to change what has been the history of how public accounting has been, how people in public accounting have worked. Going from being in the office all the time, and then changing to people working remotely. This year we hired fulltime, remote people that, even when the pandemic is over, won’t come to the office. And one of the challenges that we have for that is to continue to grow our culture and our team atmosphere. That has been, I would say, one of the challenges that we're having so far because it’s a lot easier to teach and train somebody when you're seeing them face-to-face, where you’re interacting with them. Because you can understand their body language, if they get it or if they don't get it. It’s hard to do over Skype. It’s hard to do on a phone call, but we're working towards retraining how we have always done it to adapt to what is currently going on. And I think we will never go back to the way it was.
When you came into the role, what were some of your biggest goals?
My goal is to try to keep all the things that were good in place. We wanted to make sure that it was someplace that people want to go to work. And one of the things I'm proudest about for the firm is that a majority of the people that work here were referred by other employees. I think somewhere around 40 percent of the staff were referred in by current employees. I think that statement by your employees is hands down the most important thing that they can tell us by their actions because they a) Aren’t going to bring in somebody that’s not good and b) they're not going to bring somebody in if they don’t think this is a good place to be.
What were some of those things that you wanted to keep?
First and foremost is the firm has a long history of being family-first. We had staff that they’re moms and young parents, and they needed the flexibility to be able to care for a sick child or sick parents, and we were of a size that it just allowed us to be able to do that and then the pandemic came in. As a profession, accounting firms are very much into ‘people need to be in the office five days a week.’ We started having flex time years ago to allow for life to happen.
Since coming into your role, what changes have you implemented?
We've become more flexible and relaxed the dress code more. Because, I think, in the current times people have gotten away from shirts and ties. It’s casual, and then in the summer as long as you’re not meeting with a client, you know shorts are OK in the office. It’s just making it a more relaxed place to be.
How would you describe the culture that you're trying to establish in the office?
It's family-first and team-oriented. All the partners’ offices, everybody’s office door is open, you can come in and ask anybody a question, staff people can go to partners, and nobody’s off-limits to talk to. We just want to make it a comfortable learning atmosphere.
What advice would you give to people who are looking to go into leadership in accounting?
As a leader, you have to realize that people are not going to do it exactly the way you would do it. So, three and four equals seven, well so does five and two and six and one. So as long as the result is correct, and you’ve gotten there, then you have to realize that you’re not trying to lead and make people exactly like you. You want them to have your work ethic and your understanding of what’s going on. They may do it a little bit differently, and that's OK. You have to understand, accept and adapt to the people that you’re working with. And I mean working with, because I don't like the term that they “work for me.” They don't work for me. They work with me. Because if they work with you, then they're going to work as hard as you're going to work, and they’re going to do what they have to do because they see how it is that you're doing it. ginny.monk@hearstmediact.com