Concerning Culture and Control

In a growing advisory practice, particularly one with more than one office, span of control becomes another big challenge. Cultural breaks often occur when satellite offices are not included in the mainstream. It helps to embed culture carriers from the main office into the other locations. Further, most technology solutions for RIAs are not geared to multi-office operations, so firms may need to think about how they will build bridges, links, and processes that can be managed across offices and among many different people. Quality control processes like the review of work papers and recommendations by a detached partner or principle may become even more important to ensure that all business is done consistently and correctly.