Remaining Fiercely Independent: GHJ Managing Partner Tom Barry on Strategic Growth

In a recent conversation, David Toth, Chief Growth Officer of Winding River Consulting, sat down with Tom Barry, Managing Partner of GHJ and MPB | Leadership Accelerated alumni. Below is a summary of their conversation. 

As one of the inaugural program attendees, Tom Barry has long been an integral part of the MBP | Leadership Accelerated community. Today, he’s Managing Partner at GHJ, a national advisory and accounting firm headquartered in Los Angeles. 

“When I look back at MPB | Leadership Accelerated, it really set me up for success as a Managing Partner. The bootcamp gave me a much better understanding of the challenges that I would face. It was great to connect with experienced leaders, but also to build a strong network of peers - many of whom I’m still in touch with today.”

Remaining Fiercely Independent: An Intentional Strategic Approach

Seven years ago, when Tom attended MPB, his firm, GHJ, was less than half the size it is today. GHJ has experienced rapid growth, but it’s retained a strong reputation for being a people-first culture. Tom explains:

“Our philosophy is called #BeMore. It’s centered around three aspects: family, self, and firm. As a firm, we are committed to balancing the importance of family and personal time with the pursuit of exciting careers, ensuring both individual growth and professional development for everyone in our firm.”

As GHJ has grown, the firm’s leaders have faced the question of whether it should remain independent. Despite the waves of M&A activity that have dominated the accounting profession in recent years, it’s a conversation lots of firms are avoiding. But for Tom and his leadership team, it’s very much front of mind. 

GHJ has a very clear short-term focus centered on a three-year strategic plan. For Tom, planning for the longer term doesn’t make sense at the moment: 

“We know what we have to do today to get to where we want to be in three years – but things are moving too fast to plan five years ahead. We feel confident about our leadership, our succession planning, and our partnership alignment: three key ingredients to our success.”

As GHJ defined its strategy, it was clear an intentional approach was going to be key to their success. At a partner retreat, the firm’s leaders aligned on their strategic direction: Remaining Fiercely Independent. Tom and his leadership team break this strategy into four key buckets:

• Clients: the world is evolving and so are client expectations. That’s why GHJ is focused on improving its service baseline and attracting new clients that better fit what the firm has become. 
• Markets: GHJ might be headquartered in Los Angeles, but in recent years, the firm has begun to hire professionals well outside its core markets. Today, 40% of the firm’s 250 employees live more than 50 miles away from a GHJ office. The firm is actively investing in pathways for those individuals to be successful ambassadors of GHJ in their local markets. 
• People: leadership and succession are two key pillars of GHJ’s people strategy. The firm is always planning the future of its workforce, identifying talent gaps, and evaluating the role outsourced talent plays in improving the firm’s services.
• Firm: GHJ continues to make investments in technologies that streamline the firm’s work. They’re also focused on operational excellence and continue to innovate new ways to raise the bar when it comes to client service. 

Across all four of these areas, the firm is committed to fostering a culture of open dialog and feedback. Tom explains:

“We really try to operate with great candor here. That’s what’s kept us aligned. In a dispersed work environment, it can be harder to maintain that, but it’s fundamental to our success.”

Navigating the Challenges of an Evolving Industry

Tom has been in the accounting industry for a long time, and for him, one challenge has always been top of mind: talent. He expands:

“Talent is, has, and always will be the issue. Whether it’s the availability of talent, upskilling our existing talent, fixing the pipeline: talent will always be the main challenge we face.” 

The move to a more dispersed workforce, while overall a huge benefit for GHJ, has not been without its challenges. Tom explains:

“If the profession is honest with itself, over the last three years, training might have been the biggest loss in the remote work era. Nobody has figured out how to do it well.”

AI is another challenge, but not one that Tom sees more as an opportunity than a threat:

“We’re not going to build ChatGHJ –  we don’t have the resources. But we’ll continue to deploy technologies that can help us become more efficient including AI meeting summary technologies and better document management systems.” 

M&A now plays an extremely prevalent role in the accounting industry. At GHJ, the firm has a track record of acquisitions but has always evaluated opportunities primarily through the lens of whether there’s a culture fit. 

“For us, M&A is all about making sure we’re aligned on our vision. Two years ago, we merged in a firm in San Jose – that’s been successful. But it’s a competitive market and we know we’re not necessarily going to be the firm showing up with the biggest check. That’s why finding a great match is so important when we look at acquisition targets.”

GHJ has also brought in a lot of lateral hires, particularly in their advisory practices. The firm has recruited talented professionals to lead service areas like Client Accounting Services and Forensic Accounting and Litigation Services. The cultural fit is paramount, as Tom explains:

“We’re looking for talented individuals that have the right skill sets, will be a great cultural fit, and have the ability to grow a book of business.”

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