Dakota CPA Connection Produced by the North Dakota CPA Society
March 2026 | Volume XXXVIII | No. 02
Build a Performance Management Process to Drive Growth and Engagement Year-Round By Deanna Perkins Be honest: Do annual performance reviews inspire real growth in your firm? They’re often too late, too vague and too focused on the past. For many firms, they’ve become more of a checkbox than a meaningful conversation. But that’s starting to change. Forward-thinking firms are redesigning their performance management process to be more continuous, personalized and impactful. Instead of saving feedback for once a year, they’re building systems that encourage regular check-ins, goal tracking and open dialog. The result? Teams that feel more engaged, supported and aligned with the firm’s longterm goals. At Boomer Consulting, that shift is already well underway, and the lessons we’ve learned can help your firm make performance management a real driver of growth and retention. Why the annual review model falls short Traditional annual reviews tend to focus on backwardlooking performance summaries and generic ratings that sometimes catch employees off guard. That’s likely why only 14% of employees strongly agree their performance reviews inspire improvement. Delayed feedback, vague comments and a lack of developmentoriented discussion limit the value of these once-a-year meetings. For firms striving to attract and retain top talent, this model isn’t enough.
In This Issue • 2 President’s Message • 3 Member News
March 2026 | Page 1
• 3 New Members • 4 Directors Message • 5 Meet our Members
Designing a year-round performance management process At BCI, our Operations Manager, Jacqueline Lombardo, worked with our leadership team to shift performance management from a check-the-box exercise to a growth-focused system rooted in regular conversations, peer feedback and alignment with personal goals and firm strategy. Here’s how that looks in action. Career-focused conversations Once a year, every team member has a Growth Path Meeting. The goal of these meetings is to understand where each person wants to go in their career. These conversations don’t lock them into a specific trajectory, but they start a dialogue. This conversation allows managers to align development opportunities (like job shadowing or targeted training) with individual aspirations. Whether someone’s aiming for leadership or exploring a specialty area, the firm begins investing in that journey right away, while they’re still thriving in their current role. continued on page 11
• 6 Scholarship Winners • 6 Exam Passers • 7 CPE Opportunities
• 8 Foundation Donations • 11 AICPA Leadership • 13 Ethics Corner
on page 5 • 15Continued Tax Commissioner