ISSN 1940-204X

Performance Management at Perelson Weiner LLP1
Jan Bell
Babson College

Alfred J. Nanni, Jr
Babson College

Introduction

and entrepreneurs. (See Exhibit 3 for a description of PW’s business.) PW’s business development is relationship-based; the firm doesn’t advertise for business. Instead, personnel develop long-term relationships with clients. These relationships typically start with tax return or financial statement preparation and then grow to include services that provide value to the client in other ways. Weiner explains his client focus this way:
“We don’t seek short-term transactional services; we want to spend our time developing client relationships that last 40 years rather than seeking one-time opportunities.”
To ensure that clients receive value from PW’s services,
Weiner insists that personnel have unique expertise before offering services to clients. PW’s expertise and its ability to add unique value lie in providing traditional tax preparation, accounting, and auditing services, which are then enhanced by meaningful proactive business and tax consulting advice.
Weiner has made a strategic decision to focus on these sources of client value plus one other sort of advice. With a
New York City location, Weiner feels that PW can also add value for its clients by assisting them in the selection of the best specialized professional service firms in other areas.
For example, PW personnel help clients find the best asset management firms and insurance brokers for their needs. If
PW had been located somewhere other than New York, the firm probably would have included those service lines in its own practice. But given the number of quality specialized insurance and asset management firms in New York, it is clear that PW can add more value to its clients by “matchmaking” in those service areas than by