New York, NY Leading accounting, tax and advisory firm Marks Paneth LLP has launched the firm’s first annual Leadership Academy, a year-long comprehensive leadership program offered to supervisory-level staff and managers. The program, initiated on January 19, was designed to help the firm’s professionals expand their leadership skills, further their professional development and equip them with the tools that are critical for their career success.

Over the past few years, the firm had identified and discussed several areas of development to help prepare future leaders for increased responsibilities. With the support of the entire firm leadership, the Leadership Academy evolved from those early discussions, demonstrating Marks Paneth’s commitment to invest in high-performing professionals who will continue offering clients exceptional service. Originally intended as an in-person learning event, the firm’s leadership forged ahead in developing the program despite having to pivot to a remote learning experience due to COVID-19, with an expectation that in-person learning will resume later this year.

“The Leadership Academy provides participants the skills needed to respond to the challenges of a competitive marketplace,” said Abe Schlisselfeld, managing partner of Marks Paneth, who was instrumental in developing the Leadership Academy. “These skills are critical to achieving our business objectives and providing our clients with innovative solutions and the highest possible levels of service.”

The Leadership Academy’s 20 participants were recommended by partners and come from a mix of practice areas and offices. During the course of the program, the participants have the benefit of interacting not only with each other but also with members of the firm’s leadership team, who have been actively involved in planning the program agenda and conducting the training alongside outside consultants. The program provides a rather unique level of transparency regarding the firm’s governance structure and covers a wide variety of relevant areas–from practice development, to marketing and business development, to financial and risk matters, and more. It will be offered each year and continue for a full calendar year, with monthly sessions.

“The program is a valuable asset for professionals at a certain stage in their career,” said Michael McNee, partner-in-charge of attest services and co-partner-in-charge of the nonprofit, government & healthcare group, and a member of the Leadership Academy Development Committee. “It gives them an opportunity to see the ‘big picture,’ and we expect the program will evolve over time as we fine-tune it to their needs.”

The Leadership Academy is just one of many learning programs that Marks Paneth offers its professionals. Others include a comprehensive, eight-month program (Fundamentals in Networking) with monthly sessions designed by chief marketing officer Diane Paoletta to develop core business development skills and a greater understanding of marketing concepts; a monthly program designed to educate professionals on cross-selling opportunities (Service Offering Learning Exchange, or “SOLE”); and many other technical and soft skills trainings.

“Identifying and cultivating top talent is a priority for Marks Paneth,” said Steve Sacks, chief human resources officer at Marks Paneth. “We are very proud of this program, which is a great investment of our time and resources in supporting our retention and recruitment initiatives.”