CPA_Practice_Advisor_July_2020 - 5

COVER STORY

CAS
PRACTICES
MEET THE
MOMENT

THE RISE OF the modern version of Client Accounting Services (CAS),
powered by the cloud and tapping analytics and enhanced firm-client
collaboration, has been a terrific success story for the accounting
profession over the past decade. But it took the COVID-19 pandemic
to really underscore the value of CAS - its ability to function resiliently
in a virtual environment, to provide crucial, real-time data, and to
offer a robust framework for CPA firms and their clients to work
through business problems together.
We've been hearing two things from firms in
recent months at CPA.com. First, many graduates of our client advisory services workshops
have told us their investment in building a CAS
practice has paid off and they haven't missed
a beat, even with the switch to an all-remote
workplace. That's gratifying.
Second, firms that have been sitting on
the sidelines with CAS are now eager to get in
the game. What's driving the latter group? A
surge in client demand. When the economy was
humming, many businesses put off outsourced
accounting or going fully digital - the classic
"if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach. But now,
after being stuck under stay-at-home orders
with on-premise technology, doing business as
usual seems more risky than prudent. To meet
changing client needs and expectations, many
CPA firms are now willing to pull a business
plan together and scale up the full spectrum
of CAS offerings, which include cloud-based
services to prepare financial statements and
trial balances, outsourced payroll and bill pay
services, and business advisory and virtual
controllership/CFO services.
There is, of course, a counterargument.
CPA firms already have limited bandwidth as
they help businesses navigate heavy fallout
from the slumping economy. During this time,
many firms are also dealing with a punishing
workload due to the extended tax season. Does
it make sense to take the plunge into something
new right now?
In a word, yes. We know many elements of
the remote workplace are here to stay - we're not
going back fully to the same office environment
we worked in before. Collaboration with clients
will continue to evolve and CAS is tailormade
to make that experience more streamlined and
productive while offering ever-increasing value.
We've also been reminded again how crucial
the relationship is between CPAs and small

businesses, whether it's assisting with Paycheck
Protection Program (PPP) loans or other relief
programs or offering general advice. CPA.com
President and CEO Erik Asgeirsson has said
firms have built up an incredible amount of
goodwill with clients in the past few months
and it's true - CPAs have been there for small
business.
"These are unprecedented times, but businesses now need a trusted advisor," says Dixie
McCurley, president and cofounder of Trusted
CFO Solutions and one of CPA.com's advisory
workshop instructors.
Clients for businesses both big and small
recognize the value of that role - and are willing
to pay for it. A recent CPA.com/Bill.com survey
(https://tinyurl.com/CPAcomSurvey2020) of 650
accountants and business clients suggests CPA
firms that offer strategic advisory services may
be able to increase monthly client revenues by
as much as 50 percent.
Even the best advisors need the right tools,
though. With the pandemic restrictions, cash
flow and the status of accounts payable were
critical datapoints for businesses - and will continue to be. The good news is that cloud-enabled
CAS solutions provide up-to-date insights on
these and other areas that can shape business
decision-making for clients.
The impact of the pandemic clearly has
been a spur for CAS adoption. Another driver
of future growth will be better data on practice
growth and profit. CPA.com launched a CAS
Benchmark Survey (https://tinyurl.com/CASbenchmark) in 2018 to help create peer-to-peer
metrics and track trends in this service line.
We are fielding a new version of the survey
this summer and expect it will show continued
growth in the financial strength CAS provides
to firms and, by extension, the value it provides
to clients. ■

JULY 2020 ■

Article provided by CPA.com.

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

http://www.CPA.com http://www.CPA.com https://www.tinyurl.com/CPAcomSurvey2020 http://www.CPA.com https://www.tinyurl.com/CAS-benchmark http://www.CPA.com http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

CPA_Practice_Advisor_July_2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CPA_Practice_Advisor_July_2020