CPA Practice Advisor - 6

FEATURE

Crafting a
Strategic
CAS Plan
By Vishal Thakkar

IN HIS ARTICLE on page 5 of this issue, Pete Potsos, CPA,
provides valuable tips on how to get started with Client
Accounting Services. Specifically, the article explains
what's involved in turning interest in CAS into action and
incorporating automation for a successful CAS practice. In
this article, I discuss strategic CAS, its benefits, and how
to position your firm to offer higher-value services.
Accounting firms are increasingly
looking to expand beyond traditional,
compliance-focused accounting
services to grow their business and
boost profitability. By providing client
accounting services, firms can not
only improve their bottom line, but
they also create stronger ties with
clients and further their position as
trusted advisors.

STRATEGIC CAS
Step one in developing a CAS practice
was turning interest into automation.
You identify entry points and adopt
the right technologies to support
your practice. Step two - strategic
CAS - happens when you recognize

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NOVEMBER 2019 ■

you're ready to increase the value
you offer clients, and intentionally
create a plan and commit dedicated
resources towards building a robust
CAS practice. Strategically developing your practice will better position
your firm to align with "over 50%
of firms in virtually all
size categories" who are
adopting CAS as "a core
service area," according
to the 2018 AICPA PCPS
& CPA.com National
MAP Survey. To be truly
strategic, internally, the CAS practice
area needs to be set up as a strategic
revenue unit with not just a growth
plan but dedicated staff and internal

KPIs - aligned to the firm's larger
strategy, but unique in this specific
practice area. "Just as with any other
part of your business, your business
plan should drive CAS decisions. In
fact, you should account for two layers
of business planning: your top-level
business strategy, along with your
CAS-specific plan."
At this stage, you are taking active
steps towards becoming an integral
part of your clients' businesses. You
should begin to apply learning from
one client to another and invite
questions about the direction of
clients' businesses. Actions like this
position you to re-evaluate your pricing structure to align with
your increased value offer.
As you seek to enhance
your offerings, keep in
mind that the transition
to higher-value services
such as advisory happen
when your team is more involved
with what can happen for your clients
as opposed to what has already happened to them.

This is part 2
in a 3 part
series on CAS

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

THE BENEFITS OF
STRATEGIC CAS
Strategic CAS enhances your practice
and profitability in a number of ways.
First and foremost, by offering strategic guidance, you are able to build
deeper relationships with your clients.
The stronger the relationship, the less
likely a client is to take business elsewhere or consider other accountants.
Strategic CAS also positions you to
offer your clients more value by filling
the role of a trusted advisor. When you
show that you're capable of offering
strategic guidance, clients will turn
to you when they need advice for
business decisions. Better yet, you'll
be able to bring to their attention
issues and potential opportunities that
weren't even on their radar but can
add significant value to their business.
The more established you become
as a trusted advisor for your clients,
the easier it becomes to scale your own
business from a profit perspective.
When your clients reap the value of
your firm and your services, they're
more willing to pay. When your rates
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