In today's world, the business and finance landscape is constantly evolving as a result of tech innovations, changing client expectations and shifting regulatory landscapes. Client accounting services have emerged in recent years as a solution to meet the advancing needs of organizations, empowering them to outsource their accounting function to an accounting or bookkeeping firm, which better positions the business for enhanced efficiency and more strategic decision-making.
CAS comes in all different shapes and sizes, with various offerings depending on what a business is specifically looking to extract from utilizing this kind of service. These can range from basic capabilities, such as bookkeeping, to more complex offerings like in-depth reporting or advisory services. As technology continues to change the traditional accounting landscape, accounting practitioners are presented with an opportunity to truly embrace CAS and all its benefits.
In order to provide the best counsel for clients, accounting firms need to define what services they're aiming to provide to enable better business decisions — bearing in mind that the needs of each client will vary. By nailing this down, firms will be best positioned to leverage CAS to provide services that address the unique needs of their clients and offer capabilities that maintain a balance of providing for the client while also allowing their own accounting firm to grow.
Enabling a proactive approach
Historically, accounting, audit and tax functions have mainly been reactive, meaning these functions work fairly consistently across the board and on a recurring basis unless an issue arises. The introduction of CAS has created an industry benchmark for how to evolve services beyond just a siloed service offering, to providing a more comprehensive and collaborative solution for the customer.
This is often a step above traditional outsourced accounting services, as it goes beyond handling tax returns and financial statements year after year. Rather, CAS presents the opportunity to provide tailored services that seek to proactively understand and optimize a business' overall strategy, powered by technology and expertise in areas including, financial reporting, data analytics, cash flow management and more.
In a CAS framework, accountants function as advisors — truly becoming an extension of an organization — by getting to know the ins and outs of the overall business. This enables them to provide counsel from a holistic perspective on all details of a business' financial function. This enables clients to make better-informed decisions by having a more all-inclusive view of what exactly is occurring within their business.
Because CAS offers a higher level of personalization, it increases efficiency and provides more targeted services and advice specific to the unique needs of each client. In most cases, clients aren't passionate about managing the accounting functions of their business; they approach it as more of a check-the-box tax and compliance necessity, as opposed to a value-added task they want to do. Leaning into CAS allows business owners more time to focus on elements of the business they are passionate and knowledgeable about, instead of putting that time toward analyzing the financial health of their business.
These services also grant a wide range of benefits to accounting firms, as practitioners can build new revenue streams and new service lines. They also can strengthen the other components that fall under this umbrella, including building a more sustainable business with more predictive revenue and higher lifetime customer value. CAS creates a stronger connection to the end client, as it extends beyond reoccurring services and drives more frequent communication between the firm and clients. Furthermore, CAS builds on top of existing revenue streams, so it has the ability to improve the performance of traditional service lines if it's implemented in an integrated manner, which leads to lower churn.
What holds firms back from CAS
Two main components hinder accounting firms from implementing CAS. For one, practitioners tend to be change-adverse, and CAS requires a willingness to change. Further to this point, there never seems to be a right time to evoke major changes that may distract from day-to-day operations. In order to ameliorate this, firms should consider implementing a change management strategy to effectively implement CAS throughout their organization. By doing so, they'll find themselves in a position where they're more optimistic about making changes that better their bottom line and provide enhanced services to their clients.
CAS brings a plethora of benefits to the accounting profession, providing a clear path forward for how accounting firms can elevate their services to meet evolving client needs. By recognizing where the profession is headed, nailing down service offerings and implementing a strong change management strategy, firms can optimistically approach and embrace CAS to ensure success for both their firm and their clients.
