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CAS staff can be more

effective when they’re

not dividing their time

between CAS and other

areas of the firm.

advisory for clients, generally stay in closer touch
with their clients throughout the year than they
would doing tax or audit work. To perform this
work most effectively, CPAs often must adopt dif-
ferent software programs and processes, track time
and work differently, and bill for services differently.
How can firms best manage this shift to
advisory work? The CAS Benchmark Survey shed
some light on this question by identifying the
lient advisory services (CAS) has proved top-performing CAS practices — the top 25% of
a growth area for accounting firms. Ac- survey respondents with the highest net client fees
Ccording to the second Client Advisory per professional — and tracking what they did dif-
Services Benchmark Survey from CPA.com and ferently. Below are best practices identified by the
the AICPA Private Companies Practice Section survey, accompanied by advice from leaders from
(PCPS), CAS practices grew by 20% in terms of four of the top-performing firms:
net client fees per professional between 2018 and
2020. 1. Move away from hourly billing
CAS can be “a growth engine for the profes- Many firms have moved away from hourly billing
sion,” said John Yeager, CPA (inactive), managing in their CAS practices. When clients are billed by
director of the outsourced accounting practice the hour, Yeager said, they can feel “like they’re on
at Bennett Thrasher in Atlanta. Accounting has a meter” and be reluctant to call their CPA firms
traditionally been dominated by audit and tax, but with questions for fear of being charged. But CAS
CAS, he believes, is becoming “the third leg of the relies on a close relationship between CPAs and
stool.” clients, and it isn’t as effective if clients are hesitant
But running a successful CAS practice requires about getting in touch.
CPAs to adopt a different mindset toward client What’s more, many CAS clients are small busi-
service. Accountants offering CAS, a term that nesses, and they appreciate the “budget certainty”
incorporates a spectrum of services including of a fee that stays constant from month to month,
controller and CFO services that support business Yeager said.

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