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FIRM PRACTICE MANAGEMENT

CPA.com CAS practice maturity model
CPA.com CAS practice maturity model

Financial CAS Business insights CAS
SP A N O F SE RV I CE SP E CT RU M
Trusted adviser
business insights

CFO finance CFO business insights
Financial and
Controllership nonfinancial insights
Business process Industry-specific
outsourcing
Transactional insights Advisory
• Accounting • Dashboards and • Dashboards and insights
o Financial and nonfinancial metrics
• Monthly close insights — financial o Industry niche specific
• Financial metrics metrics • Continuous business cycle
Practice Provide insights
maturity Build Grow and evolve beyond income statement Expand
Committing to and Growing share of wallet.
professionalizing CAS Leverage processes and expertise to grow and balance sheet Trusted adviser status
accounting
Offering design = Information architecture + RPA + Services methodology

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with the level of knowledge that a CPA firm can processes and roles, and reimagining their approach
provide, you have a powerhouse of analytic advisers to client service.
with a breadth of knowledge that most companies
can’t afford,” she said. “Our team knows the busi- Getting out of silos
ness in and out.” Firms may want to move from a silo model, in which
each partner or service area works fairly indepen-
CAS PROMPTS FIRMS TO ADOPT A NEW dently, to a cross-firm approach. At Baker Tilley, for
BUSINESS MODEL instance, the CAS team takes the lead on engage-
To deliver business insights with CAS most ments, but it brings in experts from different parts of
effectively, firms can adopt the business practices the firm to address specialties as client needs change.
associated with CAS 2.0, including changing their One advantage of this approach is that Thomp-
relationships with clients, reinvigorating their son’s team can alert other teams to changing client

IN BRIEF with “business insights CAS” may systems for greater efficiency.
involve more collaboration within ■ The pandemic has driven increased
■ Most firms start their CAS journey by a firm to address a client’s needs, demand for business insights CAS.
offering “financial CAS”: cloud-based adopting a method of recurring billing As clients struggled to find new and
financial services, typically delivered such as subscription, changes in unique ways to survive, some firms
through a standardized dashboard of staffing, and educating clients. saw a business opportunity and shifted
financial information. But some firms ■ Given technology’s pivotal role in from focusing on providing compliance
have started to move to the next level, any CAS practice, firms considering documents such as tax returns or
evolving to being a strategic business business insights CAS will need a tech financial statements to offering advice
partner. strategy not only for client services and insights to help clients navigate
■ Adopting the processes associated delivery but also for standardizing firm the many unexpected developments.
To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Courtney Vien at Courtney.Vien@aicpa-cima.com.

8 | Journal of Accountancy November 2022