The AICPA just published data that should worry compliance-only firms.
The 2024 CPA.com and AICPA CAS Benchmark Survey found that median annual CAS revenue rose 61% since the 2022 survey, CAS practices reported 17% median growth, and respondents projected 99% median growth over the next three years. By contrast, AICPA’s 2025 MAP survey said firms reported a median 6.7% increase in total net client fees, down from 9.1% in the prior survey.
That does not mean compliance work disappears. It does mean the strongest growth is shifting toward recurring advisory relationships, not one-time annual work. That is the real signal in the data. CAS is not just another service line. It is becoming the revenue model that separates firms growing on value from firms stuck competing on volume.
What the numbers make impossible to ignore.
Some industry reports need interpretation. This one does not.
Median CAS practice revenue reached $1,606,409 for all respondents, up 61% from the 2022 survey, while projected three-year median CAS revenue reached $3.2 million. CPA.com also said participating firms are moving beyond tax cleanup and annual project work, and are doing more CAS engagements priced with fixed-fee strategies billed on a recurring basis.
That last point matters more than the headline numbers. It suggests firms are not simply charging more for the same work. They are building a different kind of relationship with the client, one that is ongoing, embedded, and easier to scale.
Compliance still matters, but it is not where the best growth is
A lot of firms will look at this data and think it overstates the risk. After all, tax and accounting compliance still generate revenue. That is true.
But the comparison is getting harder to ignore. When the latest AICPA MAP survey shows median firm revenue growth at 6.7%, down from 9.1% a year earlier, while the CAS survey shows 17% median growth and 99% projected growth over three years, the direction is clear. The higher-growth firms are not only getting better at delivery. They are shifting the kind of work they sell.
That is why the conversation around client advisory services growth is becoming more urgent. Clients can compare compliance services more easily than before. They can shop on speed, price, and turnaround. Strategic guidance is different. It is harder to compare, harder to replace, and far more valuable when it helps a client make decisions with confidence.
CAS changes the revenue model, not just the service mix
This is where many firms undersell the opportunity.
CAS is often discussed as an add-on, something a firm can layer on top of bookkeeping, month-end work, or tax compliance. In practice, the bigger impact is financial. CAS changes how revenue behaves. It moves the firm away from episodic billing and toward recurring client relationships.
Take a simple example. A one-time tax engagement worth $2,000 a year is still a one-time transaction. A monthly bookkeeping and advisory engagement worth $2,000 a month becomes a $24,000 annual relationship. The difference is not only top-line revenue. It is predictability, retention, and enterprise value.
That is why the more useful comparison is not CAS vs tax. It is CPA firm advisory services revenue model vs project-based compliance revenue. One is recurring and compounding. The other resets every season.
The firms winning are not necessarily doing more returns
They are doing more with the clients they already have.
The CPA.com release says firms that generate significant revenue from CFO or higher-level business insights advisory services earned more than 30% higher monthly recurring revenue. That is a major clue. Growth is not coming only from adding more clients. It is coming from raising the value of the client relationship itself.
This is the part compliance-only firms need to take seriously. If your firm is still measuring success mainly by return count, write-up volume, or seasonal throughput, you may be optimizing the wrong thing. The stronger firms are not only asking how much work they can process. They are asking how much strategic value they can deliver on a recurring basis.
Why CAS is growing now
The obvious answer is client demand, but that is only part of it.
CAS growth is also being helped by standardization, technology, and better pricing discipline. The survey notes that firms are increasingly moving away from hourly billing and building around defined niches, defined ideal clients, and recurring fixed-fee strategies. Those choices make advisory work easier to package, easier to explain, and easier to grow.
That matters because CAS vs traditional accounting revenue is not only a market story. It is an operating model story. Firms grow advisory revenue when they stop treating every engagement as custom, every fee as negotiable, and every client as the same.
What stops firms from making the shift
Usually, it is not a lack of interest. It is a lack of capacity.
Partners know advisory work is more valuable. Managers know clients want more insight. The problem is that most firms are still buried in delivery. When compliance deadlines, reconciliations, review work, and routine bookkeeping consume the team, there is very little room left to build the higher-value relationship that CAS requires.
That is where our Accounting Seat becomes relevant. It exists as a subscription-based service offering, and it gives firms a more structured way to add delivery capacity while keeping client ownership and higher-level conversations in-house.
In other words, many firms do not fail to grow CAS because they do not understand the opportunity. They fail because their best people are still trapped in work that does not create advisory revenue.
What the AICPA data is really saying
The survey is not telling firms to abandon compliance. It is telling them that compliance alone is becoming a weaker growth engine.
The firms building momentum are using compliance as the foundation, then expanding into ongoing insight, planning, and decision support. That is why client advisory services growth is outpacing the profession’s broader revenue growth. It is also why recurring advisory relationships are becoming more central to firm value.
If you strip away the industry language, the message is simple. Compliance may open the client door. Advisory is what increases revenue per client, stabilizes the revenue base, and gives the firm more room to grow without living from deadline to deadline.
So here is the question the data puts in front of every CPA firm leader: is your firm still built to win more one-time work, or is it built to grow recurring client value?If that question feels uncomfortably direct, it probably should. Tell us where your firm stands today, still compliance-heavy, actively building CAS, or somewhere in between. Or write to us at [email protected] if you want to talk about how firms create room for advisory growth before another year goes by.
FAQs
Client advisory services growth is being driven by demand for ongoing financial insight, not just year-end compliance. Businesses want help with decision-making, cash flow visibility, forecasting, and performance monitoring, which makes advisory work more valuable and more recurring than one-time compliance engagements.
Traditional accounting revenue is often seasonal or project-based, tied to tax returns, compliance filings, or periodic accounting work. CAS revenue is usually recurring, with clients paying monthly for a continuing relationship that includes reporting, analysis, and strategic guidance.
No. Compliance work still matters and often remains the entry point for the client relationship. The opportunity is to use compliance as the foundation, then expand into advisory services that increase revenue per client and create a more stable revenue model.
Because recurring revenue is more predictable than one-time project revenue. Firms with stronger recurring advisory income often have better visibility into future cash flow, stronger client retention, and a more scalable growth model.
In many firms, the biggest barrier is capacity. Partners and managers are often too tied up in compliance delivery, review work, and routine tasks to build advisory relationships properly. That is why creating bandwidth is often the first step in growing CAS successfully.
In this Article
editor
Maanoj Shah is the Co-founder & Director of Growth Strategy & Alliances at Finsmart Accounting, where he pioneered the “Accounting Seat” model—a revolutionary offshore embedded staffing solution purpose-built for Accounting and CPA firms. Widely recognized as an outsourcing and offshoring expert, Maanoj’s insights have been featured in leading accounting publications, and he regularly speaks at premier industry conferences including Scaling New Heights, Bridging the Gap, BKX, and Women Who Count.
A dynamic growth leader with over two decades of experience, Maanoj has incubated, scaled, and exited ventures across Fintech, HR, and Consulting sectors, holding various CXO roles throughout his career. His passion for scaling businesses is matched by his commitment to social impact. He is the Co-founder of Mission ICU, a national healthcare initiative that installs critical care units in underserved areas of India, and was recognized by the World Economic Forum for its last-mile impact.
Outside of work, Maanoj leads an active lifestyle as an avid tennis player and passionate golfer, blending strategy and agility on and off the court.
CONTENT DISCLAIMER
The content in this article is for general information and education purposes only and should not be construed as legal or tax advice. Finsmart Accounting does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, adequacy, or currency of the information in the article. You should seek the advice of a competent lawyer or accountant licensed to practise in your jurisdiction for advice on your particular situation.
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