CAS or Client Advisory Services is where the accounting firm leaders are headed. But here’s a food for thought. How often have you been providing your clients with important business advice “just as a part of the conversation”? For example, when discussing capacity challenges, have you presented the advantages of offering employees benefit packages? Or during the tax season, have you ever helped a client look for ways to save money? Well, all of them can be put in the umbrella bucket of CAS. This has happened so much and so often that today, accounting firm leaders no longer want to give crucial business advice for free and for the right reasons.
Why has CAS become important to businesses today?
The business landscape is undergoing rapid market changes. They face complex operational demands. CAS empowers organizations to improve their financial management and gain an edge through strategic financial insights. CAS also helps firms expand their offerings, increasing revenue, client trust, and retention. The best part of CAS frameworks is that they are adaptable. These services evolve as businesses scale. The scalability of the services not only helps eliminate common growing problems but also ensures customized solutions. By adopting CAS, businesses can streamline their operations, improve financial performance, and focus more on core business areas.
If you have been planning to integrate CAS into your service offerings, here are a few steps to follow:
- Get your partners and staff onboard with CAS:
For many firms, integrating CAS into the service offerings might be a new practice. You may be one of them. But remember, to ensure the success of these services you need your clients and team to be on board with the idea. CAS requires the roles to shift from a traditional approach to a more advisory and consultative role. Educate both parties about the benefits – revenue growth, better relations with clients, etc. Internal training on value proposition and the potential impact of CAS can help address any concerns. You should conduct training sessions to align with the vision across all levels.
- Look for automation and integration possibilities:
Automation has become a key part of the accounting industry and integration of CAS should not be an exception. It can drastically reduce the time spent on routine tasks and allow more bandwidth for high-value advisory services. Identify manual processes in the firm that can be automated. This may require you to integrate software solutions or invest in process automation tools. This can also help ensure the platforms are integrated to allow smooth workflows across departments. Automating these tasks will free up time for your teams to focus on providing personalized advisory services.
- Decide on your CAS pricing:
While providing CAS is a great idea, it is important to design the right service packages. These packages should be uniquely customized to meet the needs of different client, their business size and the advisory services you need to provide. It is important to develop clear, transparent pricing that reflects on the value of your services. You can either choose a flexible model, a monthly retainer, or hourly billing depending on the clients’ structure and needs. Make sure these are communicated well to bring long-term value to clients.
- Plan your staffing accordingly:
Sometimes you may need to hire new resources and at other times upskill your current teams. They need to be equipped with skills like data analysis, business strategy and financial planning. You may also need to conduct training sessions or offer certifications for your teams in relevant areas. Planning your staffing structure before you execute CAS will ensure a smooth integration where you have the necessary talent to meet the client demands.
- Refine your client service/collaboration/communication:
Client Advisory Services can emerge from strong, collaborative relationships between the firm and the clients. Unlike traditional accounting, CAS often involves frequent communication, goal setting and real-time data sharing. To ensure smooth operations, you may need to refine your client service strategy to emphasize responsiveness, personalized advice and active collaboration. You may also need to consider investing in client portals or communication tools that allow easy collaboration. Having regular communication and check-ins, and tailored insights maybe key to offering the best possible CAS experience.
- Identify CAS-fit clients:
While you may want to provide CAS to all your clients, that might not be practically possible. It is important to carefully evaluate your client base and identify who needs it and would benefit from the service. You might need to carefully evaluate clients who are growth-oriented, face complex business challenges, or need more financial clarity to make strategic decisions. These are the clients who would see value in your servive offering. You should also set clear prerequisites to determine CAS-fit clients. These could range in size, industry, or complexity of the financial needs.
CAS includes a wide range of different accounting-related services. Once you have successfully integrated CAS into your service offerings, it is important to constantly improve and upgrade your offerings. You must keep learning about the changing needs of your clients and adjust your offerings accordingly.
If you want to provide CAS to your clients, but struggling with where to get started, Finsmart Accounting can help. Write to us at connect@finsmartaccounting.com to know how!
Maanoj is Co-founder & Director of Growth Strategy & Alliance at Finsmart Accounting. He is an Outsourcing Expert, a People Champion, and a Dynamic Leader with strong Business Strategy and Scaling-up experience. He has incubated businesses, sold & exited ventures; helped build strong enterprises in very diversified verticals like Fintech, HR & Consulting spaces in various CXO capacities over the last 20 years.
