You’ve read articles and the latest research highlighting the benefits of client advisory services (CAS). You’ve talked to other firms who have expounded the cases for expanding into higher level advisory services. You’re now ready to take the next step for your own firm.
Where do you start? How do you translate that excitement into a practical plan to launch a CAS practice as efficiently and effectively as possible?
A good first step is to figure out where you’re starting from. Building and growing a successful CAS practice requires a fundamentally new mindset and approach beyond traditional practice areas like audit and tax. Taking the time to assess your firm’s current strategy, structure and operations will help you determine where you are already well-positioned to take on this new service area, as well as any gaps that you may need to focus on to ensure you’re set up for success.
Determining your CAS readiness
Starting a new practice area is challenging. It’s complex. And there are many factors that will contribute to successfully getting it off the ground. Here are a few you’ll want to consider and put into place, if you don’t have it already:
- Executive buy-in: Firm leadership needs to understand the CAS opportunity and actively support the CAS vision from the start, signaling its importance to the entire firm. This also requires an aligned definition of what “CAS” means to the firm – because it differs for everyone – and how the new service area fits into the overall firm strategy.
- Clear strategy and governance plans: Establishing a CAS practice requires a shift in mindset and an entirely new approach than traditional practice areas. Practice leaders will need to implement strong organization-wide change management and make critical decisions to establish the right firm structure, culture and accountabilities needed to spur CAS growth and incentivize staff.
- Dedicated leader and staff: Great CAS practices are helmed by dedicated, full-time CAS leaders. These leaders are able to make connections with others in the firm, are comfortable in a technology-centric environment and inspire the professionals on their team to constantly learn and evolve along with the practice. Similarly, team members should be fully focused on CAS rather than splitting their time between CAS and other practice areas.
- Services: Build off your strengths. When determining what services your CAS practice will offer, start by considering what your firm currently offers and how you can evolve from there. If you’re already delivering accounting and transactional services and helping clients manage their cash flow, you can easily shift into that higher-level advisory work. But if your current services don't lead to conversations with clients about their goals and how you can help them get there, you may need to adjust your approach.
- Industry focus: Your firm can probably already claim expertise in several different industries based on its existing client list. Just as you should choose to offer services that match existing strengths, these industries should serve as the starting point for your CAS practice client roster. However, not all industries may be suited for CAS services. It’s important to identify the right ones within your existing client base and create a niche focus for your practice.
- Technology stack: CAS practices rely heavily on enabling technologies – this is the only way to deliver high-quality services to clients at scale. Just as important, a strong technology portfolio creates a path to advisory-level relationships, since these technologies are excellent at taking on lower-level, time-consuming tasks, which give CAS professionals the time they need to focus on more strategic client issues.
- Talent pool with diverse skillsets: Successful CAS professionals often require different skills and mindsets than their peers in other practices areas. It helps to understand a CAS client’s overall business – not just the view afforded by typical accounting relationships – while they gather, analyze and harness large amounts of data and turn it into strategic insights. They need to be strong communicators. And they should be comfortable in a technology-centric environment. You may also consider hiring for nontraditional skillsets, offshoring certain processes and investing in training to upskill existing talent.
Your next step
CAS is constantly evolving and providing both opportunities and challenges, and navigating the intricacies of this practice area requires staying on top of leading technology and having a deep understanding of your firm’s operational strengths and areas for improvement. CPA.com offers a free CAS Firm Self-Assessment Tool designed to empower you to align your CAS practice with the profession’s best practices and foster essential leadership conversations in your firm.
After completing the assessment, you receive a robust report that will help you more quickly build and fine-tune your CAS practice based on your firm’s strategy, as well as identify potential gaps or hurdles in your operations before they become problematic. Our team is also available to help you unpack the results and identify initial areas of focus and additional resources based on your customized result.
Taking the time to fully assess where you’re starting from is your best next step to ensure you’re starting with the best foundation to build and grow your CAS practice for the future.
About the author:
Kimberly K. Blascoe, CPA, leads CPA.com’s CAS 2.0 practice transformation programs, focusing on helping firms establish and grow optimized CAS practices through consulting, practice development and training offerings. Prior to joining CPA.com, Kim spent more than 30 years in public accounting, which included leading the CAS practice for a Top 20 firm.
