Client Advisory Services (CAS) has become one of the most profitable and in-demand service lines in accounting, with revenues surging 17% in two years. Amy Bridges, Senior Manager of Practice Development at CPA.com, unpacks key findings from the latest CAS Benchmark Survey. From pricing strategies to scaling advisory services, this conversation offers actionable insights for firms looking to maximize CAS growth
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Generative AI-based solution helps firms increase efficiency and provide enhanced client value and insights
NEW YORK, NY (Jan. 16, 2025) – CPA.com announced today that it has formed a partnership with Blue J to connect firms of all sizes to Blue J’s best-in-class generative AI-powered tax research solution that’s designed to streamline a firm’s research processes and support them in delivering deeper, more actionable insights to clients.
Tax practitioners today face significant challenges with tax research, including navigating complex regulations, ensuring accuracy and managing time-consuming processes. Blue J, which was built by tax experts for tax experts, leverages an extensive U.S. tax content library and advanced large language models to instantly deliver firms with trusted, verifiable tax answers and draft high-quality client communications.
"This partnership with CPA.com marks a significant milestone in our mission of making tax law more understandable for all practitioners, so they can deliver exceptional outcomes for clients,” said Benjamin Alarie, CEO, Blue J. By combining our AI-driven solution with CPA.com's expertise around the accounting and finance professions, we are making accurate, efficient tax research more accessible than ever before."
“GenAI has more potential than perhaps any technology since the cloud to transform and enhance firm productivity and client service value,” said Erik Asgeirsson, president and CEO, CPA.com. “However, AI is still a nascent category and accounting professionals are focused on identifying viable use cases and building trust in the technology. We believe leveraging Blue J’s tax research capabilities for compliance work can help free up time that will enable practitioners to further shift toward deepening their trusted advisor relationships and unlocking new opportunities for firm evolution and growth.”
Firm adoption
More than 1,000 firms have adopted Blue J to support their tax research efforts and usage continues to grow in tandem—by the end of Nov. 2024, Blue J was answering more than 100,000 tax research questions from users in the previous 30 days.
Michael Radtke, a partner at Chortek, a mid-size firm in Wisconsin with a staff of 75, said his firm shifted from traditional research tools to Blue J because the solution offers a higher-value, more user-friendly experience that enabled his staff to serve their clients at an even higher standard. “In today’s competitive landscape, it’s important to stay up to date on the latest technologies as they develop. With Blue J, we can now enable our staff to deliver better results, faster, for our clients,” said Radtke.
Leslie Hatridge of Hatridge Tax & Accounting, a boutique tax prep firm based in Colorado, said that Blue J is one of the best investments she’s made in her business. As a one-person company, she feels the biggest thing she's lacking is a team to bounce things off. "Research takes a lot of time, and I'm obsessive about making sure things are done right,” noted Hatridge. “Now I feel like I have the ‘team’ backup I have been missing and can't believe the excellent quality of the research responses Blue J provides me.”
Key features and benefits of the Blue J platform include:
Blue J will be offered to firms through CPA.com’s Preferred Partner Program, which supports CPA firms in expanding and elevating their advisory services through best-in-class technology solutions. Through this program, CPA.com will also provide practice development and training to help firms optimize the use of this technology.
To learn about how tax practitioners can harness Blue J’s advanced tax research capabilities to create efficiencies and deliver more client value, register for CPA.com’s upcoming product webinar, “Tax season prep: Get better tax answers with AI tax research tools,” Jan. 23 at 2 p.m. ET.
To learn more about Blue J, visit cpa.com/TaxAI.
About CPA.com
CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus. The company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners. A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.
About Blue J
Founded in 2015, Blue J is the leading generative AI solution for tax research. Trusted by firms of all sizes, Blue J delivers fast, verifiable answers to complex tax questions, empowering professionals to provide exceptional client service. With its conversational interface and curated library of authoritative sources, Blue J is transforming how tax experts work.
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Newly appointed Caseware CEO ranks audit transformation as a top priority.
New York, NY (Jan. 13, 2025) - CPA.com, the business and technology subsidiary of the AICPA, announced today the latest updates to its Dynamic Audit Solution (DAS) initiative, including enhanced capabilities, expanded industry content and the appointment of a new chief executive officer at its technology partner Caseware.
DAS, which is powered by a transformative methodology developed by the AICPA in partnership with audit professionals from leading firms, reimagines the audit process with a data-driven, iterative, tailored-in approach that enhances efficiency and promotes a higher quality audit. DAS is built on the Caseware Cloud platform and is the profession’s most advanced and only fully integrated, end-to-end, cloud-based audit solution on the market.
Caseware appoints new CEO with strong technology and accounting industry background
Caseware, a global leader in cloud audit, assurance and financial reporting and data analytics, is committed to driving audit transformation and today announced the appointment of David Marquis as its new CEO. David joins Caseware after five years at Intuit, where he led the international division including Canada, Australia, the UK and other non-U.S. markets. In their statement, Caseware highlighted the DAS initiative and audit transformation as a top focus area where they continue to demonstrate deep innovation and investment. They also recognized the contributions of their departing CEO David Osborne.
Erik Asgeirsson, CEO of CPA.com, commented on the transition: “David Osborne was a key partner to us in getting DAS launched, and he leaves things well positioned at Caseware for its continued success. I am very much looking forward to advancing the next phase with David Marquis who has a great understanding of the accounting profession along with a deep background in emerging technologies and product strategies. I’m also thrilled with David Marquis’ overall excitement related to the transformative DAS initiative which he shared with me in a recent discussion.”
DAS capability enhancements
As firm adoption of DAS continues to accelerate, the latest updates further support auditors in enhancing the efficiency, quality and client value of financial statement audits.
Recent DAS releases have expanded capabilities to address current auditor needs within the platform and build out key foundational elements to allow for even more enhanced technologies in the coming months, including:
In addition to DAS’s robust capabilities, CPA.com effectively supports firm adoption readiness, providing comprehensive implementation consulting, training and migration services to support firms through the entire audit transformation journey.
Firm adoption
Adoption of DAS continues to accelerate, with many T100 firms now on a path to full migration. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with firms highlighting enhanced efficiency and quality, staff engagement and upskilling, implementation training and the flexibility to use “out of the box” or as a customized solution as key benefits.
For more information on the Dynamic Audit Solution and recent updates, visit cpa.com/DAS.
About CPA.com
CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus. The company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners. A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.
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Ryan Wolff, Supervisor, Strategic Innovation & Data Analytics at AAFCPAs, earns top honor.
DENVER (Dec. 10, 2024) – Ryan Wolff has been named the recipient of CPA.com’s Digital CPA Innovative Practitioner Award, which recognizes forward-thinking practitioners whose leadership, strategic decision-making and use of technology are shaping the future of the profession. Wolff is leveraging advanced audit technologies and artificial intelligence to optimize methodologies, improve quality and achieve significant time savings across audit engagements.
“Receiving the award is a testament to our team’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of what's possible in audit transformation,” said Wolff. “By harnessing the power of AI, data analytics and robotic process automation, we've significantly enhanced audit quality and efficiency. These advanced technologies have not only streamlined our processes but also fostered a culture of continuous improvement and strategic thinking at AAFCPAs.”
Wolff is a leader of Strategic Innovation & Data Analytics at AAFCPAs, a Top 100 firm focused on audit, tax, accounting and advisory solutions for nonprofits, commercial companies and high-net-worth individuals. As a leader of the firm’s Automation Center of Excellence, Wolff has created an AI prompt library using tools like Copilot and ChatGPT to upskill audit teams, reduce manual work and enhance audit quality. He also leads data analytics initiatives to evaluate new audit platforms to harness large data sets, resulting in greater precision and effectiveness, and has implemented robotic process automation (RPA) into audit workflows.
“This award acknowledges individuals who are determined to identify innovative approaches for improving outcomes—either for their firm or their clients,” said Michael Cerami, EVP, CPA.com. “In Ryan’s case, his ability to embrace AI and data analytics to bring along the rest of his firm has helped drive encouraging results in their audit practice, as recognized by his peers.”
Wolff was recognized at Digital CPA, CPA.com’s annual conference for progressive practitioners focused on innovative technologies and business strategies impacting the accounting landscape.
Brenda Cannon, CPA, owner, Cannon & Associates, and Matt Gardner, CPA, CEO and co-founder, Hiline, were named runners-up for the award.
Cannon made a change in her firm to schedule every tax return, resulting in well controlled work and a more manageable schedule. She has developed a method for the scheduling process and has hosted workshops to help other firm owners implement it. Cannon is currently working on a web application to streamline the scheduling.
Gardner’s firm doesn’t just utilize technology, it’s a core part of Hiline’s offering. He identified a gap where he felt small and medium-sized businesses were being underserved and now integrates cloud-based technology and AI to deliver high-quality, tech-enabled accounting services to his clients.
To learn more about this year’s recipients, as well as the other distinguished nominees shaping the future of the profession, visit the CPA.com Digital CPA Innovative Practitioner Award page.
About CPA.com
CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus.
Our company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners.
A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.
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Flagship event for innovation-focused accounting firms draws record attendance.
DENVER (Dec. 9, 2024) – Harnessing the power of AI, transformation of practice areas, and firm business model strategies that enable growth and high value work are key themes at this week’s Digital CPA Conference® (DCPA), the premier event for progressive accounting professionals.
“In today’s fast-changing and increasingly complex business environment, clients are increasingly looking to their CPAs for deeper insights and higher-value services to inform their strategies and support better decision-making,” said Asgeirsson. “Today’s firms must be strategic and intentional about firmwide transformation. This means taking a fresh look at your firm’s business model, embracing technology to improve service delivery and drive outcomes, and cultivating the right talent and culture. Firms that do will continue to thrive as trusted advisors for their clients.”
This year’s event, taking place in Denver (and also available virtually), brings together more than 1,400 of the profession’s most innovative leaders and practitioners across client advisory services (CAS), audit and tax.
Key themes framing the discussions at DCPA24 include:
Unlocking the potential of AI. Over the past year, AI has quickly moved from theoretical to practical as an abundance of new AI-enabled solutions and use cases have emerged across accounting and finance, accelerating the shift toward advisory services and offering firms a viable solution to help address talent and capacity challenges.
The AICPA and CPA.com remain committed to helping practitioners understand and maximize the capabilities of AI. Through its multi-part GenAI initiative, CPA.com delivers the latest insights, tools and resources on topics from building a safe AI strategy to implementing effective change management strategies to support the impact on roles, process and workflows.
Capitalizing on growth in client advisory services (CAS). Already the fastest growing service area for the profession, CAS is growing and presenting significant opportunities for firms that are taking an intentional approach to building and scaling their practices. According to the just released 2024 CPA.com and AICPA PCPS CAS Benchmark survey report, firms reported 17% median growth in their CAS practices, outpacing overall firm growth. Firms are also leveraging new capabilities, strategies and services to provide higher-level business insights to clients.
CPA.com has long been focused on empowering firms of all sizes to understand the opportunity within CAS to maximize their value and growth potential. Adding to its CAS 2.0® Practice Development Coaching program, CPA.com has expanded its offering to include two new learning pathways, CAS 2.0 Development Essentials and CAS 2.0 Practice Introduction, which include access to workshops, new toolkits and self-studies for firms new to CAS and those looking to build up an existing practice.
Driving audit transformation. Audit is the latest of the practice areas to undergo a major shift to the cloud.This is being driven by the availability of more cloud-based solutions, as well as a desire by firms to deliver deeper insights and more comprehensive risk management for their clients.
To support firms in their audit transformation journey, CPA.com added its first audit track to DCPA in 2023, which was very well received. This year nearly 200 audit professionals are attending the event to network with their peers and learn more about how to transform their own audit practices. Many top 100 firms are are now on a path of full migration of the Dynamic Audit Solution (DAS), a fully integrated, end-to-end cloud-based solution with transformative AICPA methodology, to support their transformation. CPA.com also helps firms assess their readiness and offers comprehensive implementation consulting, training and data migration services to prepare for a technology-driven shift.
Evolution of firm strategies and structures. Leading-edge firms are adopting new strategies, business models and governance structures to successfully execute transformation, optimize technology investments and better position for long-term viability. They’re also accelerating technology adoption to automate lower-level work, exploring new ownership models, such as private equity and employee stock ownership plans (ESOP), and rolling out new compensation and talent strategies to combat hiring and retention challenges and build capacity.
To learn more about CPA.com’s efforts to enable firms’ digital and advisory transformation, visit www.cpa.com.
About CPA.com
CPA.com brings innovative solutions to the accounting profession, either in partnership with leading providers or directly through its own development. The company has established itself as a thought leader on emerging technologies and as the trusted business advisor to practitioners in the United States, with a growing global focus.
Our company’s core mission is to drive the transformation of practice areas, advance the technology ecosystem for the profession, and lead technology research and innovation efforts for practitioners.
A subsidiary of the American Institute of CPAs, the company is also part of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the world’s most influential organization representing the profession. For more information, visit CPA.com.
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