CLIENT ACCOUNTING SERVICES

Don’t Sell CAS/CAAS

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two men talking across a table, one holding a sheet of paper, window and brick wall in background

Do this instead.

By Hitendra Patil
Client Accounting Services: The Definitive Success Guide

You know the story.

  • You painstakingly created your client accounting services (CAS) offering. You may have also created your client accounting and advisory services (CAAS) offering.
  • You and your team worked intently and intensely to get there. Your early adopter CAS clients seemed enthusiastic about the promise of your CAS/CAAS offering.
  • However, you soon found that it was becoming increasingly challenging to acquire more CAS/CAAS clients.
  • All the pieces are in place to create a thriving CAS practice, but the results are worrying.

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What’s missing?

Selling advisory can feel awkward, but that’s because it’s not meant to be sold like a product. This article repositions how you present Advisory-CAS, not as a service line but as a shift in how clients grow. We will also cover how to stop “selling” and start aligning with the outcomes clients already care about most.
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Studley: Navigating the Adult Industry Accounting Niche | Big 4 Transparency

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“You can write off lingerie?” Learn how one accountant built a judgment-free firm for the adult industry. 

This is a preview. The complete video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
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Big 4 Transparency
By Dominic Piscopo, CPA
For CPA Trendlines

When Katherine Studley posted a short TikTok in 2021 with the line “Boobs aren’t a write-off,” she wasn’t trying to build a firm – she was trying to prove a point. Now, the founder of The Only Consultant and Prisma Tax is one of the most in-demand accountants for adult industry professionals across North America, having helped thousands of creators, dancers, and sex workers file taxes, get compliant, and navigate financial systems that too often shut them out. 

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In this episode of Big 4 Transparency, host Dominic Piscopo speaks with Studley about how she carved out one of the most unusual and underserved niches in accounting and scaled it to a fully remote, growing firm with a waitlist and a social following that fuels constant inbound interest. Studley’s journey started after leaving the CPA firm grind, working in coffee shops, and being recruited into a government intelligence role. But it was a viral conversation during the pandemic that unlocked a huge market: OnlyFans creators and exotic dancers who were suddenly earning six figures with no idea how to file taxes or whom to trust to help them. 

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How to Conquer the CAAS-Chasm

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Young businessman standing on edge of rock mountain and looking across

“You can’t build an advisory practice overnight, but you can begin it today.”

By Hitendra Patil
Client Accounting Services: The Definitive Success Guide

One in two accountants stated that advisory services is the top new growth opportunity for their firm. According to the CPA Trendlines Accountants Outlook 2024 research, many accountants also expressed that advisory is the most attractive (profitable) opportunity.

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But there is a catch.

It requires accountants to cross the CAAS-Chasm.
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The Cycle of CAAS-Chasm

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silhouette of man leaping from one cliff to another

Client needs evolve with their businesses.

By Hitendra Patil
Client Accounting Services: The Definitive Success Guide

Again, what is the difference between CAS and CAAS? Many firms feel stuck in the middle, offering advisory in theory but not in execution. That gap is the CAAS-Chasm. This article outlines the cycle that causes advisory initiatives to stall and helps you recognize the signs in your own firm. It’s the first step to breaking through.

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Client accounting and advisory services (CAAS) is a fusion of traditional accounting services with advisory services that emerge from core accounting work. Think of CAS as a self-study course and CAAS as a guided workshop, but not necessarily in-person events.

CAAS is (needs to be) customized to individual client needs. CAAS must cater to the evolving demands of businesses in a changing economic, regulatory and technological landscape.
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CAS vs. CAAS: What’s the Difference?

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Businessman looking thoughtful

Here are 21 ways to tell.

By Hitendra Patil
Client Accounting Services: The Definitive Success Guide

Are you an accountant struggling to master your understanding of the difference(s) between “client accounting services (CAS)” and “client accounting and advisory services (CAAS)”?

You are not alone.

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As accountants, you often hear the terms “client accounting services (CAS)” and “client accounting and advisory services (CAAS)” pretty interchangeably, but how do you nail your grasp of the distinction(s) between the two?
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Client Accounting vs. Client Advisory Services: The Five Key Differences

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man standing, looking down at five giant golden keys

Plus three ways to help clients see the value.

By Hitendra Patil
Client Accounting Services: The Definitive Success Guide

I am often asked the question, “How do I show a client the value of my advisory services?” My answer is simple.

Many firms blur the line between accounting and advisory, but your clients don’t. This article will help you learn how to ensure clients understand the real value of your advisory services. We will break down the five key differences that separate CAS from traditional accounting, and how to clearly communicate each one. Understanding this distinction helps you price with confidence, package your offerings and help clients grasp your value.

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Did you notice that clients now want more than just numbers? They seek an advisory service that enables them to make informed decisions, allowing them to focus their efforts on growing their businesses and creating value for themselves and others. Providing advisory services is a very rewarding job, but it can be challenging to ensure that your clients understand the value of your services.
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Advisory Opportunities Emerge from Core CAS Offerings

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two women talking while seated at a table

Think about where your insights originate.

By Hitendra Patil
Client Accounting Services: The Definitive Success Guide

“We want to offer outsourced CFO and advisory services.”

It has become an increasingly common intent of accounting firms of all sizes.

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This article demonstrates how compliance, accounting and reporting can serve as doorways to deeper insights, more strategic conversations and higher-value advisory relationships.

Technology automation, artificial intelligence and more innovative solutions seem to make it even more logical for accountants to feel that the future is more about advisory services than ever before.
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Gocke: Operations Overhaul Doubles Firm Rev | It’s Not Just the Numbers

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Structured operations freed partners to focus on clients and doubled revenue in six years.

This is a preview. The complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
 Sponsored by “It’s Not Just the Numbers: How to Move Beyond the Numbers and Deliver Real Value for Your Clients”
by Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead – See Today’s Special Offer

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It’s Not Just the Numbers
With Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead
For CPA Trendlines

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Running a modern accounting firm requires more than technical expertise. Partners must balance client relationships, business development, and administrative responsibilities, often leaving firms stretched thin.

In a recent episode of It’s Not Just the Numbers, Doug Gocke, chief operations officer at a mid-sized California firm, describes how restructuring responsibilities and focusing on operations helped his firm double revenue in six years without significantly increasing staff or client count.

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Gocke, who refers to his role as “chief of all trades,” said growth came from building teams before taking on new clients, creating clear accountability, and relentlessly reviewing procedures.

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Why Advisory Is Broken. And What Comes Next

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It starts with a conversation. 

By Eric Eager
10X Advisory

For years, advisory services have been positioned as the future of the CPA profession. Conferences are filled with “moving up the value chain” sessions, and firm leaders are under growing pressure to make the shift. But here’s the hard truth: most firms are still trying to deliver tomorrow’s services using yesterday’s methods.

MORE Client Accounting Services here | MORE Tech and Fintech here | MORE:  Steven Ladd: Start Advisory with Empathy | Woodard: Move Past Reports; Deliver Results | Advisory-CAS Ascending: What Research Reveals About the Future

Long discovery meetings. Manual analysis. Generic PowerPoint decks. Pricing models built on billable hours instead of business outcomes. These are the hallmarks of the old world of advisory—time-intensive, inconsistent, and hard to scale.

And they simply don’t hold up anymore. Today’s business owners are moving faster, expecting more, and looking to their advisors for real-time, relevant, and actionable guidance. But most firms are still operating with a rearview mirror—offering valuable insights that often arrive too late to act.

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Ladd: Start Advisory with Empathy | It’s Not Just the Numbers

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By starting with conversations and clean books, accountants can deliver clarity, confidence, and real results.

This is a preview. The complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
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It’s Not Just the Numbers
With Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead
For CPA Trendlines

4ImpactData: 10X Your Advisory.
Not Your Headcount

When accountants and advisors talk about “advisory services,” the conversation often drifts toward models, frameworks, and numbers. Advisory is explained through dashboards, KPIs, forecasts, and ratios. However, sometimes in our focus on data, we forget the human side —the fact that behind every balance sheet is a business owner who is stressed, overwhelmed, and often lonely. 

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That’s where voices like Steven Ladd’s come in. In a recent It’s Not Just the Numbers podcast “After Hours” session, Ladd shares his journey from engineer to entrepreneur to trusted advisor for small business owners. His insights reveal why advisory services are more than just financial analysis. They’re about empathy, connection, and equipping business owners with clarity. 

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Woodard: Move Past Reports; Deliver Results | The Disruptors

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Dashboards and statements aren’t enough—accountants must help clients turn data into action.

This is a preview. The complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
Sponsored by 4impactdata: Start delivering scalable advisory in weeks–not months: See Today’s Special Offer

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4ImpactData: 10X Your Advisory.
Not Your Headcount

The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

Joe Woodard sees a disconnect between what accountants think they’re selling and what clients want to buy. Many accountants still believe they are selling time, but as Woodard points out with a vivid analogy, that’s not what clients care about.

CPA TRENDLINES CELEBRATES:The 100th Episode of The Disruptors

MORE STREAMING: Baker: Find True Purpose to End Burnout | Brolin: The W.I.N. Leadership Formula | Gertrudes: How EOS & “Unreasonable Hospitality” Reshaped GrowthLab | Vilms: The Power of People in a Tech-Driven World | Dickerson: From Diagnosis to Disruption | Kapilovich: Treat People Like People | Martha Yasso: From Wall Street to Main Street | Jackie Meyer: Tax Plans in 90 Seconds? Believe It  | Erica Goode: Build a $200K Firm in 15hrs/Week | Randy Crabtree: Live at the Intersection of Passion & Skill |McClelland and Telka: Women Ready to Rewrite the Rules of Accounting | Jacob Schroeder: AI Won’t Replace Accountants—But It Will Reveal Who’s Replaceable | Ditching Corporate America: The Bold Story Behind PBS Accounting’s Rapid Rise | Jean Zick: Happy Team = Happy Clients | Breslin & Greathead: Be a Client Advocate | Dominic Piscopo: Clear Pay=Bargaining Power | Debbie Kilsheimer: Stop Thinking Small |

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“If I’m going into CVS and I need Tums,” he explains, imagine if CVS charged you more because “I hung around in their store for twice as long to buy the Tums as I needed to, I took a circuitous path. Maybe I looked at some of the kids’ toys for an upcoming birthday party where they’re going to charge me twice as much for the Tums.”

This absurd scenario mirrors what accounting firms do to clients when the cost of delivering the service depends on the time it takes to do the work, so “the value of the product changes based on some arbitrary time metric,” Woodard says. “As long as that’s the case, there’s always going to be a resistance to the billing for selling the wrong product.”

However, even among firms that have adopted value pricing, a disconnect remains because the focus is on deliverables rather than outcomes.

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Lang: The Right Clients > Revenue | It’s Not Just the Numbers

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Tough client calls, tax planning, and better leadership turned hard knocks into growth.

This is a preview. The complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
Sponsored by “It’s Not Just the Numbers: How to Move Beyond the Numbers and Deliver Real Value for Your Clients”
by Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead – See Today’s Special Offer

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music and Audible, Player FM, Audacy, Gaana (India), and Boomplay (Africa).

It’s Not Just the Numbers
With Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead
For CPA Trendlines

When Lang launched Upside CFO, he didn’t set out with a grand blueprint. “If we’re being honest, we started off with simple bookkeeping,” he says. Over time, his firm evolved into a multi-faceted practice offering fractional CFO services, tax planning, and even financial planning partnerships. Along the way, he admits to trial and error. “Sometimes I do smart stuff. Sometimes I don’t,” Lang laughs.

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Yet from that messy middle came clarity: the future of advisory services lies in translating numbers into strategy, choosing the right clients, and building processes that can scale without sacrificing value.

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