478 Search Results

Four Real-World CAS Transformations

By

floating balloons, one lit up like a light bulb

Why they did it. How they did it. What they gained and learned.

By Hitendra Patil
Client Accounting Services: The Definitive Success Guide

Across the accounting profession, few areas are experiencing the kind of meaningful, sustainable growth seen in client advisory services (CAS). Publicly available information, such as AICPA/CPA.com’s latest CAS Benchmark Survey, begins to paint a clearer picture, but it’s the story behind the statistics that truly highlights the potential of CAS.

MORE by Hitendra Patil
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

The true power of advisory-CAS comes to life in the stories of real firms and real clients. This article highlights transformational case studies from unlocking seven-figure tax savings to helping clients navigate critical decisions with clarity. You will see how firms built their CAS-first identity, turned insight into outcomes and overcame the hurdles that once held them back. These stories are proof that advisory, done right, delivers lasting business change.
READ MORE →

Trusts Aren’t Just for the Wealthy

By

Six ways they can be used.

portrait of Danny Lohrfink
Lohrfink
 Danny Lohrfink is the co-founder and chief product officer of Wealth.com. Previously, he was business lead of SoFi’s wealth management division, SoFi Invest, and held several roles at Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management, including VP on the PWM Management team.

By Danny Lohrfink 
The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

Contrary to popular belief, a person’s net worth is not the only – or most important – factor when deciding if a trust is appropriate for them. After all a trust is simply an agreement between someone who owns an asset and a trusted person whom they choose to hold and manage that asset for them.

MORE Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

This common misconception that trusts are only for the wealthy has long prevailed as a leading narrative because of the historically high costs associated with establishing and managing a trust. These costs presented a barrier for many individuals who lacked the financial resources to hire an expensive estate planning attorney. The result was that only the wealthy had these vehicles because they were the only people who could afford them.
READ MORE →

Alan Whitman: Why the Next Big CPA Firms Won’t Look Like CPA Firms | Gear Up for Growth

By

And why culture matters more than ever.

Sponsored by True Advisor: The Definitive Success Guide for Client Advisory Services by Hitendra Patil
Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google/YouTube, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music, Audible, Player FM, Audacy, RSS.

Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines

True Advisor: Buy now | Learn more

Alan Whitman isn’t trying to build a better CPA firm. He’s trying to replace it.

At Nichols Cauley, the former Baker Tilly CEO is recasting the traditional accounting practice as a “financial services company”—a structure that blends tax, insurance, risk, and transaction advisory into a single, continuous client relationship.

MORE ALAN WHITMAN: PE Deal Tracker Update: Alan Whitman Plants a Flag in the Private Equity Landscape | Breaking the Mold with PE Backing | Build Culture on ‘Progress,’ Not Change | Moss Adams-Baker Tilly Merger: Bigger Isn’t Better. Better Is Better.| Unlocking the Secrets to Smart Growth 

MORE Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | MORE Gear Up for Growth | MORE CPA Trendlines streaming videos and podcasts here

The goal, he tells Jean Caragher in this episode of Gear Up for Growth, is not to expand services around the edges, but to collapse them into one integrated model designed to “manage, protect, and grow” client wealth in a recurring loop.

The shift reflects a broader rethinking across the profession, in which private equity capital, client demand for one-stop advisory services, and advances in AI are pushing firms beyond the partnership model that has defined accounting for decades.

Having previously led transformational growth at Baker Tilly, Whitman rejects the notion that rapid growth damages culture.

“That’s hogwash,” he says. “Culture comes down to one word: trust.” READ MORE →

Stephanie Otero: Your Firm, Your Way | Gear Up for Growth

By

Success Requires Intention, Focus, and Community.

This is a preview. The complete episode is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
Sponsored by The Balanced Millionaire: The Advisor Edition by Dr. Jackie Meyer | See Today’s Special Offer

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google/YouTube, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music, Audible, Player FM, Audacy, RSS.

Build a 7-figure firm in just 4 hours a week!

Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines

“Small firm practitioners need to remember that they are in the driver’s seat,” says Stephanie Otero, vice president, Small Firm Advocate at the AICPA, in this episode of Gear Up for Growth with Jean Caragher.

MORE Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | MORE Gear Up for Growth | MORE CPA Trendlines streaming videos and podcasts here

“They have the power to intentionally design a practice they enjoy, and that truly works for them,” Otero says in a wide-ranging conversation about the most pressing challenges facing small accounting firms and the strategies that can help them thrive in an increasingly complex environment.

READ MORE →

Build Exit Strategy into Your Business Strategy

By

Ten action steps to take NOW, not someday.

By Jackie Meyer
The Balanced Millionaire: Advisor Edition

Having gone through the process of selling clients and eventually an entire firm, I gathered some invaluable lessons. If you ever consider selling part or all of your practice, keep these in mind:

MORE by Jackie Meyer
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

  • Always Have a Retention Clause: If you sell clients or your firm, include a clause in the sale agreement that protects you if clients don’t stick around.

READ MORE →