CAS

Why Most CAS Practices Stall | It’s Not Just the Numbers

By

…And what the successful ones do differently.

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 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!

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

Client Accounting Services (CAS) has moved well beyond bookkeeping. For firms serious about advisory, CAS is now a fundamentally different operating model, one that demands new roles, new systems, and a far higher level of internal transparency than traditional tax or audit practices ever required. 

In this episode of It’s Not Just the Numbers, Damien Greathead and Penny Breslin draw on more than two decades of shared experience to unpack what actually makes a modern CAS practice work in the real world. Their discussion goes beyond theory and into the structural, cultural, and operational decisions firms must confront if they want CAS to be scalable, profitable, and sustainable . 

MORE Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead | MORE Advisory & Consulting | BUY “It’s Not Just the Numbers”

GoProCPA.com Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Traditional accounting firms are built around specialization and hierarchy: junior and senior accountants, bookkeepers, managers, and partners, each working essentially in isolation on their own client list. That structure works for compliance, but it breaks down in a CAS environment. 

“CAS requires the team to approach the client holistically,” Breslin explains. “You can’t have people operating in silos. Everyone needs to understand the client’s goals, not just their individual task.” 

READ MORE →

The Hidden Friction Killing CAS Profitability | It’s Not Just the Numbers

By

CAS success isn’t accidental. It’s engineered.

Originally published November 2025
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 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!

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

Client Advisory Services (CAS) continue to outperform every other service line in accounting. But firms that treat CAS as “enhanced bookkeeping” quickly hit a ceiling. The firms that scale profitably make harder—and smarter—choices: who they serve, how they staff, how they price, and how they explain their value in a world obsessed with automation.

MORE Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead | MORE Advisory & Consulting | BUY “It’s Not Just the Numbers”

GoProCPA.com Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

In this episode of It’s Not Just the Numbers, co-hosts Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead get refreshingly practical about what actually drives CAS success. Their message is clear: strong CAS practices are built intentionally, not incrementally.

One question cuts straight to the tension many firm owners feel: Should teams see profitability numbers?

Breslin and Greathead don’t argue for radical openness—or secrecy. Instead, they advocate for profit literacy.

Teams don’t need to know margins by client. They do need to understand three things:

READ MORE →

The CAS Bottleneck No One Talks About | It’s Not Just the Numbers

By

Poor onboarding frustrates clients, burns out staff, and kills profitability.

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 Tax Season Readiness: Practical Steps for a Smoother Busy Season, Dec. 10, 2 pm ET, 1.5 CPE

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

Winning the client is exciting—but in Client Accounting Services (CAS), that’s just the opening act. The real work, and the real success, depends on what happens immediately after a prospect says “yes.”

MORE Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead
MORE Advisory & Consulting
BUY “It’s Not Just the Numbers”

GoProCPA.com Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

In this episode of It’s Not Just the Numbers, hosts Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead make the case that onboarding is one of the most overlooked, underdeveloped, and business-critical functions in CAS firms today.

“Too many firms have no clue what actually happens when a client walks in the door,” Breslin says. “You sold the work, but what happens next? What experience does the client have? And what does your team do first?”

READ MORE →

Make Clients Part of Your CAS Team | It’s Not Just the Numbers

By

“If they’re consistently uncooperative, they’re not a good CAS client, no matter how much they pay.” 

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 Poe Group Advisors: Helping accountants buy, build, and sell exceptional firms. See Today’s Special Offer

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google/YouTube, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music, Audible, Player FM, Audacy, RSS
Poe Group Advisors consistently excels in helping our clients find the right accounting practice sales opportunity.

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

In the world of client accounting and advisory services (CAS), most firms focus on building internal teams, refining processes, and adopting the right technology. Yet, one crucial element often gets overlooked: the client. 

In a recent episode of It’s Not Just the Numbers, co-hosts Damien Greathead and Penny Breslin explore why clients must be treated as integral members of the team, and what happens when firms fail to define the client’s role in the process. Their conversation, drawn from decades of working with accounting firms around the world, provides a blueprint for CPAs and firm owners aiming to elevate their CAS practices. 

MORE Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead | MORE Advisory & Consulting | BUY “It’s Not Just the Numbers”

GoProCPA.com Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Traditionally, accountants position clients as recipients of a service; for example, the client would deliver documents once a year, and the firm would produce a tax return. That transactional model doesn’t work in CAS, says Breslin. 

READ MORE →

Bot Wars: Wolters Kluwer, Intuit, Thomson Reuters Battle for AI Dominance in CPA Firms | Cornerstone Report

By

Smart new toolbox or Pandora’s Box? Inside the surge behind agentic AI.

By CPA Trendlines Research
Cornerstone Report

The accounting industry is undergoing a seismic technological shift as artificial intelligence transitions from a buzzword to a business imperative.

MORE Cornerstone Reports: Private Equity Update: Over 90 Deals, $200 Billion in Value | Intuit Fires Back with Agentic AI after Xero Nabs Melio | Xero Buys Melio for $3 Billion in Race for ‘The Active GL’ | Gen AI in Accounting: Epic Transformation, or Overheated Hype? | Gen Z Surges into Accounting for All the Reasons Your Mother Told You | Major Changes to Circular 230: Implications for Tax Professionals | Salary and Compensation Outlook for Small CPA Firms | Battling the Staffing Crisis: Is a Little-Known, But Controversial, Visa Program the Answer? | Twelve Years and Out: Seasoned Accountants Join the Exodus. | Jobs Outlook: Strong and Steady Growth in Hiring and Earnings for U.S. Accountants | Student Accounting Enrollment Shows Third Year of Recovery | CPA Billing Rates, Tax Return Fees, and Client Accounting Pricing at CPA Firms

MORE AI: 5 Ways to Stay Ahead of the AI Curve | Accounting Influencers | Strategic AI, Not Shiny Objects | Bot Wars: Wolters Kluwer, Intuit, Thomson Reuters Battle for AI Dominance in CPA Firms | Don’t Get Fired by Your Own Automation | Don’t Let AI Sound Smarter Than You | Farlee: AI and Outsourcing Shape Careers | TaxPlanIQ Escalates the Battle in Tax Planning Software | Why Advisory Is Broken. And What Comes Next | Haase, Radzinsky: Inside the TaxDome-Juno AI Alliance

In the past year, CPA firms across the U.S. have quietly begun deploying generative AI assistants, machine learning tools, and “agentic” AI platforms to automate audits, prepare taxes, and provide financial insights.

It’s astonishing:  The profession has reached a tipping point where those not investing in AI risk being left behind.

In this CPA Trendlines Research Cornerstone Report:

  • How CPA Firms Are Embracing AI

  • AI Adoption Surges from Experimentation to Mainstream

  • The New Agentic AI Toolbox: Platforms and Solutions Leading the Charge

  • Measuring the Payoff: Efficiency, ROI, and Firm Economics in the AI Era

  • Talent in the Age of AI: How Roles and Skills Are Evolving

  • AI in Action: Use Cases and Success Stories from Firms

  • Navigating Risks, Regulation, and Ethical Challenges

  • Overcoming Implementation Hurdles: Change Management and Best Practices

  • The Road Ahead: Strategies for Firm Leaders

READ MORE →

Gocke: Operations Overhaul Doubles Firm Rev | It’s Not Just the Numbers

By

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

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

Get More. Go PRO! 

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.

MORE Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead | MORE Advisory & Consulting | BUY “It’s Not Just the Numbers”

GoProCPA.com Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

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.

READ MORE →

Why Advisory Is Broken. And What Comes Next

By

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.

READ MORE →

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

By

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
 Sponsored by 4impactdata: Start delivering scalable advisory in weeks–not months: 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

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. 

MORE Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead | MORE Advisory & Consulting | BUY “It’s Not Just the Numbers”

GoProCPA.com Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

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. 

READ MORE →

Woodard: Move Past Reports; Deliver Results | The Disruptors

By

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

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

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 |

GoProCPA.com Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

“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.

READ MORE →

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

By

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.

MORE Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead
MORE Advisory & Consulting
BUY “It’s Not Just the Numbers”

GoProCPA.com Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

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.

READ MORE →

May: Build a CAS-Fueled Powerhouse | Big 4 Transparency

By

“CAS gets stronger as tech gets better. The market’s expanding, not shrinking.” 

This is a preview. The complete 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

Stream, listen, download, and subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google/Youtube, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music and Audible, Player FM, Audacy, RSS

Big 4 Transparency
By Dominic Piscopo, CPA
For CPA Trendlines

In this episode of Big 4 Transparency, Matthew May, former co-founder of Acuity and now CAS Leader at Sorren, pulls back the curtain on one of the most significant private equity-driven rollups in the accounting profession. Speaking with host Dominic Piscopo, May details how Acuity, alongside other firms, became part of a growing national platform backed by DFW Capital, and why he believes Client Accounting Services (CAS) will soon eclipse audit. 

MORE Dominic Piscopo | MORE Pay & Compensation | MORE CAS

The seeds of the Sorren platform were planted in a BDO Alliance roundtable where six firms fantasized about joining forces. That vision crystallized when DFW Capital, with a thesis to invest $100M in the space, entered the picture. From there, May and his partners at Acuity ran a rigorous process, engaging investment bankers to evaluate 250 potential paths, leading to 11 indications of interest (IOIs), seven in-person meetings, and five formal offers. The decision to join Sorren wasn’t about cashing out – it was about autonomy, cultural fit, and the chance to help shape a future-focused firm from the ground up. 

READ MORE →

Build a CAS Practice that Works | It’s Not Just the Numbers

By

The debut episode reveals why half-built CAS divisions fail and what to do instead – Plus 12 key takeaways! 

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

In the inaugural episode of It’s Not Just the Numbers, hosts Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead deliver a candid, experience-driven conversation aimed at accounting and bookkeeping firm owners seeking to move beyond compliance work and grow successful Client Accounting and Advisory Services (CAS) practices.

MORE Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead
MORE Advisory & Consulting
BUY “It’s Not Just the Numbers”

GoProCPA.com Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

The duo, who have worked together for over two decades, including hosting one of the first CAS workshops in 2013, are well-known voices in the evolution of cloud-based accounting and outsourced advisory services. Their show—named after their 2019 book—digs into the practical, strategic, and often messy realities of transitioning to advisory work. And for Breslin and Greathead, the key message is clear: building a sustainable CAS practice starts with intentionality.

READ MORE →