think of this as what clients want from your cas offering.
by hitendra patil
client accounting services: the definitive success guide
client accounting services (cas) is one of the fastest-growing new revenue and growth segments for firms of almost all sizes. whether your firm is already great at offering cas or just starting to offer cas, the critical challenge is how clients (and prospects) perceive what you deliver under your cas umbrella.
more: romeo, juliet, google and client accounting services | how cas makes firms better | cas begins with a mindset
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i figured there is a way to get more clarity on this crucial aspect of cas success. and that way is to think/imagine as if your clients/prospects have posted a job advertisement for someone to do the “cas” work for their businesses. the cas job description is what cas expectations are about, isn’t it? let us see what this cas job description will look like.
as an accounting firm, think about your competencies/capabilities/expertise/experience that make you the best candidate for this job. once you have reviewed the job description, come back and re-look at the “key results” section. it can become your firm’s cas marketing and sales pitch that not many of your competitors can easily beat.
cas job description
position summary
responsible for uncovering, unlocking and demystifying the actionable intelligence from our business accounting and related work and ensuring implementation of measures arising from such insights to enhance our business performance. outcomes, not just the outputs of your work, are more valued at our company.
key responsibilities
some of the key responsibilities of this position are:
- 70-80% of your work will be to create decision-making-support analysis and insights, and the remaining 20-30% will be for review of the business’s past performance
- provide a list of who are our most and least profitable customers (quarterly)
- provide a list of our most and least profitable products/services (quarterly)
- weekly sales reporting
- weekly purchase reporting
- monthly – gross and net profit margin reporting
- manage vendor bill payments
- manage customer/client invoicing and billing
- prepare weekly cash flow statements, supplemented by a list of vendors/ customers and their payables/receivables due dates that are out of/will be out of target norms
- cash flow management
- prepare monthly financial analysis to help us compare our own performance trends and industry performance by tracking key financial ratios
- ensure 100% compliance with sales tax payments and filings
- ensure 100% compliance with payroll payments and tax filings
- prepare departmental payroll analysis reports
- identify tax-saving opportunities; prepare and execute tax planning measures
- manage banking/financial institution relationships and processes
- perform month-end close of accounts
- prepare revenue recognition reports
- prepare and explain financial statements
- prepare and explain segmented financial statements based on our products/services lines
- ensure business tax returns are prepared accurately and filed in time
- ensure individual tax returns – of company owners and the other employees who opt in to get their tax returns done internally – are prepared accurately and filed in time
- ensure there are no notices/penalties from irs/state departments, and if any notices are received for any reasons beyond our control, ensure to utilize all professional resolution mechanisms/rules available fully
- ensure ongoing automation to reduce repetitive manual processes to optimize process outcomes and minimize process delays/errors
- connect the dots between executive decisions made/not made and the financial results (quarterly)
company expectations
in addition to the measurable work responsibilities mentioned above:
- you already have or will acquire deep familiarity and understanding of the company’s business and the industry/profession in which the company operates.
- you are the professional, and hence you possess expert knowledge of federal and state laws governing our business and related tax and payroll laws.
- you are aligned with the company’s core vision, mission and value statements, and you deliver on your responsibilities mentioned above to strengthen and enhance our purpose.
- you will participate in our business decision-making, even if it is by means of providing necessary data and insights thereof to help us make better and timely business decisions.
- you will not just deliver the numbers, on time, consistently, but also explain what those numbers really mean for our business, in words and terms that a person with no professional accounting education/experience will quickly and clearly understand.
professional competencies:
- accountability: maintain the balance of quality of work while meeting deadlines
- problem-solving ability:
- ability to anticipate, analyze, diagnose and resolve problems
- excellent accuracy and attention to detail
- ability to manage end-to-end accounting work
- professional knowledge/continued learning:
- take the initiative in learning and implementing new methods/ ways/processes/technologies
- have expert knowledge of federal and state payroll laws and keep up with those
- have expert knowledge of maintaining a general ledger, bookkeeping and accounting principles
- have an expert understanding of double-entry accounting
- take timely, conscious and effective action to enhance the performance effectiveness of this position
- time management:
- ability to align work to company priorities
- minimize task-switching and repetitive manual tasks
- prioritize processing to produce on-time and on-budget work
- flexibility:
- agility in adapting to change
- identify, evaluate and embrace new technology, systems, processes and ideas
- adapt processes as we experience success or failure of chosen changes
- interpersonal skills:
- effective communication skills
- ability to build rapport
- ability to present data-backed ideas/insights and provide decision choices based on that
- ability to enhance working relationships with vendors/customers/bankers, etc.; understand and adapt to being on “our team”
education and experience:
- professional accounting education
- a few years of experience of working as an entrepreneurial accountant (accountaneur)
- ideally, some experience of working with companies in our industry or the ability to grasp the nuances of our industry quickly
important: this job description is just to get you started and does not necessarily cover everything that can be done through a firm’s cas offerings or for clients from different industries/professions.
as an accounting professional, what should you do now?
- now, as a professional accounting firm owner/partner, think of the above job description as if it were a job advertised by a company (your ideal prospect) but not seeking individual person/s as candidates but looking for a firm that can provide client accounting services (cas).
- if you were to approach this prospect, which of the key responsibilities above is your firm competent to perform? (you don’t need to be able to do everything as long as you can procure/partner resources to deliver on client expectations.)
- take another look at company expectation #5. it may sound simple, but it may not be as commonly practiced in the profession as you may believe.
- please revisit “present data-backed ideas/insights and provide decision choices based on that.” is this something you do regularly?
- if you operate in some niche industry/ies, go back to the key responsibilities above and visualize what could be the niche-specific responsibilities that may get added to this job description. e.g., for restaurants, you may have to ensure tips reporting and taxation thereof regularly; for construction-related industries, you may have to do job costing and project profitability analysis regularly, etc.
- think about all the questions, especially the most common ones, that your higher-paying clients ask you now (based on the info/reports/analysis you provide them). these are the needs and wants of your clients that they cannot fulfill unless they take help from a professional accountant like you.
this post is intended to provide some measure of the importance of viewing the cas expectations from your clients’/prospects’ point of view. this outside-in perspective can be critically important for your cas success.