{"id":80919,"date":"2021-01-24t12:00:02","date_gmt":"2021-01-24t17:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=80919"},"modified":"2022-01-10t13:51:15","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10t18:51:15","slug":"top-five-cas-killers-and-how-to-overcome-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2021\/01\/24\/top-five-cas-killers-and-how-to-overcome-them\/","title":{"rendered":"top five cas killers and how to overcome them"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>how many of these are you telling yourself? by hitendra patil<\/i> why fall in the same trap that other firms have fallen into during their client accounting services journey? if you know what those traps are, you will save significant money and time in establishing your cas practice.<\/p>\n more:<\/b> identifying the right clients for cas<\/a> | communicating cas to clients and prospects<\/a> | 21 ways to adjust your practice in 2021<\/a> | which of your existing clients are cas-fit?<\/a> | the 8-step method for launching client accounting services<\/a> | how to develop the cas mindset<\/a> | client accounting services: the definitive guide<\/a> fortunately, the cpatrendlines cas survey identified which are the top five cas killers, for firms of different sizes, that the accounting profession has experienced. <\/p>\n what these insights from the survey indicate is that cas can be offered by firms of any size, even by sole practitioners. on the other hand, firms of all sizes can get stuck thinking about possible challenges they will face in their cas practices, even before they try offering cas. some firms indicated they tried providing cas but gave up. now, let us see which are the top five challenges that emerged as the cas killers.<\/p>\n when asked, “what is stopping you from offering cas?”, here are the top five responses from firms that did not yet offer cas. some of them even wanted to provide cas but could not get started or some started on their cas journey but gave up.<\/p>\n let us now examine:<\/p>\n when can you feel cas is not the right fit for your firm?<\/strong><\/p>\n if you don’t offer accounting, bookkeeping, write-up, payroll, outsourced\/virtual cfo or advisory services, you may feel to start offering these services will take more staff and too much time, effort and cost. it is also because if you haven’t provided these services yet (most likely, you offer only\/predominantly tax-related services), you do not have the relevant knowledge\/ competencies\/experience\/expertise to offer cas. again, you might feel it will be overwhelming to get started with cas.<\/p>\n what steps can you take to make cas a fit for your firm?<\/strong><\/p>\n most likely, if you feel cas is not the right fit for your firm, it is because you believe so. more than “making cas a fit,” you need to identify the biggest hurdles that you feel will stop you from offering cas and recognize that even sole practitioners provide cas. some of these hurdles may be just in your mind, and some may be real. in an earlier post, i discussed some ways you can develop the “cas mindset.” let us take a look at what you can do to overcome the real practical hurdles:<\/p>\n when can you feel you don’t have the technology for cas?<\/strong> some of the key common reasons why firms believe they do not have the right technology for cas are given below. you may also have similar thoughts because:<\/p>\n what steps can you take to overcome the technology challenge?<\/strong><\/p>\n according to cas survey results:<\/p>\n the real meaning of these results is that the proven profitability and growth potential of cas makes technology an investment on which you make handsome returns. in cas business, technology cannot be treated as a cost. some steps you can take to make technology your firm’s strength for offering cas are:<\/p>\n when can you feel cas wouldn\u2019t be as profitable for your firm?<\/strong> as mentioned earlier, if you feel offering cas will bring in a lesser profit for you compared to the other services you are offering now and hence you may feel it is not a fit, it may be because you may have experienced others providing lower-rate, lower-profitability commoditized services that you believe are actually cas offerings. if so, it is not your fault because there has been a great deal of confusion in the profession about what exactly is cas. in an earlier post, we defined and explained what cas is and what it is not. you may still feel that some of the cas components are low-profit services, but those are like essential building blocks that lead to higher-value, higher-priced and hence higher-profit services that you can sell to the same clients.<\/p>\n what steps can you take to make cas one of the most profitable service segments for your firm?<\/strong> first, let us see what the survey respondents revealed about cas profitability:<\/p>\n these figures show that cas is superior compared to other services in bringing in new clients and also in generating profit. i have been regularly interacting with many cas firms over many, many months, and i have seen some key differences in how more profitable cas firms operate compared to others. here are some of the proven ways to make cas profitable for your firm.<\/p>\n unless you are providing only tax return preparation services only to individuals, you can, and should, make sure your clients learn about the many benefits of cas.<\/p>\n in a previous post, i mentioned the quick one-question poll that i sent to randomly selected people. i had no clue if such people bought any services from accountants. the question was simple: “what word comes to your mind when you hear the word accountant?” about 46 percent of the respondents said “tax” and about 26 percent said “balance sheet.” that means a total of about 72 percent of respondents think “tax or balance sheet = accountant.” perceptions are (perceived) reality.<\/p>\n if you have ever felt “if i had only known …” or “if i knew then what i know now …,” you know that human beings many times \u201cdon\u2019t know what they don\u2019t know.\u201d human beings learn in three levels: we don\u2019t know what we don\u2019t know, we know what we don\u2019t know, and we know what we know.<\/p>\n when it comes to cas, the lowest-hanging fruit is the clients who don\u2019t know your firm offers cas. their perception is stereotypical \u2013 accountant = tax and balance sheet. therefore, it is first required that you take efforts to change your perception in the minds of your clients. it is easy to begin to do so by just making clients aware of which other services you can provide to them and what are the benefits of each of your services.<\/p>\n how do you make them aware without sounding like you are merely advertising your services (which can be perceived as you are concerned only about your firm\u2019s revenue)? let\u2019s see.<\/p>\n when can you feel your clients do not need cas because they are not asking for it?<\/strong><\/p>\n if your clients are not asking for cas, it is not their fault. either they do not know you offer cas, they do not know the benefits of cas or both. if your clients are not asking for cas, you can feel they don\u2019t need or want cas. it is not your fault if you think so. if you have business clients that are mainly very small businesses and you can see they can\u2019t afford to pay for cas (most likely most of them balk at any price increase you propose or they always haggle about pricing), it is because you are stuck in a vicious cycle \u2013 you don\u2019t offer more services, so your new clients are only those that want to buy just basic services \u2013 and you can\u2019t escape this cycle unless you attempt to break free. because you don\u2019t offer insight-producing services, you do not know much about the real issues your business clients face, and hence you do not see that they actually need cas. if you cannot see their needs, the clients will rarely be aware of all the value their accountant can deliver to them. such factors can make you feel \u201cclients are not asking for cas,\u201d but the truth is, \u201cclients do not know you can offer cas, and they can benefit more from cas.\u201d<\/p>\n what steps can you take to make your clients aware of your cas capabilities?<\/strong><\/p>\n once you develop additional capabilities to offer cas, the next step is to make clients aware. it is not about merely announcing to all clients and hoping they line up. here are some steps you can take to make your clients aware of your cas offering and also attempt to do so in a way that can make clients recognize such services are relevant to their business.<\/p>\n the #1 cas killer that emerged from the cas survey results is, unfortunately, also the most misconceived perception. it is a myth.<\/p>\n the cas survey results showed that even solo practitioners offer cas. the number of firms that provide cas is significantly higher than those that do not offer cas, for firms of all sizes. cas firms provide about twice the number of services compared to non-cas firms. “staffing shortage” or “lack of relevantly competent staff” are not<\/strong> the reasons why you should not offer cas. let us see why.<\/p>\n when can you feel you don’t have the staffing for cas?<\/strong><\/p>\n you may be a solo practitioner or have less than a handful of staff. you may be predominantly offering tax preparation services, and you get the books done just to keep clients\u2019 financial data tax-ready. you may be offering low-cost write-up services because a majority of your clients are (very) small businesses and mom-and-pop shops. with a business model like that, your staff\u2019s competencies are limited to basic services. in such situations, you can feel either you don\u2019t have enough (number of) staff or your team is not trained enough, or both, for your firm to provide cas.<\/p>\n what steps can you take to overcome staffing challenges (perceived or real)?<\/strong><\/p>\n the cas survey results clearly indicated that smaller firms are far more active in offering cas. over the years, i have personally interacted with hundreds of firms that make much higher revenue and profit per staff than firms that struggle. and the key reason is such successful cas firms have optimized their technology, processes and staff competencies. in many cases, the number of clients serviced per staff is about two to three times more compared to that served by similarly sized non-cas firms. some of the proven ways in which firms optimize to overcome the cas staffing challenges are:<\/p>\n with this awareness about the pitfalls that can derail cas journeys of accounting firms, and the knowledge of how to avoid such pitfalls, let us see how to move forward in preparing your firm for cas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\nin the next few paragraphs, we will address each of the top five “cas killers” and some ways to overcome them. but before that, let us also look at the results of the cas survey that identified how many firms of different sizes are offering and not offering cas. the following figures show what percentage of survey respondents said they offer cas and don\u2019t and what are their firm sizes:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n firm size<\/th>\n for every one firm not offering cas<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n \n sole practitioners<\/td>\n 2 firms offer cas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2 to 10 staff<\/td>\n 9 firms offer cas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 11 to 50 staff<\/td>\n 18 firms offer cas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 51 to 100 staff<\/td>\n 6 firms offer cas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 101 to 500 staff<\/td>\n 9 firms offer cas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 500+ staff<\/td>\n 2 firms offer cas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n the top five cas killers<\/h3>\n
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cas killer # 5: cas not the right fit for our firm<\/h3>\n
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cas killer # 4: we don’t have the technology for cas<\/h3>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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cas killer # 3: cas wouldn’t be as profitable as\u00a0our other services<\/h3>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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cas killer # 2: our clients aren’t asking for cas<\/h3>\n
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cas killer # 1: we don’t have the staffing for cas<\/h3>\n
\n
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