This session will allow members of the BDO Alliance CAAS Roundtables and others engaged in this practice area to engage in small-group discussions focused on pressing issues related to managing and growing a client/outsourced accounting practice. We will have a mix of presentation and open discussion. Bring your candor, questions and great ideas to share with your peers!

Technology is changing the way your clients expect to work and manage their finances. To stay relevant, accounting professionals are retooling to launch into new services and will need to acquire new skill sets, one being that of a technologist. This session will discuss why it’s important to not just implement technology to do things the same way you have always done them, but instead, rethink the business processes in your practice. Learn to define your “why” and how to select a vertical niche, assess the right technology, and explore other ways to re-engineer your business processes. You will come away with an understanding of how technology’s gift of more time gives you the opportunity to become “Cherished Advisors.”

In this interactive session, we will have a power panel representing tools like QuickBooks®, Xero, Intacct and NetSuite for a comprehensive discussion on enhancing and broadening a tech stack. It will address how they can work within a practice simultaneously and which unique features lend themselves to particular clients and industries. Attendees will walk away with insight to help navigate the complex landscape and make strategic technological decisions.

CAS is a service line for entrepreneurs - those that love to create, develop and test the boundaries. In this session, we have another superstar panel of top practitioners from across the country lined up to share their successes (and failures) in the daily adventure of building and growing their practice. Join us as we have an open, honest discussion on topics such as the ideal employee profile, the ideal client, balancing advisory and transactional work, and building systems that scale, among others.

The session is designed to provide attendees with the knowledge and tools necessary to maximize value and pricing for CAS services in a way that doesn’t require sophisticated financial analytical skills or CFO experience. It will address key controllership services, including budgeting and forecasting, internal controls, spend management, and accounts receivable management. Attendees can expect to leave with a stronger skill set and a better understanding of how to effectively incorporate controllership services into their CAS practice, ultimately empowering them provide more comprehensive and valuable services to their clients.

In a transforming accounting landscape, CAS services have proven to drive firm growth due to client demand and the need to deliver a more tailored service approach. As firms evaluate and customize their service offerings, expansion into sales tax compliance continues to gain momentum. Whether you are a seasoned accountant, a firm decision maker, or learning more about the future of CAS, this session will equip you with the “how-to” knowledge and insights to provide sales tax services that deliver both growth and profitability.

Defining the right pricing model is an ever-increasing challenge for CPA firms, especially with CAS. This session will help attendees gain knowledge to effectively and strategically handle monthly accounting services, controllership services, and advisory in a proven three-tiered model that maximizes revenues, defines and protects scope, and emphasizes client outcomes. It will equip you to build a pricing model for your CAS practice.

In many ways, accounting and advisory service lines are starting from scratch when it comes to building, training and developing their teams. This session will explore the establishment of competency frameworks, learning plans, career paths, and individualized development tracks to ensure professionals are equipped to thrive in this evolving field.

For firms looking to build the value of their practice, CAS is a critical piece of the solution. This session will break down the transition from a back-office administrative function to a proactive, advisory-focused offering with a high-profit revenue stream, compression-proof cash flow and intensely deep client relationships. From positioning, client selection, packaging and pricing to delivering the highest level of client value, we will guide you through what CAS can truly be in a firm.

Step into a world brimming with innovation and boundless potential. Drawing from powerful anecdotes, this session will unveil a new paradigm, urging firm leaders at all levels to shift their perspective and unlock untapped potential where they can guide their firm and clients to success as visionary catalysts for change. It will cover concepts like customer lifetime value and cost of acquisition and how SaaS companies think about ROI and KPIs, along with recommendations for how to tailor this strategy to a firm’s management strategy. It will also touch on automation, AI and how good technology can support capacity and CAAS practice expansion.