The First Concrete Step to Crossing The CAAS Chasm

One in two accountants stated that Advisory Services is the top new growth opportunity for their firm. According to the CPATrendlines Accountants Outlook 2024 research, many accountants also expressed that advisory is also the most attractive (profitable) opportunity.

But there is a catch.

It requires accountants to cross this CAAS chasm.

We need to be on the same page about all these terminologies to truly grasp what CAS is, what CAAS is, what exactly is "advisory" in CAAS, what is the real difference between CAS and CAAS, and what this CAAS-chasm is.

In "The Definitive Guide to Client Accounting Services (CAS)," I have comprehensively explained several aspects of CAS.

Cross the "CAAS-Chasm"

As explained in the last edition of this newsletter, your clients are not accounting professionals. They don't and won't understand your accounting acumen as you do - unless you simplify it down to action points in specific ways they can grasp. In other words, your advisory offering needs to be implementable by clients.

The path to conquering CAAS-Chasm can become ultra-specific based on your specific services, e.g., if you provide tax planning services, it can be very specific to the types of businesses, the relevant industries, and the regulations applicable to such industries.

The first concrete step to crossing the CAAS-Chasm

If you are already offering Client Accounting and Advisory Services, and if you are happy with the outcome, congratulations! You are already on the path to your advisory destination.

But if you are looking to enter advisory services or you are not truly happy with the outcome of your advisory offering, let us explore this further.

I think advisory is about what happens (or should/must happen) because of the new/additional things you do for your clients.

Crossing this CAAS-Chasm is first about aligning your advisory offering with your clients' needs and wants.

However, the problem is that clients may not be competent enough to clearly express their needs and wants. What's worse is that clients may not even know what they need to do for better outcomes in their financial lives and/or businesses.

To be a TRUE ADVISOR®, you would want to take the first concrete step to ensure the future success of your advisory services offering is to figure out what measurable impact you can make on which aspects of your clients' (or your ideal clients') financial lives and/or businesses.

In advisory, it is nearly impossible to be everything to everyone. The foundation of your advisory journey is getting clarity on the impact you can produce and deliver for which types of clients. Advisory is a vast subject, and each CPA/Accountant can have different experiences and expertise. Despite this wide field, here is how you can get that much-needed clarity about what you want to do in advisory services.

Create a focus statement for your advisory offering:

• Your advice is best for whom (define your ideal client persona)

• What do you do the best (in terms of measurable impact your advisory can provide)

• And what is the outcome of your advisory (define the measurable impact(s), i.e., what will happen because of your advisory)

For example, my friend Rob Nixon has this focus statement:

Imagine when you showcase your advisory focus statement, which prospects will get interested in knowing more about it and how they will respond when they hear about the impacts you can deliver.

Need help in creating your advisory focus statement? Message me on LinkedIn.

Get a jumpstart on your advisory success

I will soon launch the TRUE ADVISOR® Framework, which contains four proven pillars of success in client advisory services. To be among the first to get notified about the TRUE ADVISOR® Framework, click on the image below to register.

What next?

Conquering the CAAS-Chasm is a fascinating and massive subject, but we will explore some specifics in each successive edition of this newsletter.

In the next edition of this newsletter, we will explore the top important "internal to the firm" questions that you must find answers to for your advisory success. So, stay tuned.... and if you haven't subscribed to it, please subscribe now.