You’re Already a CAS Firm—Whether You Admit It or Not

I sat through a virtual summit on CAS today and while I listened to the speakers share their experiences and knowledge I decided that I needed to write a piece that was a little against the grain of what the talking heads and the profession is saying.  So I fired up CoPilot (I was in O365 at the time) and prompted it to write an article stating that all accounting firms are CAS firms.  Funny enough, it wrote what I was thinking in a much shorter time frame than I could have done.   So do you agree or disagree with me and Copilot?  Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Every accounting and bookkeeping firm is a Client Accounting Services (CAS) firm. 
Not some. Not most. All. 

Whether you’ve embraced the label or not, whether you market yourself that way or not, whether you even know what CAS means or not—you’re already doing it. 

 CAS Isn’t a Trend. It’s a Reality. 

Client Accounting Services isn’t a niche. It’s not a buzzword. It’s not a newfangled offering reserved for the most progressive firms. 

CAS is simply the modern name for what firms have been doing for decades: 

• Handling the books  

• Managing payroll  

• Reconciling accounts  

• Preparing financials  

• Advising clients  

If you’re doing any of that—and let’s be honest, you are—then congratulations: 
You’re a CAS firm. 

 So Why the Resistance? 

Some firms push back: 
“We’re not a CAS firm. We just do bookkeeping.” 
“We’re a tax shop.” 
“We don’t offer advisory services.” 

But here’s the truth: 
If you’re touching your client’s financial data, you’re in the business of client accounting. 
And if you’re helping them make decisions based on that data—even if it’s just answering a question about cash flow—you’re offering advisory services. 

So the real question isn’t “Are we a CAS firm?” 
It’s “Why aren’t we owning it?” 

 CAS Is a Mindset, Not a Menu 

Being a CAS firm isn’t about ticking boxes on a service list. 
It’s about recognizing the value you already provide and packaging it intentionally. 

It’s about shifting from: 

• Reactive to proactive  

• Transactional to relational  

• “Doing the books” to being a strategic partner 

If you’re not calling yourself a CAS firm, ask yourself: 

• Are we missing opportunities to deepen client relationships?  

• Are we leaving revenue on the table by not bundling services?  

• Are we undervaluing the work we already do? 

 The Future Is Already Here 

The firms that thrive in the next decade won’t be the ones clinging to old labels. 
They’ll be the ones who embrace what they’ve always been: 
Client-centric, data-driven, advisory-minded CAS firms. 

So stop asking if you’re a CAS firm. 
You are.   
Start asking: 
“How can we be a better one?” 

It's what your clients want and need.