uncover outsourced accounting opportunities during tax season
TRANSCRIPT
UNCOVER OUTSOURCED ACCOUNTING OPPORTUNITIES DURING TAX SEASONFebruary 26, 2016
Introductions
Tax and Accounting Manager
Oversee the Harrisonburg Accounting
Services which offers accounting and
consulting services to clients.
Lead for Pathway Accounting Services
powered by Intacct. Our team is certified to
implement and onboard companies with
Intacct and follow the company through from
back office to CFO services.
Certified as an Intacct Accounting Specialist
Certified as a QuickBooks Pro-Advisor
Susan Steele-Ward, CPA
Introductions
Deneen Dias
Senior Strategic Account Manger
6+ years working with firms on ways to utilize
cloud technology to transform their client
accounting practice
Helps hundreds of firms evaluate, implement, and
leverage technology to improve internal processes
as well as enhance their client relationship
Keen interest in working with firms of all sizes to
drive increases to their bottom lines through
implementing new cloud technology
Consults with firms on ways to add new revenue
streams from new services lines including
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), and real
time advisory services
Brings 10 years of experience working with firms
of all sizes
CPA.com PRODUCTS & SERVICES
FIRM CLOUD BASED SOLUTIONS
EDUCATION & RESOURCES
MISSION
Empowering CPAs and Businesses For The Digital Age
TaxWORKFLOW
SALES & USE
FINANCIAL PLANNING
AdvisoryVIRTUAL CFO
REAL TIME REPORTING
BUDGETING/FORECASTING
AuditELECTRONIC CONFIRMATIONS
FIN STAT CLEARINGHOUSE
AUDIT SOFTWARE
AccountingVIRTUAL CONTROLLER
CLOUD ACCOUNTING
BILL MANAGEMENT
FIRM TRAINING IMPLEMENTATION
CONSULTING
LMS PLATFORM
BEST PRACTICESCASE STUDIES
WHITEPAPERS
COMMUNITY
Supporting The Core Pillars Of The CPA Firm
Agenda
Innovation
Client Accounting Services: Impact of Technology
Client Accounting Services: Need & Evolution
Getting the Conversation Started
Case Study: PBMares
Getting Started
Questions
Disruptive Technology has changed our LIVES
Consumer Market Is Well Ahead of Business Market Related To Leveraging Cloud Computing
BUT BUSINESS MARKET IS CATCHING UP!
Dr. James Canton Believes
Technology
is so disruptive for the
profession THAT…tax returns and compilations
will one day be FREE?
Firm Service Lines
Audit Tax Client Accounting
Impact of cloud computing and mobile to major firm service lines
• Efficiencies
• Innovation
• Efficiencies
• Innovation Efficiencies
Innovation
Efficiencies
Innovation
Transformative
Revenue Growth
$50 billion
40
30
20
10
2010
$42
$9
$12
$19
Strong Growth In Advisory ServicesOver Past Four Years
2014
$54
$17
$15
$20
Advisory Services
91% growth
Tax
17% growth
Audit & Accounting
6% growth
Other
Source: Accounting Today, Top 100 firms survey, 2010 and 2014
Revenue split at top 100 accounting firms
CLIENT ACCOUNTING SERVICES NEED & EVOLUTION
11
Client Accounting ServicesWhat it’s Not:
o Bookkeeping
o Write Up
o After the fact reporting
Covers a variety of services, including:
o Financial Statement Preparation
o General Ledger/Trial Balance
o Cash Flow Management
o Payroll Preparation & Reporting
o Accounts Payable and Receivable
o Transaction Processing (BPO)
o Virtual CFO Services
o Controllership
o Business Advisory
Firm Value Chain
Analyze
&
Interpret
Advise
&
Consult
Input
DataAssemble
& VerifyReport
Higher Value
& Future Focus
Lower Value &
Historical Focus
Support Your Clients’ Current & Future NeedsSupports Client Accounting Services Across the Service Spectrum
Reporting and
Attestation:
• General Ledger / Trial
Balance
• Accounts Payable
Reconciliation
• Accounts Receivable
Reconciliation
• Cash Reconciliation
• Financial Statements
Complete
Client
Access and
Operational
Add-Ons
Complete Client
AccessClient Approval
Access
Virtual Controllership:
• Financial Management &
Operational Governance
• Comparative Reporting
• Budgeting
• Financial Statements
• Variance Analysis
• Financial Policies
Virtual CFO:
• Financial Strategy
• Financial Modeling
• Market Analysis
• Financial Operations
• Global Operations and Consolidation
• Advanced Revenue Management
• Technology Deployment and Integration
Strategy
Write-Up
Business Process Outsourcing:
• AP / Bill Payment
• AR / Collections
• Journal Entries / Period
Reconciliation
• Cash Management and
Reconciliation
• Tax Filing
• Financial Statements
Advisory
Transactional
What SMBs Want From Their AccountantMajority of businesses continue to live in “old world” of
desktop software
Adoption of cloud services limited to add-ons that connect
to the cloud, such as merchant services or online banking
The Sleeter Group research published 2014
http://www.sleeter.com/blog/2014/04/smbs-
want-accountant-2014-update/
Top 3 - How SMBs Selected Accountant
• Expertise
• Responsiveness
• Proactive Strategic Advice
Top 3 - Services Desired Outside of Services Already
Received
• Business Planning
• Business Strategy
• Dashboards to monitor business
#1 Reason why SMBs LEAVE accountants
• Does not give proactive advice, only reactive
CPA as the Expert in Technology
Almost half of SMBs WANT a CPA who is proactive in
helping them plan and implement technology changes
Almost 80% of SMBs said their CPA isn’t proactive in
helping them plan and implement technology changes
Significant opportunity for firms to differentiate themselves
in the market by providing technology-related services and
to market themselves as being experts in technology
If nearly half of SMBs want the help and almost 80% of
accountants aren’t providing the help, then the doors are
wide open for someone to step through and fill the demand
What’s Driving the Change
Increased demand by businesses
Lack the staff, the skills, or the desire to manage accounting
processes themselves
Economy, many looking to reduce non-revenue expenses
Need to focus on their core business
Technology available
Advanced cloud applications that easily integrate
Offer scalable, cost-effective platforms
Standardization of processes
Improved operational efficiencies
Does Your Tax Team Know About Your Services?
Are they aware of the growth opportunity?
Opportunity to not only grow profits, but also grow the
relationships with your clients
Additional services that extend well beyond the periodic delivery of
reports and financial statements
Firms that offer outsourced accounting are providing services
throughout the year and building stronger and longer-term
relationships with clients
Are they up to speed on SSARS21
GETTING THE CONVERSATION STARTED
19
Is Your Tax Team Talking About What YOU Do?
Your tax team is in front of ALL your prospects
This could be SELLING season for you
Partner with your colleagues to ensure they know the types of
services you can provide
Quick and easy way to gain insight into needs of clients and
generate more business
Get them ASKING clients about their business!
Conversation Starters
It’s easy for your tax team to get their clients talking since they
already have a great relationship – simply arm them with good
probing questions, such as:
What are your growth goals for your business?
Would you like to receive special reports to run your business -
Weekly? Monthly?
Would you like to have a dashboard where you see your daily
cash flow?
Is it difficult to keep a good bookkeeper?
Would you like to NOT pay us next year to clean up your records?
What is your biggest pain point with your business?
Would you like help with Budgets? Forecasting?
They might be surprised by the answers
CASE STUDY
22
About PBMares
PBMares is a leading accounting and business consulting firm serving the
U.S. and international clients
Offices in the Mid-Atlantic, cloud based all over the world
250 employees
Full range of financial and advisory services
o Management consulting
o Pension plan design and administration
o Investment management
o Accounting and auditing
o comprehensive taxation and planning.
o The main service is to make a difference!
Client Accounting Services
Offered through our PBMares Pathway group
o Developed to distinguish these services, which help provide direction for clients
Transactional Services
Controllership, CFO and Consultant/Advisor Services
Industries supported with custom solutions that fit unique business needs
include:
o Not for Profit
o Winery/Vineyard
o Software and SaaS
o Professional Services
o Ecommerce/Retail sales
Value of Services
Professional-strength, game-changing financial solutions
Rapid deployment with unlimited flexibility to adapt to clients’ evolving
business needs
Real-time visibility into clients’ business performance, giving us the ability
to provide clients with deep insights into their business at any time
Superior return on investment
Access to leading technologies
Expanding Accounting Services
Collaborate with tax team with the main goal of increasing
awareness, both internally and externally
Ensure client facing staff members are aware when they hear client
pain points that trigger the need for Pathway Accounting
Internal education:
Roadshow presentations
Staff meetings
Reminder to other service lines in meetings
Constant badgering!
Included in other niche advertisements
Discovering Opportunities
Ensure everyone at the firm understands who we are and what our
services are
Review examples of conversation starters and client opportunities and
provide a case study
o Power Point
o Internal flyers
o Post reminders on the intranet
o Email blast
Identifying Opportunities with Tax Clients
Encourage tax team to ask the following questions:
o What is your biggest headache with your business?
o Would you like to have real-time reports instead of old, “after the
fact” reports?
o Is it difficult to keep a good bookkeeper? Are you the bookkeeper?
o What are your growth goals?
o Would you like help with budgets?
o Would you like to see your daily cash flow on a dashboard? 24/7?
o Would you like to end the “surprise” tax balance due at year end?
Challenges
Receive questions in the following areas
Security of tools
Role changes within the firm
Client point of contact
Results & Recommendations
Results:
o Growth from 2 clients to 5 clients by the end of tax season in 2015
o Increased to 9 by clients year-end 12/31/2015 and 3 are multi-entity
o Implementation fees range from $4,000-$24,000
o Firm support has increased with our success and we feel we are moving toward
being more of a firm “service” rather than a firm “niche”
Recommendations:
o Provide case studies and team up with tax team members
o Provide information for client services to email or to place in client hands when
questions arise
GETTING STARTED
31
How to Get Started
Develop questions to provide to the tax team that
will help you identify the needs of clients and where
there are opportunities to help solve problems
Get everyone on the same page - meet with your
tax team to ensure they understand what you do
and how you can work together
o Educate your colleagues on the types of services you
can provide and how they should be positioning them
Put your plan in place and set goals
Follow up with an email that outlines the project and
the materials following your conference call or in-
person meeting
Materials to Provide to Tax Team
Provide a quick “sales” pitch, key benefits of these services
Ensure your website is updated with this information and send the link to your colleagues
Create note cards with your top 5 questions
Put cards in the lobby or meeting room with your top 5 questions
Have them give clients your business card letting them know your firm offers these additional services
Check in at different points with your tax colleagues to see how it’s going
CPA.COM PREFERRED PARTNER TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
34
Manage Clients’ Payables and Receivables
Automates and streamlines clients’ payables and
receivables processes
Built in audit trail
Permission based user roles
Workflow management
Electronic document storage
Accounting software synchronization
Eliminate conditions for fraud
Firm Success with Bill.com
Internal processing time for bills reduced from hours to minutes. One account is only taking 10 minutes/month and previously took hours to pay 20 bills.
Migration to online review, approval and hosting of invoices and documents putting vital information at the firm’s and clients’ fingertips.
Reduced bill payment time for clients by 50%-75%
On-Demand Financial Data Monitoring and Reporting
Best-in-class cloud accounting and financial management
software
Collaborate with clients using the same information in real-
time
Focus on clients of different sizes, in different fields, with
the same ease and authority to serve a variety of needs
Allows firm to act as a business advisor/controller/CFO
Core modules include: General Ledger, Accounts
Payable, Accounts Receivable, Cash Management, Order
Entry, Purchasing, Employee Expenses
Additional features: Customized Reporting, Personalized
Dashboards, Multi-Entity Consolidation
Firm Success with Intacct
40-50% average cost savings for their outsourced accounting clients.
Helped reduce a national restaurant client’s month-end close from 3-4 weeks to just 1 week
Commits to a 10-day close on financials initially and resolves to get that down to 3 or 4 days.
Firm Benefits
Access and manage client data securely 24/7 - Double hours
in proactive consultation
Serve more clients with the same staff by reducing travel time
data management issues, and by leveraging automation and
standardization
Update and share data instantly across the firm
Reduce the time to fix data errors, reconcile books, and travel
to the client
Quickly view and analyze information through reports
Eliminate overhead and capital expense of managing
software and hardware
Increase overall billings by offering higher-value, trusted
advisor services
QUESTIONS?
Stay ConnectedMore information on CPA.com partner solutions
o CPA.COM/BILL
o CPA.COM/INTACCT
Additional questions:
Twitter: @CPAcom
#DigitalCPA
Blog: CPA.com/blog
May 12-13, 2016
New York, NY
June 13-14, 2016
Chicago, IL
Learn more:
CPA.com/casworkshop