Chapter 3: Do You Need a Different Mindset to Offer CAS?
Editor's Note: The following is an exclusive excerpt from Hitendra Patil's bestselling book, "The Definitive Success Guide to Client Accounting Services." In our continuing effort to build our content community, Insightful Accountant is partnering on this series with Patil, one of the profession's leading authorities on accounting technology and the delivery of client accounting services.
It was the 10th of May 2012.
Over dinner on that quiet mid-spring evening at a classic traditional Italian restaurant, I met the owner of one of my largest clients, only after about five years of providing services to his firm. His firm had chosen a particular niche industry to serve and ONLY that. He was doing well — over 3.5 million in annual revenue, growing consistently, and employing 39 staff members. In any given week, two new clients were being onboarded via a very detailed process, moving clients’ accounting databases and processes into his firm.
He would NOT take on any new client unless the client handed over ALL of the accounting work responsibilities to the firm.
All or none.
It was contrary to the way many of my other clients would do when trying to sign on new clients.
I asked him.
How can you afford to “lose” new clients, especially when they “want to” work with your firm?
His answer intrigued me.
“Do you go to a doctor and tell him/her how to treat you, which tests to perform and what medicines to use? No. You trust the Doctor to perform professionally. More than that, you trust the Doctor to have only one purpose — to make you healthy/healthier. Accountants are no different. Those who come to accountants and tell accountants what to do and how to, do NOT trust accountants to be professionals who work in THEIR (clients’) interest. I do not want to work with those who do not value professional accounting and accountants.”
In essence, what he was doing was putting to work his specialist, niche-specific accounting processes to good work, for his clients AND for his firm’s revenue and profit growth. And he wasn’t allowing clients to lead the accounting processes. He was not willing to follow clients’ procedures — which he knew couldn’t be professional accounting processes as his clients were not professional accountants.
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After a pause to sip his drink, he further said:
“I am a professional accountant. I do the client’s accounting. The client does his/her business. Accounting is my business.”
But, I said, ITALIC “Every business has urgent purchases and payments to make. How can business owners wait for the accountant to process those from a different office miles away?”
“I give them remote access to perform their business functions whenever and from wherever they want. Accounting for those? Only I (and my team) do,” he said calmly and took another sip of his drink.
He had figured out, after nearly 20 years in the accounting business, that what clients call accounting and process in their accounting software is not accounting. It is just essential for some business functions. They use accounting software like a mini/micro ERP system, as one of the critical software, to run their business operations.
He moved (his firm predominantly used desktop accounting software then) the accounting software from his clients’ once to his firm’s once. He took over all the IT infrastructure management of maintaining, backup, storage, and security of clients’ accounting software. But he made sure clients did not experience any operational difference at their offices.
There was one HUGE difference that clients did experience. Growth of their businesses — with regular, consistent, timely professional accounting and the insights that came out from such professional accounting. It helped clients make better business decisions — with the help of their professional accountant.
This accountant was different (actually, I later learned he wasn’t really different. He was very similar to many accountants who thought just like him). His mindset was different. He understood his own value and the value his firm was capable of delivering to his clients. And he did not want to allow anyone to dilute that value. He wanted his clients to receive the best value a professional accountant can deliver.
THAT was his “filter.” His mindset.
“Professional Accountants Do Client Accounting.”
His firm’s internal processes reflected that mindset. His marketing and sales processes reflected it. He had the CAS mindset (well, the terminology — CAS — was not invented then, but he already had the CAS mindset). Since then, over the years, I met many more accountants like him — with the same mindset
“Professional accountants do client accounting.” I keep meeting more of them now. I am now meeting increasingly more number of accountants who want to know how to achieve such results as my clients did — and experience the joy, the fulfillment that the professional pride it brings along.
Hitendra R. Patil is one of the profession's leading authorities on accounting technology and the delivery of client accounting services. He is the bestselling author of “The Definitive Success Guide to Client Accounting Services.”
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UID HP21CAS-210414-D4GHM-MB4F2J-9FD256-L3WXMT
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