What if focusing on client retention instead of rapid growth could unlock a more sustainable CAS firm? In this episode of CAS Clarity in 5, Questian Telka shares how mission-driven work, the right KPIs, and documented processes shaped her nonprofit-focused practice.

🌐 She Counts Podcast: https://shecountspodcast.com
🔗 Questian Telka on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/questian-telka-ea/

👉 Subscribe to The CAS Cache newsletter for full insights and weekly CAS strategies: https://cas.beehiiv.com/

A question from The Kick C@$ Community Roundtable sparked a deeper conversation about advisory within accounting firms that want to offer CAS.

In this episode, I break down why advisory struggles are rarely about training and more about alignment, communication, and capacity. I share hard-earned lessons from building real-time bookkeeping, insights from Greg Crabtree, and two practical ways to expand advisory without burning out your team.

If you’re thinking about scaling CAS advisory, this is the filter to start with.

What if avoiding bookkeeping entirely could actually weaken your advisory work? In this episode, Luke Templin breaks down how a single CAS client revealed the limitations of delivering CFO and advisory services without reliable bookkeeping fundamentals in place.

Luke shares why he originally built a fractional CFO firm that deliberately avoided bookkeeping and what forced him to rethink that model. When client books became inconsistent, delayed, and unreliable during tax season. The solution wasn’t reviving full-service bookkeeping, but designing a narrow, advisory-aligned bookkeeping experiment focused on one objective: accurate numbers that support advisory.

Sponsored by TeamUp. Learn how to hire a full-time accountant in the Philippines without an outsourcing middleman at hireteamup.ph.

What if your CAS firm’s real superpower was making business fun again for clients by killing cashflow stress and focusing on one core KPI?

In this episode:

🎯 Firm Goal/Mission: Make business fun for clients

⚙️ Favorite Tech Tool: Reach Reporting

📊 Favorite KPI: Gross profit margin

🔑 Getting Unstuck: A quick ChatGPT brainstorm

🔮 Did Sooner: Launch a newsletter + EOS L10 Meetings

 🌐 Momentum Accounting
🔗 Nikole's LinkedIn

👉 Subscribe to The CAS Cache newsletter for full insights and weekly CAS strategies

In this episode, I talk about why I’ve avoided offering bookkeeping in my fractional CFO firm for nearly five years. It goes back to burnout from public accounting, payroll emergencies, bill pay disasters, and the realization that full-service bookkeeping is a zero-sum game.

I share real stories, including processing payroll from a car during a family trip and the time a client bypassed controls and wired more than $50,000 to a bad actor. These experiences shaped how I built my firm and why I stayed out of bookkeeping for so long.

But now I am reconsidering it. One of my clients is consistently months behind because their accountant is split between bookkeeping and tax work. It slows down my team and limits the strategic value we can deliver. So we are exploring a controlled, light-touch bookkeeping model that supports advisory without going back to full-service chaos.

Sponsored by TeamUp. Learn how to hire a full-time accountant in the Philippines without an outsourcing middleman at teamup.ph.

What if letting go of perfection unlocked more client value in your accounting firm?

In this episode of CAS Clarity in 5, Roman Villard, Founder of Full Send, shares how embracing materiality, running to clear his head, and committing to automation helped him build a more innovative, more intentional CAS firm.

🌐 Full Send: https://www.thefullsend.com/
🔗 Roman’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rdvcpa/

👉 Subscribe to The CAS Cache newsletter for full insights and weekly CAS strategies: https://cas.beehiiv.com/

What if automation could simplify accounting and make it more meaningful?

In this episode of CAS Clarity in 5, Tailor Hartman, Founder of Celerity, shares how tools like Missive and a proactive mindset helped him build a more efficient, human-first accounting firm.

🌐 Celerity
🔗 Tailor Hartman’s LinkedIn
📰 The Net Effect Newsletter

👉 Subscribe to The CAS Cache for weekly CAS strategies and firm growth insights: https://cas.beehiiv.com/

The billable hour is burning out accounting talent, and it’s not just a staffing problem. It’s a measurement problem.

In this episode of The CAS Cache, Luke Templin shares why the billable hour has become the worst KPI in accounting and how the Labor Efficiency Ratio (LER) offers a more innovative alternative.

You’ll learn:

• Why utilization is a lagging indicator
• How LER measures value instead of time
• The mindset shift firms need to move from compliance to advisory

🔗Join The Kick C@$ Community to connect with other CAS leaders tackling the same items as you.
😎Sponsored by Full Stadium Marketing

In this episode of CAS Clarity in 5, Chase Birky, CEO of Dark Horse CPAs, shares how he turned personal burnout into a mission to help CPAs build thriving firms without losing balance. He discusses his firm’s goals, favorite tools, KPIs, and how embracing the CEO role transformed his company’s growth.

Guest Link: 🌐 abetterway.cpa

When $100M Money Models sold 2.9 million copies in a single day, millions of entrepreneurs started looking for help turning those frameworks into real profit.

In this episode, we break down how CAS and accounting firms can meet that demand by applying the same “money model” principles inside client financials:

• How to rebuild the chart of accounts so gross profit tells a story
• Why gross profit, CAC, and lifetime value should drive pricing decisions
• How to use the book to strategize on price
• A simple 3-meeting “Money Model Baseline” you can run with clients this month

If you want your firm to move beyond compliance and into high-value advisory work, this episode is your roadmap.

🔗The Kick C@$ Community
😎Sponsored by Full Stadium Marketing