TWR Podcast 69: The Future of CAS

In this episode of The Woodard Report podcast, sponsored by Expensify and Fyle, hosts Joe Woodard and Heather Satterley discuss the future of Client Accounting Services (CAS). Woodard outlines 6 "fusions" that will shape the future of CAS, including the integration of workflow and accounting systems, humans and bots, and accounting and advisory services.

Joe Woodard said of the transformation on the horizon:

"The future of CAS will be a series of fusions .....financial record keeping as a professional service is the travel agency of this decade. It will not exist after this decade."

The fusion of general ledger and workflow solutions - Workflow solutions will integrate more deeply with accounting systems to streamline tasks.
The fusion of client communications and workflow - Workflow solutions will automatically ingest client documents like W9s to the right task.
The fusion of humans and bots - AI and automation will handle more routine accounting tasks.
The fusion of credentialed and non-credentialed professionals - More accounting work will be done by non-CPAs.
The fusion of real and virtual worlds - Virtual/augmented reality will transform client interactions.
The fusion of accounting and advisory - Accountants will provide more operational advisory services like cash flow management and spend controls, not just compliance services.

He explains that basic bookkeeping and data entry will be largely automated, enabling accountants to provide more value-added advisory services to their clients. The hosts emphasize how technology and AI will elevate the accounting profession in the years ahead.

The episode also covers industry trends, movie quotes, Heather's favorite intentionality journal, and the duo's favorite social media posts of the week. Woodard and Satterley outline a future where accountants fuse innovative solutions and human expertise to become true advisors and controllers for their clients.