The Case for One-Stop-Shop Accounting

By Dina Elzayat

In the late 1920s or early 1930s, a term originated in the US to describe a business model that offers customers the convenience of having multiple needs met in one location, instead of having to "drive all over the town" to attain related services at different stores: One Stop Shop.

When you hear the term One Stop Shop in business, what visual picture does your mind paint? Maybe it's an office where multiple services are provided.

Now imagine a more digital form of a One Stop Shop. Like, an app or a website, where a single tap or hitting the refresh button unfolds the world’s news before you. 

But, what if your needs can’t be solved by a single click or even a single feature? What happens when achieving your goal requires dozens of steps, expert advice and ongoing motivation and inspiration?

In the accounting and assurance sector for instance -- where compliance, security, automation and workflow complexity come in to play -- can the simplicity of a One Stop Shop be realized?

Emergence of a Canadian product suite

The pinnacle of delivering satisfaction to accounting firms is understanding the depth of the relationship between CPAs and their clients. CPAs listen to clients and really understand their goals and aspirations. Accounting firms are their clients’ most trusted advisors.

Caseware started the “One-Stop” experience by fusing review, compilation and tax in one Cloud application. Audit, PBC and analytics apps followed, and an overall customer offering was born - the Caseware Suite.

With that mindset, Caseware Canada’s army of CPAs and industry specialists decided to beat the ordinary and take a holistic approach to how they evaluate and deliver requirements.

Head of Product Erin Leckie talks about her interaction with partners and managers of accounting firms during webinars and demos, ”Accounting firms are looking for that one platform that covers all of the firm’s work, that is, more engagement types. With that in mind, our action plan became: Build integrated engagement solutions based on one platform”.

A single platform delivers on the convenience of:

• A better experience - One consistent look, feel and style.
• An efficient mode of operation - One process for all, which saves time wasted on hand-offs from one process or application to another.
• Integration and centralization - Multiple integrated engagement solutions centralized in one platform.
• A reduced learning curve - Firm staff no longer need to learn or explore multiple platforms to cater for different client service offerings.

David Hood, edit-in-chief of Accounting Today, highlights in this article that firms’ clients are also looking for a single source of tax and financial services - and CPAs are uniquely positioned to be that source.

In that sense, Caseware started the “One-Stop” experience by fusing review, compilation and tax in one Cloud application. Then, building on the success and momentum achieved with the first app, audit, PBC and analytics apps followed, and an overall customer offering was born - the Caseware Suite. 

“We’re bringing in engagement solutions, practice management and engagement management in one place. In addition to that, the integration between the apps in the suite reduces errors and eliminates tons of redundant tasks”, adds Leckie.

Caseware Suite - a true One Stop Shop offering

The everlasting pool of accounting software has made it hard for firms to cut through the noise. Questions like, is this the best tax accounting solution? Is this a reliable provider? Maybe try another software for business services? - and they often end up overwhelmed. 

The Caseware Suite saves firms time and energy by providing a single Cloud platform that does it all competently and diligently. 

To that point, here is a glimpse of what the suite offers:

• Caseware ReviewCompTax (RCT): Intelligently combines review, compilation and tax engagements in one workflow. Engagements are completed faster with automated processes, real-time collaboration, and value-added insights. 
• Provided By Clients (PBC) Requests: Redefines staff-client collaboration through seamless communication, secure file exchange and tracking clients’ responses and more.
• Audit: Efficiently handles client communication through the integration with PBC Requests, manages risk assessment, and provides value-added analysis graphs, which reduces time spent on manual tasks, and auditors can focus on areas of remit instead.
• AnalyticsAI: Utilizes AI and automated analysis to glean data and provide in-depth insights to areas of potential risk.

Now is the time!

As we cautiously transition to a post-COVID19 state, now is the time to have a versatile and comprehensive portfolio of service offerings to solidify your firm’s position in the market - which will then translate to enormous business opportunities.

Explore the Caseware Suite and create opportunities for today!

Dina Elzayat is a UX and technical content writer at Caseware International, and a regular contributor to our blog.