How LiveCA made a smooth migration to the cloud with Caseware ReviewComp 

LiveCA, a fully virtual Canadian accounting firm operating on Mac devices, successfully migrated from desktop-based Caseware Working Papers to cloud-based Caseware ReviewComp in just two months. The transition eliminated the firm's dependency on remote Windows servers, enabled real-time collaboration across its national team, and delivered faster engagement turnaround through standardized templates and automated workflows.

Key Highlights:  

• LiveCA needed a unified way to manage growing compliance demands and firm-wide consistency while reducing manual work and version control issues. The firm was also maintaining costly remote Windows servers to run desktop software on its Mac-based infrastructure.

• The firm adopted Caseware ReviewComp, a cloud-based engagement management platform for Canadian accounting firms performing review and compilation engagements, to streamline engagement management, standardize processes and enable secure, efficient collaboration across its virtual team.

• With ReviewComp, LiveCA achieved faster engagement turnaround, stronger consistency and improved collaboration through standardized templates and real-time cloud access, while eliminating the need for remote Windows servers.

“ReviewComp has allowed us to focus on providing the best services to our clients, enabling us to spend our time on the client work rather than on administrative and redundant tasks — it just works.”

James Cleaveley, Director of Tax, LiveCA 

About LiveCA

LiveCA is a fully virtual accounting firm serving clients across Canada. With a distributed team working in every province and operating on Mac devices, the firm delivers a comprehensive suite of services including bookkeeping, payroll, payables, controller-level advisory, tax and compilation engagements. As a cloud-first organization, LiveCA sought technology solutions that would support its virtual operating model.

Why LiveCA needed to move off desktop software

LiveCA was growing rapidly in a landscape of evolving regulatory requirements and rising client expectations. The firm needed a way to manage more complex engagements efficiently, improve collaboration across its national team, and reduce the risks of inconsistent templates and version control. 

Maintaining multiple software versions, coordinating manual updates and managing version conflicts across users was time-consuming and difficult. LiveCA wanted a single, standardized platform that could support compliance, provide firm-wide consistency and speed up engagement turnaround. 

As a fully virtual firm operating exclusively on Mac devices, LiveCA had been maintaining remote Windows servers to run desktop-based Caseware Working Papers, adding extra cost and complexity to its operations. The firm needed a solution that could eliminate these workarounds. 

How LiveCA migrated to cloud-based engagement management

In 2022, after several years of monitoring the cloud-based Caseware Platform's development, LiveCA made the decision to migrate from Caseware Working Papers to Caseware ReviewComp.

Running on the Caseware Platform, ReviewComp is designed for Canadian firms performing review and compilation engagements and comes fully integrated with PEG (Professional Engagement Guide) content. It enables teams to prepare, review and finalize financial statements collaboratively and securely from any location. The solution automates data linking and referencing, reducing manual errors while its built-in workflow, checklists and digital sign-off features streamline the entire engagement process. With integrated client collaboration tools, ReviewComp helps firms work more efficiently and deliver higher-quality results without the limitations of traditional desktop software.

ReviewComp met all of LiveCA's needs for compilation engagements and provided a secure, centralized environment for its national team.

The Caseware Platform provides enterprise-grade security backed by ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and SOC 2 Type 2 certifications, demonstrating that its controls for security, availability, confidentiality and privacy have been independently audited and validated. Canadian customers also benefit from Canadian data residency, with all client information stored in secure AWS data centres located within Canada, supporting firms in meeting local regulatory, privacy and professional-standards requirements.

Migration process

LiveCA completed the migration from Caseware Working Papers to ReviewComp by following these key steps:

1. Evaluation and planning: After several years of monitoring the Caseware Platform's development, LiveCA assessed ReviewComp's capabilities against their firm's requirements for compilation engagements.
2. Dedicated support engagement: Caseware assigned a dedicated support contact to guide LiveCA through the migration process and answer all questions.
3. Data migration: The firm leveraged ReviewComp's integrations with QuickBooks Online and Xero to import multiple years of trial balances without manual data entry.
4. Template standardization: LiveCA used the Planning Optimiser to standardize engagement setup and automate questionnaires, client letters and financial statement notes.
5. Go-live and adoption: The complete migration was finished in just two months, with the team fully operational on the new platform.

"We had a dedicated individual we could go to for all of our migration questions," says James Cleaveley, Director of Tax with LiveCA. "It wasn't just, 'Here's the software, go figure it out.' The support was extensive and quick, and it set us up for success from the very beginning."

ReviewComp's integrations with QuickBooks Online and Xero made importing multiple years of trial balances simple, removing the need for manual data entry. The firm also took advantage of the software's Planning Optimiser to standardize engagement setup and automate questionnaires, client letters and financial statement notes. "I can set up everything we need with a few clicks," said Cleaveley. "Every file starts with the right structure and it saves our team significant time."

Caseware's Planning Optimiser is an intelligent setup tool that tailors each engagement based on a short series of guided questions. By automatically including only the relevant checklists, procedures and client documents for the engagement type, it helps firms start every file with the right content in place. This streamlines setup, eliminates unnecessary work and ensures consistency and accuracy across all engagements.

Cleaveley also highlighted how ReviewComp simplifies financial statement notes. The platform provides a PEG-compliant library of pre-built notes that firms can customize at the template level, ensuring every engagement starts with accurate, consistent disclosures. According to Cleaveley, this standardized approach saves time and gives reviewers confidence that all notes follow the correct format without the variability often seen in desktop fil

Results: Faster engagements, consistent quality and no Windows server

LiveCA achieved the following outcomes after migrating to Caseware ReviewComp:

• Eliminated remote Windows server dependency: The Mac-based team no longer requires costly Windows server infrastructure to run engagement software.
• Achieved real-time cloud access: The national virtual team can collaborate securely from any location without version control issues.
• Standardized templates firm-wide: All engagements now start from consistent, up-to-date firm-level templates.
• Reduced engagement setup time: The Planning Optimiser automates questionnaires, client letters and financial statement notes with a few clicks.
• Improved reviewer confidence: Standardized processes ensure consistent quality across all engagements.

Faster engagement turnaround

LiveCA saw immediate improvements in preparation and review time. Optimizers and standardized templates helped automate engagement setup.

Consistent quality and reduced risk

Each new Caseware ReviewComp engagement starts from an updated firm-level template rather than a rolled-forward file. "It makes me less concerned as a reviewer," said Cleaveley. "I don't have to wonder what's been modified in the financial statements. Everyone's operating in the same system at the same time."

Simplified updates and governance

Only a few designated staff can modify firm templates, ensuring consistency and control. Updates automatically cascade to all new engagements without the need for manual distribution or email reminders.

Enhanced collaboration

The move to ReviewComp allowed LiveCA to link working papers directly to Google Sheets, giving multiple staff the ability to collaborate live without versioning issues. "It's been a game changer," says James. "Everyone knows the file they're working on is the final version."

The future 

For LiveCA, ReviewComp represents more than a technology shift. It is the foundation for a secure, scalable and fully virtual accounting model. With seamless integration, standardized processes and automated updates, the firm is positioned to focus less on administration and more on delivering value to clients.

As Cleavely put it, "ReviewComp has allowed us to focus on providing the best services to our clients, enabling us to spend our time on the client work rather than on administrative and redundant tasks — it just works."

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