How Technology Is Changing the Services Accounting Firms Can Offer

Technology doesn’t just change how accounting firms work. It can change what they sell, who they serve and which services they can deliver profitably.

That shift creates new opportunities for accounting firms and changes what their technology needs to support.

In the Is Tech Driving the Future Firm? MasterClass, Jason Croston, Managing Partner at SRJ Walker Wayland, explains how technology and offshore capacity helped the firm move beyond a bookkeeping service it struggled to deliver competitively and build a broader outsourced finance offering.

The commercial opportunity lies in changing how a service is delivered. It’s not just in making existing work faster.

When a Service Becomes Commercially Viable

SRJ had tried to establish a bookkeeping service before. Its cost structure meant the firm struggled to compete with other bookkeeping providers or, in some cases, the cost of an in-house finance function.

The service was difficult to deliver at a competitive price.

Technology and more efficient offshore delivery helped change that. SRJ developed CFO Solutions around a broader proposition: providing an outsourced finance function for businesses that needed consistent financial support but didn't want to build and maintain the entire function internally.

Rather than selling individual bookkeeping tasks, the firm could offer a more comprehensive solution to a business need.

This is an important distinction in accounting firm digital transformation. The opportunity is not limited to automating existing work. Combining technology with a different delivery model can help make services commercially viable that previously weren’t.

For accounting firms, that can open possibilities beyond their traditional service mix. It also gives their technology partners a reason to understand the services those firms want to develop, not just the systems they use today.

From Selling Tasks to Delivering a Business Function

Selling a bookkeeping service is different from providing an outsourced finance function.

One is often defined by the tasks performed. The other is defined by the business need it addresses.

A growing business needs consistent financial information and a dependable finance function without the cost and complexity of employing an internal team. An accounting firm can meet that need by providing a broader service rather than completing individual tasks.

That changes the conversation with a prospective client.

Instead of comparing the price of individual tasks, the discussion can focus on what the business needs, what it would take to deliver that capability in-house and what an outsourced arrangement offers.

Jason explains how SRJ’s model supports businesses that struggle to maintain a consistent finance function. These clients can access that capability without having to employ an entire team or establish the necessary infrastructure themselves.

This is where outsourced CFO services become relevant to the wider evolution of accounting firms’ offerings. The opportunity isn’t simply to add another service to a website. It’s to develop an offering that addresses a real client need and can be delivered sustainably.

Not every accounting firm needs to pursue this model. The right service depends on the clients a firm wants to serve, the problems it can solve and whether its delivery model makes commercial sense.

Why Offshore Capacity Is About More Than Cost

A new service idea is not enough on its own. A firm must be able to deliver it at a cost and level of quality that work for both the business and its clients.

That is where technology and an offshoring strategy can become commercially important.

In Jason’s example, technology and more efficient offshore delivery helped SRJ offer a viable outsourced finance function. The change made it possible to serve clients whose needs SRJ had struggled to meet profitably through its earlier approach.

But offshore capacity is not a business model in itself. It must support a clear service proposition, balancing delivery costs, service quality and the people needed to manage and develop the work.

Jason also cautions against taking offshoring too far. He points out that firms can become highly profitable while neglecting the development of their own people and creating succession challenges. Decisions about delivery capacity therefore have implications beyond immediate costs.

For accounting firms, the question is not simply whether offshore delivery is cheaper. It is whether the model supports the service they want to offer, meets clients’ expectations and preserves the firm’s longer-term capabilities.

A changing delivery model can affect the systems, integrations, access arrangements and operational support an accounting firm needs. Understanding the business model helps MSPs see the bigger picture. They can address the business needs behind technical requests.

The Value of a Service Must Be Clear to the Client

A service can be valuable without its value being obvious.

Jason discusses how accountants can lack confidence in pricing the value they deliver. When firms focus too narrowly on individual tasks, they risk making the price the centre of the conversation instead of explaining the wider service the client receives.

The value of an outsourced finance function goes beyond a list of bookkeeping activities. It includes access to a consistent finance capability without the client having to build and maintain the entire function internally.

That value needs to be communicated clearly. Otherwise, a client may compare the offering with a narrower service and conclude that the price is too high.

The same principle applies when MSPs discuss their services with accounting firms. Technical specifications and delivery costs rarely tell the whole commercial story. Understanding what the accounting firm is trying to deliver and how its technology environment supports that service creates a stronger basis for discussing business impact.

MSPs don’t need to turn every technical conversation into a sales pitch. They need to understand the firm’s direction and recognise when a technology requirement supports a wider service or growth objective

That’s part of what accounting firms expect from their MSPs beyond IT support: a partner who understands the business context behind its technology needs.

What This Means for MSPs Serving Accounting Firms

Accounting firms do not all want to grow in the same way. Some will continue to focus on traditional compliance services; others may expand their advisory work, develop outsourced finance offerings or pursue different client segments.

Those ambitions can shape their technology requirements.

An MSP that understands only the firm’s current technical environment can miss the significance of a changing service model. Understanding how the firm intends to deliver and grow its services makes it easier to recognise the operational implications.

That starts with understanding the business behind the technology: which services the firm wants to provide, which clients it wants to serve and what its delivery model needs to support.

Jason’s experience offers a useful example. Technology and offshore capacity helped SRJ move beyond a bookkeeping service it struggled to deliver competitively towards an outsourced finance function that addressed a broader client need.

The services an accounting firm can offer are shaped, in part, by the economics and capabilities of how it delivers them.

For MSPs, understanding that connection can also help them make smarter technology decisions for accounting firms. The conversation shifts from responding to immediate requests towards understanding what the business needs its technology to make possible.

Explore the Thinking Behind SRJ’s CFO Solutions

How did SRJ move beyond its earlier bookkeeping model? What role did technology and offshore delivery play? And what does it take to build a service that clients see as valuable?

In the Is Tech Driving the Future Firm? MasterClass, Jason Croston shares more about SRJ Walker Wayland’s CFO Solutions offering and the commercial thinking behind its development.

Request the MasterClass recording to hear Jason’s perspective and explore what changing service models mean for MSPs serving accounting firms.