Professional Accountants at the office
Tax & AccountingLegalNovember 28, 2021

True North Business Advisory - Case Study CCH iFirm

In early 2021 True North implemented the CCH iFirm Practice Management, Client Portal and Tax modules. This allowed the Firm’s bookkeeping and accounting team to understand current workloads and assign and prioritise workflow for future client jobs accordingly.

Plus, it would allow the Firm accurate practice management reporting overcoming the triple whammy challenge of workflow management, streamlined allocation of resources, and ongoing development of a high-performance team.

True North Business Advisory supports critical growth milestones CASE STUDY with 100% digitised workflow.

True North Business Advisory is a 4-year-old Accounting Firm based in Melbourne which recently pivoted from spreadsheets to the multi-award-winning 100% cloud-based practice management software, CCH iFirm. Prior to CCH iFirm, True North was relying on spreadsheets for its day-to-day job management and client servicing, resulting in non-scalable practice management process – which at times weren’t clear, nor efficient, for the team.

The Principal, Gavin Knight, knew having consistent processes and all reporting information at hand would prove critical for the firm’s continued growth. Digitising systems to make sure all documentation was 100% transparent would give the team the structure to identify and offer value-add advisory opportunities and, ultimately, support firm growth. work. In short, CCH iFirm was a key tool in future proofing its practice.

Adopting the CCH iFirm ecosystem, including CCH iFirm Practice Manager, CCH iFirm Client Portal and CCH iFirm Tax allowed us to fully digitalise our workflows, professionalise our service offering and practice management processes, and identify advisory opportunities. Implementing a cloud-based system lets us scale and flex to support our significant annual growth targets.
Gavin Knight CPA – Principal and Founder

Challenges

  • Build an efficient automated practice management system in the cloud
  • Identify value-add client advisory opportunities
  • Manage write-downs and forecasts

Solution: Establishing Practice Management Benchmarks

Gavin transferred the data held within spreadsheets into CCH iFirm, immediately resolving one major issue he had – his time commitment needed to maintain multiple spreadsheets to track and manage the practice.

The next implementation phase involved the team as they now completed client jobs in a new paperless process. Clients are now also onboarded with a consistent Firm-wide processes, and the way team members work is transparent to everyone in the team. This means the team now follows the established industry benchmark process which allows them to maintain high professional standards.

The final phase of this roadmap included the client facing component – and the delivery of efficient and timely accounting, advisory and BAS services. Clients would now review their tax returns produced in CCH iFirm Tax, sign them via an electronic signature integration –allowing the team to communicate securely with clients through CCH iFirm Client Portal.

It was all part of the plan how CCH iFirm and its suite of robust modules would deliver the 100% transparency and accountability the Firm needs for future growth.

Product Solution

  • CCH iFirm Practice Manager
  • CCH iFirm Client Portal
  • CCH iFirm Tax

The ongoing benefits of accounting practice management software

Today, the CCH iFirm ecosystem is the foundation of True North Business Advisory – harnessing all workflow and communications with clients in an easy-to-read dashboard and reporting system. The dashboard is used as a touchpoint for the entire team. Team meetings provide the data the Firm needs to understand the cycle time on how long jobs take to be closed.

The Firm loves how they can flex and move jobs around if one team member has more capacity than another. It helps them forecast and manage peaks and troughs in workloads. With greater measurability and awareness, the Firm’s performance is expected to continue to improve each year. Also allowing Gavin more time to work on his business and his clients’ businesses as a virtual CFO.

I would say the implementation of CCH iFirm has deepened my relationships, and enabled us to widen our service offering, to clients. It has allowed me to identify and resolve challenges for clients while creating value-added advisory and revenue opportunities for True North. It’s a win-win.
Gavin Knight CPA – Principal and Founder

Transforming profitability

A cloud-based accounting practice management platform was the extremely practical decision for the business. The CCH iFirm dashboard allows full transparency during the weekly client status updates have given Gavin and the team the ability to track – and transform – the profitability levels of clients and the Firm.

This approach has helped the Firm review and monitor both the efficiency and profitability of fixed-fee clients. Tracking the profitability levels for individual clients promptly allows Gavin and the team to have the ‘right size’ review of the account.

CCH iFirm allows us to have regular conversations across the client base to ensure the appropriate fee structure is in place – and if it isn’t, allow us to show why fees need to increase. With transparent and efficient processes and systems, clients understand the detail around why fee structures may need to change.

Gavin Knight CPA – Principal and Founder
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True North Business Advisory


Region:

Melbourne, Australia

 

Employees:

5+

 

Products:

Bookkeeping, Accounting & Finance Compliance, Business Advice and Management, BAS Services, Investment Advice and Structuring

Download Case Study (Pdf)

CCH iFirm

CCH iFirm by Wolters Kluwer CCH has been specifically developed to handle the unique complexities faced by modern accounting firms.
Learn More

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