The Power of Assessment: How Hancock Askew Optimized Their CAS Practice

Imagine walking into your office each day, unsure of your priorities or how to best serve your clients. Not long ago, this was the situation for many professionals in Hancock Askew's Client Accounting Services (CAS and also called Outsourced Accounting) practice.

With a team of 35 spread across seven offices, the firm faced a critical challenge: how to clarify roles, enhance career development, and improve client service in its rapidly growing CAS division. It needed a solution that could scale with its ambitions and provide data-driven insights for optimizing its CAS practice.

The solution came through a powerful yet often overlooked tool: skills and personality tests. By leveraging targeted evaluations of skills and personalities, Hancock Askew revolutionized their approach to team structure and talent management.

Join us as we explore Hancock Askew's transformative journey. Discover how the strategic use of assessments helped them overcome common challenges in the CAS field, leading to improved role clarity, enhanced career development opportunities, and a more effective hiring process.

Challenges in the CAS Practice

Rebecca Mowen, CPA, a partner at Hancock Askew, identified several key challenges within their CAS practice. Managers juggled multiple responsibilities, including team leadership, performance reviews, client discovery calls, quoting, onboarding, and maintaining a book of recurring client work. This led to daily confusion about priorities and best practices. Additionally, the firm struggled with creating clear learning and development pathways for its CAS team members.

Finding a Solution with Accountests

Hancock Askew partnered with Accountests to address these issues, working closely with Giles and his team. They implemented two key assessment tools: the Bookkeeper Assessment Test and the Accountant Personality Profile Assessment. 

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Implementation Process

The implementation was carefully planned and communicated to the team. Hancock Askew held weekly meetings to discuss the process and address any concerns. The assessments were conducted in phases, with the first phase focusing on the actual testing.

The firm organized group assessment sessions via Microsoft Teams calls to ensure a smooth process. This allowed them to address any technical issues immediately and maintain consistency across the 30 team members taking the tests within a week.

Analyzing and Utilizing Results

Accountests provided Hancock Askew with a comprehensive results spreadsheet, allowing them to identify patterns and analyze the data effectively. The firm then conducted individual conversations with each team member to discuss their results and gather feedback.

Reorganizing the CAS Practice

Armed with insights from the assessments, Hancock Askew reorganized their CAS practice. They created distinct roles:

1. Doers: Team members focused on producing accounting records
2. Minders: Operations staff overseeing workflow and quality control
3. Finders: Account executives handling client onboarding and business development

This new structure allowed team members to focus on their strengths and created a more efficient workflow.

Impact of the Transformation

The reorganization led to increased job satisfaction as team members settled into roles better suited to their skills and personalities. The new structure also improved client experience, with dedicated account executives handling onboarding and specialized teams managing ongoing work.

Integrating Assessments into Hiring

Hancock Askew now uses the Bookkeeper Assessment Test for all new hires in their CAS practice. This allows them to focus interviews more on cultural fit and career aspirations, having already gained insight into technical capabilities.

Overcoming Challenges

Implementing such a significant change wasn't without its challenges. To address team members' concerns, Hancock Askew's leadership took the assessments themselves, demonstrating vulnerability and commitment to the process. They also emphasized that the results wouldn't negatively impact job security or compensation, but rather help create a more effective team structure.

The Value of Consistent Assessment

Becky highlighted the importance of having a consistent, unbiased assessment process. By using Accountests, Hancock Askew created a standardized approach to evaluating current team members and potential hires, reducing potential bias and ensuring fairness across the board.

Transforming CAS Practices: The Future is Data-Driven

Hancock Askew's journey with Accountests demonstrates the transformative power of strategic assessment in optimizing a CAS practice. By leveraging the Bookkeeper Assessment Test and Accountant Personality Profile Assessment, the firm was able to address longstanding challenges and create a more efficient, satisfying work environment for their team.

The results speak for themselves: improved role clarity, enhanced career development opportunities, and a more effective hiring process. Team members found relief in their newly defined roles, while clients benefited from a more streamlined and specialized service approach.

By using standardized assessments, Hancock Askew was able to make informed decisions about team member placement and identify areas for growth and development.

For other firms facing similar challenges in their CAS practices, Hancock Askew's experience offers a compelling roadmap. It shows that with the right tools and a commitment to transparency and communication, significant positive change is possible. As the accounting industry continues to evolve, the power of assessment may well be the key to building more effective, resilient, and successful practices.

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Giles Pearson  |  After 18 years as a partner with a large public accounting firm, Giles founded Accountests to help those recruiting accountants make better hiring decisions

Accountests  |  Accountests deliver the world’s only online suite of annually updated and country-specific technical skills, ability and personality tests designed by and for accountants and bookkeepers.