From Bookkeeping to Advisory: How Top Firms Reposition CAS for Growth
Episode Summary
CAS practices are growing 30% annually. But most firms still can’t scale past bookkeeping.
In this episode, Kane Polakoff, Partner and CAS Practice Leader at CohnReznick, shares how they are approaching AI adoption with discipline, transparency, and professional responsibility.
In this episode, we cover:
- The AI question clients are already asking firms
- How and when to be transparent about AI use
- Why CAS growth often slows inside firms
- What drives sustainable CAS growth at scale
Get this right, and you’ll build client trust competitors can’t replicate.
Watch the full video here
Hosted by Kacee Johnson, fintech innovation leader and Principal at Radical, AI-Native Accounting is the podcast at the crossroads of AI and the future of finance. Engage in monthly discussions with firm owners, tech pioneers, and visionary accountants. Explore real-world applications of AI, uncovering how it's streamlining processes and enhancing decision-making. Discover what's working, what's emerging, and what's on the horizon in the world of accounting technology.
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Featured Guests
Kane Polakoff
Partner, Client Advisory Services Practice Leader, CohnReznick
Kane Polakoff is a senior leader and transformation executive with more than two decades of experience driving operational turnarounds and building high-growth advisory businesses. As Partner and Client Advisory Services Practice Leader at CohnReznick, he works closely with executive teams at Fortune 100 companies—including Kroger, Ford, Chrysler, Allstate, and Bank of America—to reengineer operations, improve competitiveness, and deliver end-to-end solutions. Polakoff has a strong track record as an intrapreneur, launching new business units across healthcare, automotive, and manufacturing, and leading large global teams through complex, technology-enabled transformations. He brings deep expertise in strategic visioning, global operations, technology innovation, and management consulting.
Your Host
Kacee Johnson
Digits Advisor & Innovation Partner
Kacee Johnson is a leading figure in the accounting profession, recognized among Accounting Today's Top 100 Most Influential People, CPA Practice Advisor's Top 25 Thought Leaders, and as one of the Most Powerful Women in Accounting. She advises AICPA and CPA.com as an innovation partner and leads the Startup Accelerator program, mentoring startups that shape the profession's future. In 2025, she completed Harvard Business School's Executive Program on Private Equity and Venture Capital and joined the be radical team as a Principal in FinTech Innovation.
