AICPA PCPS “Transforming Your Business Model”: What It Means for CPA Firms Today

CPA firms across the country are facing the same reality. Client expectations are changing. Talent expectations are changing. Technology is moving faster than traditional operating models were built to handle. The question is no longer whether firms need to evolve, but how intentionally they will do it. 

To explore what meaningful transformation looks like, Ace Cloud Hosting spoke with Orumé Hays, CPA, CGMA, Immediate Past Chair of the AICPA Private Companies Practice Section Executive Committee. An award-winning CPA recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Top 200 CPAs and named among the Most Powerful Women in Accounting, Orumé brings both a national leadership perspective and hands-on firm experience.

She has worked across local, national, and international businesses and currently leads Hays CPA LLC while serving in multiple professional governance roles. In this conversation, Orumé shares practical insights from the AICPA PCPS “Transforming Your Business Model” framework and reflects on how strategy, governance, service offerings, technology, and talent must work together to build a stronger, smarter future.

1. Strategy often lives only at the partner level. How can leaders ensure the vision is truly understood and adopted across the firm?

When I speak with firm leaders across the country, the same themes keep surfacing: client expectations are evolving, talent needs are shifting, and technology is accelerating in ways that challenge traditional firm models. These pressures aren’t theoretical—they’re reshaping how firms operate today. 

As Immediate Past Chair of the AICPA PCPS Executive Committee, I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with the PCPS team as we developed the “Transforming Your Business Model” framework—a practical, forward-looking model designed to help firms assess and modernize their approach across five essential pillars: strategy, governance, service offerings, technology, and talent. 

What has struck me most in this work is that transformation doesn’t happen because a firm drafts a plan. Transformation happens when the plan is understood, shared, and activated by the people responsible for carrying it forward. The PCPS tools are designed to help firms do exactly that.

Below, I share some personal reflections—grounded in what I’ve experienced and witnessed in practice—connected to each of the five pillars and their corresponding PCPS toolkits.

I have seen many leaders spend months polishing strategic plans that never become embedded into the firm. What has worked best, in my experience, is translating the firm’s vision into simple, shared language—something people can use day to day.

The PCPS Strategic Planning Toolkit reinforces this idea: a vision must be shared by all, not held by a select few. When teams understand where the firm is going and why strategic decisions are being made, alignment starts to happen organically. 

Strategy begins to feel less like a set of instructions and more like a path forward—one that everyone can see themselves contributing to. 

2. Governance is a sensitive topic. What changes deliver agility and growth without wrecking culture?

Governance often feels personal. It can stir up questions about authority, legacy, and identity. But the firms I’ve seen modernize successfully do so by introducing clarity, not complexity. 

The PCPS Governance Toolkit highlights this distinction well: governance done right is not bureaucracy—it is transparency. 

From my own experience, the biggest improvements in culture and agility come when decision-making becomes clearer, not more layered. When firms define who decides what, people consistently report feeling more empowered, not less. 

And once people understand what the firm is trying to do—and how decisions support that direction—resistance usually starts to fade. 

3. Service offerings are shifting beyond compliance. Which models create the most sustainable growth?

Client expectations are evolving quickly. They no longer want just compliance—they want guidance, perspective, and year-round insight. Advisory work is becoming the backbone of modern firms. 

What I’ve seen resonate most strongly is when firms intentionally position themselves as trusted advisors, supported by value-based or fixed-fee pricing. Transitioning to monthly or quarterly engagements—rather than only annual compliance work—helps clients better understand the value your firm delivers. 

This approach also: 

• smooths workloads across the year 
• reduces the pressure of traditional busy seasons 
• strengthens client relationships 

The PCPS Service Offerings Toolkit helps firms define their ideal client, design their service mix, rethink pricing, and proactively shape their future. It empowers firms to take control of their service evolution rather than react to it. 

4. Technology adoption remains uneven. Where do firms struggle: tools, mindset, or execution?

For many firms, technology challenges have little to do with selecting the wrong tool. More often, firms have too many tools and not enough clarity around how they should be implemented. 

Most of the technological struggles I see stem from: 

• lack of ownership 
• weak implementation plans 
• insufficient training 
• tools that aren’t integrated into service delivery 

The firms that make the greatest strides treat technology as part of their business model, not an add-on. They assign service line “product owners,” standardize their tech stack, and make automation a part of the client value proposition. 

My firm has implemented several new technologies recently, and the PCPS Technology Toolkit really helped guide us through evaluation and rollout. I’ve found that when a firm explains why a tool is being used, adoption improves dramatically. 

5. The talent challenge continues. What cultural shifts matter most?

Talent continues to dominate every leadership discussion I’m part of. Younger professionals want different things from their careers than earlier generations did—they want flexibility, variety, meaningful work, and opportunities to grow earlier. 

After reviewing and implementing best practices from the PCPS Talent Management Toolkit, I’ve become even more intentional about how I support and connect with my own team. In fact, just two months ago, I took an international trip to Asia to personally meet, connect with, and better align with members of my offshore team—professionals who have been with my firm for more than two years. 

Spending time with them in person reinforced something I’ve seen repeatedly: when people feel seen, supported, and understood, their engagement deepens in ways that no policy alone can create. 

What I’ve seen work best—both in my firm and in the firms I interact with across the profession—is a focus on what genuinely motivates people and creates a sense of belonging. 

This often means: 

• giving staff earlier exposure to advisory conversations 
• investing in coaching and mentorship 
• reinforcing expectations consistently and clearly 

When firms create clarity and build meaningful connections, people feel supported—and when people feel supported, they choose to stay and grow. 

6. If a firm could focus on just one pillar this year, which should it be?

Transformation can feel overwhelming, and many firms worry they’re behind. But if I had to choose just one starting point, I would pick strategy. 

A carefully designed and implemented strategic planning process naturally influences governance, informs service offerings, clarifies technology needs, and shapes the talent model. In my experience, when firms get strategy right—and make it actionable—everything else becomes easier to tackle. 

The AICPA PCPS “Transforming Your Business Model” framework offers firms a clear, practical roadmap for navigating change. The profession is evolving, and firms that prioritize clarity, intentionality, and people-centered leadership will be best positioned for the future. 

Modernizing a firm isn’t about abandoning what made it successful. It’s about building on that foundation with a stronger strategy, clearer governance, expanded services, smarter technology choices, and a talent model built for the next generation. 

Transformation is not a one-time effort; it’s a journey. And every firm can begin that journey today. 

Building the Firm the Future Demands

Modernizing a firm is not about leaving its roots behind. It is about giving that foundation the technology to carry more weight. When strategy is clear, governance is understood, services are designed around real client needs, and teams are supported, technology stops being a side project and becomes part of how the firm delivers work every day.

The firms that move forward will not chase every new tool. They will build a stack – they can run on, train people to use it well, and make speed, security, and collaboration part of the client experience. 

This is where the right technology partner plays a critical role. At Ace Cloud Hosting, we support accounting and CPA firms with secure technology solutions such as cloud hosting designed for everyday accounting work.

From QuickBooks Desktop hosting and managed virtual desktops to IT management and advanced cybersecurity, we help firms work smoothly, stay secure, and serve clients without IT distraction.