ROI for finance and accounting firms
the modeled return of one Prest0n for CPA, tax, bookkeeping and wealth management firms, RIA practices included: hours returned, first-year value after fees and onboarding, the full range and the limits.
the lead scenario
what one Prest0n could return to the smaller firm this report starts with, in its first year.
every scenario
each firm the report models, side by side.
the full range and the stress tests
each line moves one assumption to its low and its high value and shows the first-year net that results. the last line moves two assumptions together.
role by role
one full-time person in each role, with every listed task given to Prest0n except the ones kept by hand.
what Prest0n does not do here
Prest0n prepares the work; your people review it and decide.
- Prest0n gives no tax or investment advice.
- Prest0n never moves client money.
- Prest0n files no returns.
- a licensed professional reviews and releases the work.
- returned hours are capacity your team can use; they become savings only when they replace a hire, overtime, temps or outside spend.
sources
the public data the report’s wages and task hours rest on.
pre-release
pre-release: these reports are a draft and may change before release.
the modeled return
| firm (modeled) | plan | hours returned a month (modeled) | first-year value (modeled) | first-year cost | first-year net (modeled) | payback (modeled) | first-year net range (modeled) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small CPA, tax and bookkeeping firm (about 10 people) | 1 Prest0n, annual, billed monthly | 256 | $48,013 | $41,270 | $6,743 | month 10 | −$24,952 to $34,713 |
| Mid-size CPA firm (about 40 people) | 3 Prest0ns, annual, billed monthly | 1,078 | $210,024 | $140,334 | $69,690 | month 4 | −$65,133 to $196,992 |
| Small RIA / wealth management firm (about 8 people) | 1 Prest0n, annual, billed monthly | 191 | $83,249 | $40,483 | $42,766 | month 5 | −$11,276 to $171,050 |
| Mid-size RIA / wealth management firm (about 30 people) | 3 Prest0ns, annual, billed monthly | 713 | $308,352 | $120,250 | $188,102 | month 3 | −$12,204 to $656,406 |
modeled estimates from the open ROI report, version 2026-10, prices as of 9 October 2026. returned hours are capacity, not cash; these are modeled, not guaranteed, and not a promise of results.
by role (modeled, one full-time person)
| role | hours returned a month (modeled) | net value a month (modeled) | share of one Prest0n's month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior accountant / CPA | 38 | $1,822 | 11% |
| Client service / office administrator | 38 | $705 | 18% |
| Financial analyst (incl. FP&A) | 36 | $2,874 | 8% |
| Staff accountant / bookkeeper | 30 | $499 | 16% |
| Financial advisor / wealth manager | 29 | $1,847 | 20% |
| Tax preparer | 28 | $553 | 15% |
| Paraplanner / client service associate | 24 | $672 | 17% |
| Compliance officer | 24 | $1,400 | 9.9% |
| Partner / principal (CPA firm) | 18 | $1,479 | 11% |
evidence
64 tasks; 50 rest on grade-C (weakest) evidence, 90% of the lead firm's modeled value.
- Instructions for Form 1040 (2025): Estimates of Taxpayer Burden — Internal Revenue Service source
- What bank reconciliation cycle time really tells you: Metric of the Month — CFO.com (Perry D. Wiggins), APQC data; republished by Yahoo Finance source
- How to do a bank reconciliation (guide) — Xero source
- Metric of the Month: Cycle Time for Monthly Close — CFO.com (Perry D. Wiggins), APQC data source
- Accounts payable benchmarking: How to grow AP performance — Stampli (citing APQC benchmarking data) source
- How Do Financial Advisors Actually Spend Their Time And The Limitations Of Productivity? — Kitces.com (Michael Kitces), Kitces Research source
- AI Meeting Notes Tools For Financial Advisors: Solo Productivity Vs Associate Advisor Development? — Kitces.com (Michael Kitces) source
- Kitces Research on comprehensive financial plans: advisor time, income and outsourcing (2022 study) — Kitces.com (Adam Van Deusen, CFP) source
- Outsourcing Financial Plan Preparation When Hitting A Capacity Wall — Kitces.com (Adam Van Deusen, CFP) source
- Perception vs. reality: workflow gaps between marketing and compliance — Saifr (Vall Herard) source
- Calculating what your bank spends on marketing compliance reviews — Persado (Taylor Mahoney) source
- Proposed collection; comment request; extension: Rule 204A-1 (investment adviser codes of ethics) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Register 90 FR 8552 (FR Doc. 2025-01935) source
- Extension: Rule 206(4)-7 (compliance procedures and practices), information collection notice — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Register 87 FR 3135 (FR Doc. 2022-01061) source
- FINRA Rule 2210. Communications with the Public — FINRA source
- 17 CFR 275.204-2: Books and records to be maintained by investment advisers — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (CFR text) source
- SEC adopts amendments to Regulation S-P (press release 2024-58) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission source
- U.S. SEC Regulation S-P: Compliance Deadline Approaching for Smaller Entities — Sidley Austin, Data Matters (Esmaili, Wilan, Anglin) source
- SEC Adopts Significant Amendments to Regulation S-P Requiring Notification of Sensitive Customer Information Breaches, Service Provider Oversight — Simpson Thacher & Bartlett source
- IRS, Security Summit remind tax pros they need a written information security plan to protect client data (IR-2026-92) — Internal Revenue Service source
- 26 CFR 301.7216-3: Disclosure or use permitted only with the taxpayer's consent — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (CFR text) source
- 26 CFR 301.7216-2: Permissible disclosures or uses without consent of the taxpayer — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (CFR text) source
- Section 7216 information center — Internal Revenue Service source
- The 2025 National Management of an Accounting Practice (MAP) Survey: Executive Summary — AICPA Private Companies Practice Section and CPA.com (copy hosted by the Texas Society of CPAs) source
- 2025 Rosenberg Survey: What the Numbers Are Telling Us — Rosenberg Associates (Kristen Rampe, CPA) source
- FP&A Trends Survey 2025: From Ambition to Execution — FP&A Trends Group (sponsored by OneStream) source
- The Ever-Expanding 10-K: Why Are 10-Ks Getting So Much Longer (and Does It Matter)? — CLS Blue Sky Blog, Columbia Law School (research by Travis Dyer, Mark Lang and Lorien Stice-Lawrence) source
- Blogging Statistics 2026 — Orbit Media Studios source
- Bookkeeping Prices for Small Business: What to Expect in 2026 — NerdWallet (Hillary Crawford) source
- Tax season offshore accounting staffing — Connext Global (Monica Padillo) source
- Rosenberg MAP Survey 2025 (CPA firm benchmarks) — The Rosenberg Associates / CPA Trendlines source