UpTrajectory Review

Dr. Jeffrey L. Edwards of CPA Practice Advisor argues that the CPA's role keeps expanding: as accountants move from tax preparation and bookkeeping into broader advisory work, they now help clients see how financial and nonfinancial risks connect. The available text is one sentence, so the full piece likely explores how AI tools let CPAs analyze operational, cyber, and reputational data alongside the numbers, and how that shift changes what small businesses should expect from their accountant. The context matters: accounting firms have faced margin pressure for years as software automated compliance work, pushing partners toward higher-value services. Edwards frames risk advisory as the next frontier, and AI as the enabler that makes it economical for firms serving smaller clients.

For a small-business operator, this matters because most owners treat risk in silos. The accountant sees the cash flow, the IT consultant sees the security gaps, the insurance broker sees liability coverage, and nobody connects them. Edwards suggests the CPA can become that connective tissue. If your accountant starts asking about your vendor contracts, your data backups, or your key-person dependencies, that is not small talk. It is the new advisory model, and it could surface risks you have priced incorrectly or ignored entirely. The practical stake is real money: a data breach that halts operations, a supplier failure that strands inventory, or a founder illness that freezes decisions can each destroy a year of profit. An advisor who connects those dots to your balance sheet changes how you prepare.

We agree with the premise but remain skeptical of the timeline. Accounting firms have talked about becoming trusted advisors for two decades, yet many still struggle to deliver basic analytics on time. AI lowers the cost of analyzing unstructured data, but it does not fix workflow problems, messy client records, or weak communication habits. The firms that will actually deliver on Edwards's vision are those that have already mastered consistent, timely financial reporting and built processes for proactive outreach. The rest will buy AI tools, add a slide to their pitch deck, and produce faster confusion. We also question whether every CPA wants this role: risk advisory demands judgment, industry knowledge, and comfort with ambiguity that compliance work does not require.

The second-order effects land on the operator's wallet and the firm's staffing. If CPAs genuinely take on risk advisory, they will charge for it, and small businesses must decide whether that fee replaces or supplements other consultants. Downstream, this could compress the market for standalone risk advisors, or it could create a hybrid role where the CPA flags issues but still refers out for deep technical work. Staffing shifts too: firms will need people who understand operations and technology, not just tax code, which raises their cost structure and, eventually, your bill. There is also a liability question. When a CPA advises on cyber risk or vendor concentration and the client suffers a loss, who bears responsibility? Professional standards and insurance coverage have not caught up, and that gap will shape how boldly firms actually advise.

Watch for concrete service packages, not whitepapers. If your CPA firm launches a named risk advisory offering with defined deliverables, that signals real capability. If they simply add AI to their website, ask what has changed in their process and who owns the work. Meanwhile, prepare for the conversation: list your top three nonfinancial worries, whether that is a key employee, a single large customer, or a data breach. Bring that list to your next meeting and test whether your accountant can connect those worries to your financial statements. If they cannot, you have learned something valuable about the relationship. If they can, you have found a strategic partner worth the higher fee. Either way, the operator who treats the CPA as a commodity will miss the shift until the invoice arrives.

“their value increasingly includes helping clients understand how financial and nonfinancial risks connect” — CPA Practice Advisor

Takeaway: Ask your CPA how they connect nonfinancial risks to your financial statements; the answer reveals whether they offer real advisory value or just compliance work.