Case study
How Papin CPA PLLC transformed client engagement with Ready to Advise
Discover how Papin CPA PLLC transformed their team's confidence and efficiency by leveraging Ready to Advise, a cutting-edge platform that empowers every staff member to deliver consistent, high-impact advisory services.
Introduction: Advancing from compliance to advisory excellence
Papin CPA PLLC is a forward-thinking accounting firm with a team of seven professionals. Since 2016, the firm has been part of the Thomson Reuters Practice Forward community, emphasizing an "advisory-first" approach. Their mission is to apply tomorrow's AI tools today — enhancing daily efficiency and driving innovation that delivers lasting value.
As a Practice Forward member since 2016, Papin CPA built a strong foundation in advisory services. However, even with this commitment to innovation, the firm recognized the need for a solution that could bridge the gap between their technical expertise and client understanding, while empowering every team member to deliver consistent, confident advice.
Challenge: Bridging expertise and client understanding in the AI era
Even with a strong advisory foundation, Papin CPA faced a critical challenge: bridging the gap between technical expertise and client understanding, especially in an era where AI-generated content often gives clients a false sense of confidence. As Chris Papin explained, "There's a lot of noise in our industry ... and we get a lot of questions from clients that are sometimes misplaced."
Internally, the firm also strived for consistency. While their workflows were well-developed, there was no guarantee that every team member would follow the same steps or deliver the same quality of insight. Junior staff, in particular, lacked the confidence to step into advisory roles, often unsure of how to translate complex tax concepts into client-friendly language.
The result was a bottleneck in scaling advisory services and a missed opportunity to fully leverage the team's collective potential. Without a reliable framework to validate expertise and empower all staff members, Papin CPA risked limiting their growth and impact.
Solution: Ready to Advise builds confidence on trusted foundations
Papin CPA implemented Ready to Advise as a foundational part of their advisory workflow, using the platform at the very start of client engagements — uncovering valuable insights before conversations with clients even began.
Built on the backbone of the Checkpoint research platform the firm had trusted since its founding, Ready to Advise provided the confidence and structure the team needed.
“Ready to Advise gives us the confidence because we know it's built on the backbone of the Checkpoint research platform we've trusted since the firm was founded.”
Chris Papin
Managing Partner, Papin CPA PLLC
The platform became more than just technology; it became a catalyst for cultural change. Administrative staff began taking on more proactive roles, using the tool to identify opportunities and initiate client conversations. Technical team members found a reliable validator for their expertise, ensuring no critical steps were missed.
"[Ready to Advise] will allow folks that are traditionally in administrative positions to accelerate the opportunity and get opportunities in front of the clients," Papin explained. The platform provided a consistent, replicable framework that elevated the quality of every interaction, regardless of team member experience level.
Outcomes: Transforming proposals into immediate client wins
Papin CPA saw a noticeable shift in how their team approached advisory work. With the platform's ability to reveal insights early in the client lifecycle, conversations became more strategic and forward-looking. The team no longer had to rely solely on memory or manual processes to guide client engagements.
Key outcomes achieved:
- Improved efficiency: Identified new opportunities to streamline workflows and enhance client conversations
- Increased confidence: Team members at all levels gained confidence in delivering accurate, consistent advice
- Enhanced client understanding: Clients better understood the rationale behind recommendations, reducing confusion
- Stronger proposal impact: Visual, logic-driven proposals created with Ready to Advise resonated more with clients than traditional spreadsheets
- Significant time savings: Reduced time spent manually validating research and preparing advisory materials
- Immediate client conversion: Proposals generated through the platform led to immediate client buy-in without additional selling effort
As Chris Papin observed about empowering junior staff: "I see Ready to Advise being able to give [my team] the confidence in the platform to know that the answer is correct ... even if they don't necessarily need to know how it goes on a tax form."
For Papin CPA, Ready to Advise has become more than a tool; it's a shift in mindset. It gives every team member, regardless of title, the confidence to step into the advisory space with clarity and consistency. It brings structure to complexity, turns uncertainty into opportunity, and transforms client conversations from reactive to proactive.
At a glance
Elevate your tax planning advisory services with Ready to Advise
Set your firm apart with AI-powered insights, automated workflows, and expert implementation guidance
