Step 1: Assess
Software Readiness Assessment
A clear answer on whether to convert, and to what.
Best for: Organizations weighing a system change but not yet ready to commit to full implementation
Finance. People. Technology.
Accounting system changes are usually treated as technical projects. They’re really about people.
I help nonprofit organizations convert, implement and get more from their accounting systems, with a specialty in MIP Fund Accounting and Sage Intacct. I speak accountant, IT and layperson fluently, so your finance team, your technology and your leadership can finally work toward the same result.
Cas Schoenwald, CPA · Vancouver, Washington, serving clients locally and nationwide · For-profit organizations are welcome too.
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Finance team
“We need restricted funds tracked by grant and period.”
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IT and systems
“Which fields map to the new chart of accounts?”
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Leadership and board
“Are we on budget, and can we trust the number?”
Speaking the languages that connect your teams to your technology. Sound familiar?
Most organizations don’t decide to change their finance systems. They get worn down into it.
Unfortunately, by the time the symptoms create enough frustration for the change to be made, it’s already critical.
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You’re weighing a system change
You’ve outgrown QuickBooks, FreshBooks or Xero, or your accounting database no longer fits what your organization needs, and you need a straight answer on whether to change or redesign before anyone signs a contract.
Software Readiness Assessment
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Month-end takes too long
The close stretches every cycle, and your team is filling the gap with hours instead of solutions.
Process Review & Optimization
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Too much is done by hand
Reports get rebuilt in spreadsheets, data gets re-keyed, and approvals live in someone’s inbox.
Process Review & Optimization
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Accounting staff are at maximum capacity
You know you need to change accounting systems; you may even know what software you want to implement. No one in house has the expertise or the bandwidth to vet, design, or execute the implementation.
System Conversion & Implementation
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You need finance leadership, not a full-time hire
You want CFO-level judgment and oversight, scaled to what your organization can carry.
Ongoing Advisory & Support Services
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If two or three of these sound familiar, it’s worth a conversation.
Services
Assess, optimize, convert, support. Start wherever you are.
The four services follow the life of a system change. Most engagements end up being a blend, scoped to what you actually need.
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- Step 2: Optimize
Process Review & Optimization
Fixing the workflows that feed accounting, so the close gets faster and the numbers more reliable.
Best for: Organizations needing to improve a slow close cycle or poor information flow into accounting
- Step 3: Convert
System Conversion & Implementation
Design, build, data migration, training, and go-live support.
Best for: Organizations ready to move forward with a full system conversion
- Step 4: Support
Ongoing Advisory & Support Services
Ongoing financial leadership without a full-time hire.
Best for: Organizations that have completed an implementation and want continued oversight
Track record
I’ve led these changes from the inside, as the finance executive accountable for the outcome
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8 days
Month-end close, cut from two weeks without adding headcount
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2 years
of historical data kept intact through a full system conversion, on the timeline needed
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6 months
from start to go-live for a full system design, configuration, mapping, implementation and training
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Zero
reporting interruptions during full system builds
These results are from my own roles as a CFO, Controller and VP of Finance before I founded ClearSpeak in 2026. They are not ClearSpeak client engagements.
Why ClearSpeak
One person who speaks every language in the room
I’m Cas Schoenwald, a CPA with 20 years in accounting. I started ClearSpeak to help organizations through the system changes I spent my career leading from the inside.
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A translator
I speak accountant, IT and layperson fluently. I translate between your finance team, your technology partners, your operations staff and your board, so everyone works toward the same result.
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An operator, not just an advisor
I’ve led system conversions as the finance executive accountable for the outcome, and built finance systems from the ground up. I know what it’s like to own the numbers the morning after go-live.
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Nonprofit and fund accounting depth
Twenty years in accounting, more than a decade as a CFO, Controller and VP of Finance, including financial reporting for more than 200 federal and state grant awards.
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People first
System changes succeed when people trust them. I build buy-in, explain the why, and teach your team so the change sticks after I’m gone.
Systems I’ve implemented and worked with
- MIP Fund Accounting
- Sage Intacct
- QuickBooks
- Ramp
- Bill.com
- Expensify
- Coast
- iCompleat
Insights
Plain-language writing on finance, trust and systems
The Scribe Principle · Part 2
The Liability of Inheritance
A budget owner who never built their own budget isn't being held accountable — they're being monitored against a number they had no hand in creating.
4 min read
The Scribe Principle · Part 1
Who Owns the Number?
"Nobody likes the accounting department." I've heard some version of that sentence at almost every organization I've led.
3 min read
Every engagement starts with a conversation
Tell me what’s going on with your systems, your close or your reporting. The discovery call is free: we’ll talk it through, and if it’s a fit, you’ll get a firm written quote, fixed fee or hourly.