Xero Partner Spotlight - Rusty and Cassie Hale
Meet Rusty and Cassie, Owners of Hale CPA and Silver Xero Partners:
Trained in the big accounting firms (Arthur Andersen, KPMG, Grant Thornton), Rusty and Cassie founded Hale CPA Group to bring accounting expertise to Austin’s small business community. Formally an audit partner and university accounting professor, Rusty has a passion for helping small business owners understand accounting concepts and teaching them how to use their accounting information to make better business decisions. Cassie has a deep understanding of accounting processes, implementing best practices and optimizing information flow.
Using the latest technology and applications, they help small business clients produce high quality accounting information with their team of experienced CPAs and professionals, on a small business budget.
Each month, 80+ Austin businesses trust Hale CPA Group with their accounting.
About Their Firm:
Company: Hale CPA Group
Year Established: 2017
Contact: Rusty and Cassie Hale
Services Provided: Outsourced accounting, bookkeeping, and consulting
Industries: Software and technology, professional services, non-profit, consumer goods, retail, e-commerce, food and beverage, real estate and construction, and healthcare
How is Hale CPA Group impacting the small business economy?
Austin has a thriving small business community. Founders and small business owners often have similar business challenges as larger companies, but without as many internal resources to solve these challenges. Accounting can create challenges that become a distraction for business owners, but hiring skilled internal accountants is a major cost. Outsourcing accounting to a qualified CPA firm is a cost-effective way to address those challenges and keep founders and business owners focused on growing their businesses and the overall Austin economy.
What role does technology play in your firm?
Technology is fundamental to our client service approach. We use technology to:
- Increase accuracy of information
- Increase communication with our clients
- Stay organized and efficient
- Reduce the time required (and price) to achieve high-quality results
How would you categorize and describe the mindset of accountants in Austin, Texas towards new technology?
Traditionally, accountants have been slow to learn new methods and embrace modern technology. Desktop applications, paper file cabinets, signing and mailing physical checks and manual data entry are outdated practices that create inefficiencies, inaccuracies and lack of visibility to information. Unfortunately, small businesses ultimately pay more for these outdated practices.
We aren’t your grandpa’s CPA firm. Hale CPA Group was designed for Austin’s modern founders and small business owners.
Do you see any major changes or shifts taking place in the accounting industry? Explain.
We currently see two significant trends in the small business accounting industry:
- Increase in low-cost “AI” bookkeeping. As many CPAs have been slow to embrace technology, these companies have risen to meet the demand for accounting technology for small businesses. However, these products typically require long-term contracts, are “faceless”, and are not designed to provide individualized service, accounting expertise or advice, or training on how to use accounting information.
- Increased complexity in accounting rules and requirements. With recent changes in accounting rules, current and potential investors, banks and other lenders are demanding a higher level of accounting expertise from companies raising capital.
Hale CPA Group provides a technology-forward approach, combined with individualized service and technical expertise.
After visiting the firm and spending some time with your team, it’s evident your culture is very strong. What do you look for when hiring new team members at Hale CPA? What role does culture and hiring the right people play in the success of your firm?
High quality, individualized service starts with hiring the right professionals. Certainly, our team members have the educational and professional backgrounds to provide a great technical service, but the right professionals for Hale CPA Group must also communicate effectively and often, take their jobs and careers seriously, but not take themselves too seriously.They should be intellectually curious, a team player and have a servant-leader approach.
To wrap up tell us what does an ideal weekend in Austin look like for you?
Each Monday morning our team meets to discuss about the latest accounting, technology and new client developments, and our weekends. From the latest restaurants, to gardening, to Rainey Street, to movies at the Alamo Drafthouse, to walking dogs at the Green Belt, our team really LOVES Austin!
