Accounting gets easier when firms niche down

CPA firm owners often hear that it’s better to be a specialist than a generalist in order to grow their practice. But declaring a niche can feel like a major risk. Zane Stevens, director of Protea Financial, successfully focuses on winery clients—but didn’t start out that way. 

Here, Stevens shares when it made sense to shift away from being a generalist firm, how to avoid too narrow a client scope and one key benefit of running a niche firm that many accountants fail to realize.

—Interview by Lauren Ward, edited by Bianca Prieto

How did you first begin working with wineries, and what made you realize this could become your ideal client base?

I like to say I tripped and fell into it, but the reality is more structured than that. I did not set out to specialize in wineries. The firm was originally created to support wine clients that the consulting firm I was working at needed assistance with, and early growth came from working with a broad range of businesses.

A few years in, we lost a major client. That forced us to take a hard look at our client base. What became clear was that we were already working with a significant number of wineries and had developed real expertise in the industry's accounting challenges. Being based in a major wine region, wineries and vineyard-related businesses were naturally part of our client mix, and focusing there made strategic sense.

The same issues surfaced repeatedly. Inventory complexity, cost allocation, cash flow timing, compliance requirements and financial reporting did not meaningfully support decision-making. These businesses were not poorly managed; but they were dramatically underserved. General accounting approaches often fail to align with how wineries actually operate. 

As my experience grew, so did the value we delivered. I also genuinely enjoyed the industry and the people in it. The combination of personal alignment and the ability to create measurable impact made it clear that wineries were the right long-term client base.

Accountants and bookkeepers who are considering a niche may not be sure how narrow is "too narrow." How did you think about scope when defining your focus, and how has that evolved over time?

Early on, I was less focused on defining the perfect niche and more on identifying a space with consistent, repeatable problems. Wineries became the core focus, but I did not limit the practice to a single winery size or business model. What mattered most was shared complexity, not identical operations.

Over time, the scope became more refined through experience rather than force. Today, the focus is on wineries and beverage businesses where operational accounting, cost tracking and reliable financial insight are essential to running the business. The evolution was not about narrowing opportunity. It was about removing distraction and building depth first, with clarity naturally following.

Many accountants worry that niching down will limit opportunities. From your experience, how has specialization actually shaped your firm's growth and client relationships? 

Specialization did not limit opportunity. It improved the quality of it. We saw significantly more growth after submitting to the niche than before. Conversion rates went way up. Conversations with prospective clients are more efficient, more relevant and more honest. Clients do not need to explain how their business works, and we do not need to generalize or hedge our advice. 

From a growth perspective, referrals became more intentional and more aligned. Clients refer us because they clearly understand who we serve and where we add value. From a relationship standpoint, trust develops faster because we have seen the same challenges across many similar businesses. That experience builds confidence, and confidence leads to stronger, longer-lasting client relationships.

Specialized industries often come with unique challenges. What are some ways focusing on wineries allows you to deliver more value than a generalist approach would?

Accounting is accounting, but winery clients come with additional complexities, including cost accounting. Their struggles include long production cycles, inventory that spans multiple years, margins that vary by channel and financial information that often lags behind operational reality. They can 100% be served by a generalist. Still, it is difficult for them to provide the valuable insight that a specialist can because of their lack of industry knowledge and the depth of clients to assess differences.

By understanding the production lifecycle, regulatory environment and cost structure, we can design systems that support better decision-making, not just cleaner reporting. This includes detailed cost accounting, realistic cash flow forecasting and financial reporting that reflects how the business is actually run. The value comes from relevance and precision, not from doing more work.

What's one benefit of running a niche-focused practice that isn't obvious to someone on the outside?

One of the most overlooked benefits is internal clarity. A niche not only improves client outcomes, it also simplifies how the firm operates. Training is more consistent, systems are easier to standardize and team members gain confidence more quickly because they are not constantly shifting between unrelated industries.

That clarity reduces friction across the firm. It allows the business to scale intentionally rather than chasing volume and it creates a better experience for both clients and the team delivering the work.

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The Net Gains is curated and written by Lauren Ward and edited by Bianca Prieto.