Cas Schoenwald, CPA

I speak accountant, IT and layperson

I’ve spent 20 years in accounting, and more than a decade as a CFO, Controller and VP of Finance in nonprofit organizations. Along the way I’ve led accounting system conversions, rebuilt month-end closes, and sat in a lot of meetings where the finance team, IT and leadership were using the same words to mean different things.

That gap is what ClearSpeak is built to close. I help nonprofit organizations modernize their financial operations, from selecting and implementing systems to automating the manual work that slows finance teams down. I bring both the technical expertise and the operator’s perspective, and I translate between your accountants, your IT team, your operations staff and your board.

From public accounting to the CFO’s chair

My career started in public accounting, doing audit and tax work for real estate development and multifamily housing, where I supervised staff and was the first staff-level employee to deliver a firm-wide training.

From there I moved inside organizations, first as a Controller and then as a CFO and VP of Finance. I’ve led operating budgets and advised a governing council on long-term planning, written policy and internal controls, supervised a finance team of 12, coordinated annual audits, and overseen financial reporting for more than 200 federal and state grant awards.

I founded ClearSpeak Financial Consulting in 2026 to help more organizations through the changes I spent my career leading from the inside.

Teaching is the part I love

Teaching runs through everything I do. I’ve trained project managers to use the accounting system for grant management, delivered firm-wide training and spoken at a conference on tax credit basics. I believe knowledge is only worth having if you can teach it to someone else, so every engagement should leave your team more capable than before.

That belief is also behind my writing. The Scribe Principle is a series about how accounting and the rest of an organization can build a relationship on teaching, trust and verification instead of silent correction.

Sectors I’ve worked in

Every organization I’ve worked in, I was stepping into that industry for the first time. If your industry isn’t here, it does not mean I can’t help. The concepts I bring with me are applicable to any organization or industry.

• Tribal government: health and human services, DV/SA programs, housing, construction, gaming revenues, and retail stores
• Behavioral and mental health: adult and child counseling, MAT, and OTP substance use programs
• Animal welfare: municipal contracts, low-cost veterinary services, sheltering, and community programs
• Affordable housing and real estate: unhoused transition and temporary housing, construction, and Low-Income Housing and New Markets Tax Credit programs

Credentials and community

• Certified Public Accountant, licensed by the Washington State Board of Accountancy (license #31805)
• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, summa cum laude, Eastern Washington University, Beta Alpha Psi
• Investment & Finance Committee member, YWCA Clark County (since 2024)