SURVEY RESULTS: Tax Season Workflow Trends Show Improvement

Most tax professionals are having at least as good or better season this year. But the economy threatens fees and collections.

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The latest data show for the week ended March 15, 34% of practitioners report the season is running “better” than last year’s season, up from 25% in the previous week, ended March 8.

Meanwhile, the number reporting “worse” conditions dropped to 21% from 27%. And the “about the same” has remained, well, about  the same.

(Week ended March 15 2009)

Economic problems seem to be characterizing Tax Season 2009, with about 73% of accountants now calling it a real challenge, compared to about 62% a month ago.

Clearly, accountants are more worried about matching last year’s revenues and profits — and, to an extent, to getting paid at all.

And that’s borne out in the comments. A sampling:

What’s different about this year?
(sample verbatim)

  • Losing some simpler clients to turbo-tax
  • Working many more hours.
  • With many brokerage 1099′s issued so late, it feels as though our preparation time shrank from 2 1/2 months to 1 1/2 months. We have been preparing our clients to the higher likelihood of extension.
  • We seem to be better prepared and staff has been doing an excellent job. Within the context of the local and general economic  conditions, clients seem to be more involved and interested in our work and advisory consulting.
  • We are not as busy. We’ve lost both tax and audit clients to smaller firms who under-bid our fees.
  • There seems to be less appointments this year.
  • Tax work is coming in later, possibly not at all
  • Small returns are doing it themselves to save money. Fees are a much bigger issue this year.
  • Phone not ringing as much as in years past.
  • Pessimistic economic outlook.
  • people are more apprehensive
  • People are getting their information to me later this year. The number of new clients this year surprised me.
  • People are coming in faster and needing refunds faster
  • People are bring information sooner than prior years
  • Overall client uncertainty

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[Research by Bay Street Group LLC. Data Copyright AICPA 2009.]

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