Busy Season 2015: Top Lessons Learned So Far

THE CPA TRENDLINES BUSY SEASON BAROMETERClick to join the survey; see the results
THE CPA TRENDLINES BUSY SEASON BAROMETER
Click to join the survey; see the results

Doing the Tax Season Math: Regs + Staff + Clients + Tech + Self = Busy x Busy x Busy

 By CPA Trendlines Research

The key lessons learned from the 11th annual CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer Study are coming into clear focus.

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Busy Season 2015
Comprehensive Coverage

A. Blair East
East

A.B. East, at Manning Elliott in Vancouver, BC, Canada, for example, took a lesson in smart management. He says he learned “the importance of having the right complement of experienced staff to delegate to so I can reduce my hours and deliver to clients on timely basis.” Next year East will continue a very healthy policy: “I have been and will continue to mentor managers, seniors and juniors to advance their expertise on a quicker basis.”

Most of the issues practitioners faced this year fit into seven main categories. What’s especially interesting is that the solutions vary from common sense to plain impossibility.

  1. Affordable Care Act
  2. IRS Regs and Congressional Cruelty
  3. Better Staff, More Staff
  4. Clients
  5. Management
  6. Technology
  7. Interrelated Problems

Here’s a summary of our findings: