In Van Nuys, Calif., Steve Glick came up with a new concern: “Now the software companies—TurboTax, Intuit, etc.—are competing against their customers by preparing tax returns.”
Gretl Siler, at Succentrix Business Advisors, in Panama City, Fla., has the problem everyone wishes they had, plus the one everyone wishes they didn’t. She says, “Note that I am not having any problem with increasing prices or with competitors. The problem is too many new clients and staffing… plus the IRS is still terrible.”
To be sure, there’s Bob Langworthy, the founder of southern Maine’s Management Accounting. He couldn’t name a single concern. “None!” he says. “We served 1,000 clients last year and already have more than 200 committed new clients this season.”
For 2023, the CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer expanded the list of possible concerns, 24 in all, plus an “other” option. It’s our longest list ever, and accountants checked off each and every possible worry.
Pricing at CPA firms has been growing for the past six months, according to a new CPA Trendlines study, and the numbers are worth noting. August was the first year-over-year hike of over 5 percent, at 5.1 percent. From there, it hopped to 5.5 percent in September, 6.3 percent in October and 6.5 percent in November.
Financial auditing at CPA firms was slightly behind, with annual differences of 4.9 percent in September, 5.5 percent in October and 5.9 percent in November. READ MORE →
Now that everyone has (hopefully) had time to recover, there are four important steps to take to help next tax season go as smooth as possible
By Christopher Hayden
Managing Partner, Hayden Nelson & Yoder
Christopher Hayden, CPA, CMA, CGMA is the managing partner of Hayden Nelson & Yoder, a CPA firm based in Pennsylvania, at hnycpas.com.
To avoid sugar-coating it, tax season is stressful. Long work hours, back-and-forth with clients and mountains of documents can keep accounting professionals in the office for 20 or more additional hours each week. And this tax season felt extra-stressful with all the tax law changes, not to mention explaining to clients who had huge capital gains why they owed taxes.
But once the busy tax season is over, it’s time to review processes and take action to help the remainder of the year go smoothly.
Make sure to give team members a pat on the back, especially if it’s their first time going through the madness of tax season or they went above and beyond this year.
However, once everyone has recovered enough, it’s time to go through the following steps: READ MORE →
We’re getting a lot of comments, many of them scorchingly hot. Accountants and tax preparers are not happy with the government agency that their profession depends on more than any other.
We have many resources and need to recognize that. And we need to treat each with its own importance. Even if you did everything yourself, you’d still need to rely on your tax software company, FedEx and the Postal Service, stationery supplier, computer consultant, the Internet and email, cell phone provider and copier/scanner machine. And that’s just a few of the resources we rely on. Managing your resources well creates an aura of security and consistency to your practice.
About two-thirds of accountants expect tougher times ahead for the nation’s economy and for small businesses. They are considerably more confident about the outlook for their firms. (CPA Trendlines Research)Click here to launch survey
While signs are looking better for firms.
By CPA Trendlines Research
In a contradictory combination of economic outlooks, accountants are seeing pretty good times ahead for their firms and families, but trouble for other businesses.
According to mid-season results from the CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer, 38 percent of respondents think the next 12 to 18 months will be much better (at 7 percent) or at least somewhat better (31 percent) for their own firms, and almost half – 45 percent – believe they’ll be doing at least as well as last year. READ MORE →
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