By Rick Telberg
CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer

Tax and accounting professionals of all shapes and sizes, ranging in size from the soloist to the regional leader, are reporting a filing season markedly more problematic than the year before, according to the CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer. The data for April, still coming in, shows majorities of firms in all class sizes reporting “somewhat worse” or “much worse” performance and results this year.

Busy Season Barometer. Join the survey; get the results.
Busy Season Barometer

The CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer, now in it’s tenth year, is a real-time tracking poll of tax and accounting professionals’ sentiment, performance and results. As a reward for joining the survey panel, participants get early previews of top-line results and notifications.

Click here to join the survey; get the results

In this report, we present the first wave of in-depth details, starting with a chart that shows the number of respondents reporting on busy season conditions.

Those reporting a “worse” season include:

  • 66% of solo practitioners
  • 60% of firms with 2 to 10 professionals
  • 70% of firms with 11 to 50 professionals
  • 72% of firms with 50 to 100 professionals
  • 53% of firms with more than 100 professionals

And:

  • We gather verbatim comments from the solo practitioners who reported a season “much worse” explaining their rating, and
  • We present their comments assembled into a word-cloud infographic that reveals at a glance the most oft-repeated issues and concerns.

For complete busy season coverage, click here. And stay tuned to CPA Trendlines as we report on new developments in the data and analysis.

 

How was your busy season?
ChartExport
.
VERBATIM COMMENTS FROM SOLO PRACTITIONERS EXPLAINING THE REASON THEY DESCRIBE 2013 AS “MUCH WORSE”

z tax april verbatim wordly solo much worse.jpg

Research note: In an effort to present these results as quickly as possible, CPA Trendlines has only edited these remarks lightly and performed only a cursory analysis of their implications.

Readers are invited to add their own comments either in the Comments section below or by writing to rickt@cpatrendlines.com.

The software companies mentioned by these practitioners are especially invited to submit comments for the record.

Comments:

  1. Software was a nightmare
  2. Bad software and more last minute clients
  3. took a lot longer to do the same thing. much more detail necessary to efile
  4. Late K-1 software updates everyday
  5. I use ATX software. Their major overhaul of the software was disastrous. The software was VERY slow, shutdown at random, and had multiple disruptive problems. Client’s were later than usual. Had a huge rush at the end of March.
  6. slow return intake
  7. Delays by Congress Delays by IRS
  8. late start and tax software much worst
  9. no money for first six weeks of tax season for a start now I am buried under my usual deluge plus all the late paperwork. Thinking retirement here!
  10. Late tax changes caused havoc to the IRS and software providers. For me the tax season is a month behind. It has been a frustrating year. My worst in 35 years of practice.
  11. We will be processing twice as many extension as Last Year
  12. far more people waited to see me
  13. Late software, late clients, technology issues
  14. Tax returns are more complicated this year and each return is taking longer to complete
  15. The late arrival of information from third parties as well as the reduction of almost a week in processing days this year compared to the last two years.
  16. I am far behind where I should be despite putting in extra hours.
  17. Late start on filings; complexity of new laws and return situations; late client input
  18. forms got off to a late start and approval, clients have more problems this year, everything’s late
  19. It has been a nightmare the whole way…
  20. Every return seemed to have issues that would not end
  21. Software problems all season.
  22. Late actions by Congress & President and late availability of forms have caused a flood of documentation to be late. Even a few days or weeks delay complicates an already compressed time period for filing returns, making it almost unmanageable.
  23. More returns still in process, more returns to extend
  24. Everyone is late, confused, frustrated, angry and more upset than usual.
  25. Lateness in data coming in Corrections to K-1 and investment data
  26. Late submission of info.
  27. illness/hospitalization during tax season
  28. lateness of forms, late and then amended brokerage statements, severe software issues
  29. Late Start, bad 1099s
  30. More extensions. Also ATX changed their software on me. Their printing function is a real pain!!!
  31. More clients owning a lot of tax. I’m not getting returns done fast enough.
  32. Bad Software
  33. The late start because of IRS having to change software and not accept forms until at least the end of January and in some cases much later.
  34. PTP K-1’s not final until June, late K-1’s from trusts, software glitches, etc
  35. ATX software problems. Delayed filing.
  36. Tax Program not working very well and Federal and State forms not on time.
  37. you’ve got to be kidding! Delays from governments, clients who are unprepared with their information, brokerage firms that send out their statements at the end of February, and then send amended ones in March after client’s returns are filed, and the IRS says that taxpayers can go on extension, but of course they should be fully paid-up
  38. Tax law changes and software issues
  39. Software issues, government inaction
  40. Delayed tax forms – Program changed platforms – buggy and slow
  41. My tax program, that I have used of about 30 years was so bad they would not answer phone calls. I was required to go to another vender. The program cost more and is the most unfriendly software that I have ever used.
  42. Washington delays, corrected 1099s and software problems – much slower than last year.
  43. Issues with capital gains and losses.
  44. everything was late and your tax software was a complete bomb.
  45. The one-way allowable delays granted by the government to itself and it’s agencies shows disregard for the professionals who have to deal with new provisions, documentation requirements, etc. We still have the same deadlines we always had, but a full month less time to comply with them. IRS benefits from our efforts to provide our clients with high compliance in the preparation of tax returns. I have experienced greater stress this season than in any of my 50 previous years of practice, and I will probably make this my last in practice. The IRS keeps putting up more and more hoops for us to jump through, and the rewards are not adequate for the efforts!!!
  46. Everyone is late
  47. Software problems, Had to purchase new program after beginning of season
  48. too much in short time
  49. “Fiscal Cliff” delays, personal illness, and unreliable tax software.
  50. WAY BEHIND
  51. Technology SNAFUs
  52. IRS IRS IRS CONGRESS CONGRESS CONGRESS
  53. Tax season has effectively been shortened to 5 weeks.
  54. THE IRS AND THE SOFTWARE COMPANIES TOOK UNTIL MARCH 10TH TO GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER
  55. Software, clients coming in later
  56. Congressional brinkmanship tax program issues are terrible
  57. too much transcription from tax documents to tax package. incomplete info from clients. late start.
  58. Software was awful in the first 5 weeks of the season and the delay of the start date
  59. delayed filing
  60. Congress’ waiting until the last minute to deal with the “fiscal cliff” creating uncertainty with the tax code until January. Our software company was acquired which created more than the usual annual growing pains.
  61. TaxWorks software might be ready to do Beta testing at this point. It’s awful, and my last year. Everything takes at least twice as long, maybe longer. I couldn’t even get organizers out until February. Also late revisions of brokerage statement, and late Congressional action. Can’t get anything finalized and out the door.
  62. Late forms availability. 2012 ATX tax prep software had major issues, basically a piece of junk!
  63. Compressed season due to congress and their stupidity.
  64. lost clients and many software problems
  65. Returns coming in late, tax law changes, corrected 1099’s after return prepared
  66. Based upon current business
  67. Delay’s by the IRS etc. I need two more weeks to finish and think the IRS should give it to us!
  68. Software Problems
  69. Forms not ready on time and lack of answers due to Sandy
  70. Delivery of tax software was impacted by late legislation.
  71. Revised ATX software is horrible.
  72. Clients tax returns I transmitted on 1/31 to 2/04 took too long to process resulting to delayed refunds and clients were upset.
  73. software issues and the delay by clients in scheduling appointments.
  74. Software issues #1
  75. Late arriving IRS forms. Software provider while extremely reliable in past years was/is horrible with wait time for response to any technical issue consistently over an hour.
  76. Software used (TaxWoks) has had major changes and is not performing as needed. Multiple long calls and waiting for forms to be released. Partially due to IRS, partially due to TaxWorks
  77. Delayed filing
  78. Late changes to the laws. The stress of constant software updates.
  79. mostly software problems Rewritten tax software was not properly tested before release, very slow and error filled.
  80. Delayed starting time for filing returns
  81. Software problems and delay in receiving 1099 forms, k-1 forms etc. 2011 problems still out there in current year!
  82. Among every other problem created by governmental stupidity, my software crashed and burned in late February early March.
  83. Software issues and late tax changes
  84. Lost clients, down revenues
  85. software, tax changes, staffing issue
  86. much more manic, emergency requests, limited budgets, clients not willing to pay for services
  87. Only 50% of clients have called
  88. MORE WORK CRAMMED INTO A SHORTER TIME PERIOD. DELAYED FORMS, SOFTWARE UPDATES SLOW DUE TO LATE TAX CHANGES, EIC NIGHTMARE.
  89. My software is as bad as I have ever experienced. Between that and the late legislative changes, it’s been a nightmare. I’m still not able to file all my returns because of software delays.
  90. IRS and software delays.
  91. Congressional Incompetence; the average taxpayer is having difficulty keeping up with IRS information requirements; tardiness of clients receiving their 1099’s and reports from brokerage firms.
  92. late brokers statements, late forms, estimated tax forms late
  93. Cannot get caught up with the forms released late
  94. Software and late changes
  95. Congress mess; software problems
  96. The Tax Program I purchased had some very bad programming and management.
  97. Congress delayed the start of the tax season & some taxpayers have decided to be late in filing or attempt to do it themselves even though their returns are too complex to be done without a tax professional.
  98. ATX Software is crap and should be abolished. Government changes.
  99. ATX software problems
  100. software problems
  101. Software issues and delayed filing issues
  102. DELAY IN CONGRESS PASSING TAX CODE. DELAY IN IRS ACCEPTING ELECTRONIC FILING. FORMS 1099 ARRIVING LATE& NEEDING CORRECTIONS.

.