The 2011 Tax Season Outlook: Busy, Bordering on Crazy [VIDEO]

Professional tax practitioners should be bracing for a difficult but potentially highly profitable tax season.

John Sapp, vice president of sales, marketing and education at Drake tax software, provides two reasons: Taxpayers never needed a professional’s services more and professionals rarely have had such an opportunity to prove their value.

What are accountants expecting for Busy Season 2011?
Join the survey, get the results.
Find out what your colleagues are saying.

“Preparers are going to succeed by selling their services and their knowledge,” says Sapp at the Illinois CPA society’s annual trade show.

Big question for workflows: Will the IRS be ready for full e-filing Jan. 15? Or will the agency push back some dates because of last-minute changes wrought by Congress?

Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

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Posted on September 1, 2010
Filed Under BSG [CPA TRENDLINES] | 2 Comments

How to Flourish in Tough Times [VIDEO]

Stalled economy separates the quick and the dead.

With marginal clients falling by the wayside, it may be time for accountants to rethink how they do business, according to Dave Pollack, vice president of sales at AccountantsWorld, makers of the Power Practice cloud solution.

“The people who are proactive and seizing new opportunities are flourishing,” he says in this interview at annual the Illinois CPA society trade show.

What’s YOUR forecast for the economy?
Join the survey, get the results.
Find out what the profession thinks.

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Posted on September 1, 2010
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Hoisted from Comments: U.S. Economy Burns; Accountants Toast Marshmallows

“I don’t get it.”

Says CPA Conrad Geidt of Newport Beach, Calif., about the CPA Trendlines Busy Season 2010 survey, here: Economy Tops Busy Season Problems.

He’s struck by the irony of a sputtering economy and a surging profession:

57% say the general economic situation is affecting their business. (One would assume this to be a negative factor!!) BUT, 54% (19+35%) say their business is better off!!!

I wish I could say that CPAs are eternal optimists, but reality teaches me this is the profession that brought us the failure of Arthur Andersen and Enron. We just don’t seem to really understand micro and macro economic issues. It appears to me that we are headed into more uncertainty and challenges for all business. Heck, all you have to say is health care to know that business has big challenges ahead.

I suppose CPAs have gained a new “right to work act.” Unfortunately, this will not be good for business in general.

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Posted on May 16, 2010
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Economy Tops Busy Season Problems [UPDATED]

Still, many firms are reporting one of their most profitable seasons in years, with more extensions and higher revenue per client.
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Click here to join the survey and get the results as they develop.

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And accountants are decidedly upbeat on the outlook for their firms and themselves. Some 47% percent are expecting continuing improvements in business through 2010, compared to only 16% bracing for more setbacks. And at their own dinner tables, 44% are upbeat, compared with 16% who see more trouble ahead.

Click to enlarge

And, unlike in recent surveys, accountants are also generally upbeat about their clients, customers and the nation’s economic outlook as a whole — a stark reversal from a year ago this time when they saw the economy crashing and clients disappearing.

For firm leaders, all this could add up to a new round of heated competition as firms vie for a limited pool of Class A clients and, according to other research we’ve done, a surge in staff turnover.

If you thought it was a bumpy ride on the way down with the economy. Just hold on. It could be just as bumpy on the way up again.

But signs of strong season are emerging.
[Updated April 24, 2010 with data as it develops.]


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In a new CPA Trendlines survey by Bay Street Group LLC, the first 100 accounting firm professionals responding since the end of tax season April 15 are reporting that the “general economic situation” was their chief challenge or concern this year.
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Click here to join the survey and get the results as they develop.

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Second on the list: late or unprepared clients, which may be no surprise considering the economic toll on many businesses and individuals.

But the third-ranking issue may, indeed, come as a surprise: staffing. It may be ironic — or sweet revenge — that accounting firms were having trouble recruiting good staffers because just about a year ago at this time many of the same firms were cutting headcount in response to a collapsing economy.

Busy Season 2010: Top Issues
General economic situation. 57%
Clients late or unprepared. 32%
Staffing issues. 27%
Personal or family issues. 25%
Setting aside enough time to plan. 24%
Tax code changes. 23%
New accounting and auditing issues. 22%
Technology/software problems. 18%
Competition from others. 17%
IRS operations. 16%
Partner or office issues. 16%
New office, technology or software processes. 16%
Late or erroneous K1s, 1099s, etc. 15%
Making plans correctly. 14%
Source: CPA Trendlines
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Posted on April 20, 2010
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Accountants’ Top 10 Issues for Tax Season

CPAs brace for pain and uncertainty with cautious optimism, buoyed by signs the economy may have stabilized.

by Rick Telberg

As busy season lurches into high gear, accountants are expressing more confidence in the outlook for their own firms and organizations, buoyed by signs the economy may have stabilized.

Indeed, on a scale of one to five, with five being the best outlook for their organizations, accountants are reporting an average grade of 3.26, up a marked 20 percent from the year-ago 2.62 index level, according to CPA Trendlines research for the AICPA.

Top 10 Issues for Busy Season 2010
1. General economic situation
2. Setting aside enough time to plan
3. Staffing issues
4. Tax code changes
5. Personal or family issues
6. Technology/software problems
7. New accounting and auditing issues
8. New office, technology or software processes
9. Competition from others
10 Partner or office issues
Source: CPA Trendlines for AICPA

Read more

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Posted on February 16, 2010
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Just in time for tax season…

Show them how you really feel about busy season.

1040 toilet paper via prankplace

A collage of the 1040 IRS Form printed throughout the whole roll. Available at PrankPlace here.

Or try their best seller:

8511.5168.full

Ahh. Now doesn’t that feel better…?

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Posted on January 27, 2010
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Five Reasons You Can’t Stop Business Development during Busy Season

Make busy season into business development season.

“Firms need to look at the busy season as a stepping stone for 2010, while your clients are focused on taxes and accounting more than any other time,” according to John Ezell’s ProHorizons.

Here’s why you need a business development strategy in busy season:

  1. Accounting draws attention: The tax season is the time where you get the opportunity to meet your clients in person. Accounting is an important issue that, generally, captures an audience.
  2. Competitive advantage: Firms that make an effort at marketing during the busy season gain a competitive advantage over other firms who are not in the marketplace.
  3. Strengthened relationships: It is an opportunity to further strengthen relationships with existing clients.
  4. Increased referrals: Strengthened relationships will improve both quality and quantity of referrals.
  5. Accelerated growth: It offers opportunities to increase business and should not be wasted.

via Blog | ProHorizons.

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Posted on December 21, 2009
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Economy Weighs on Busy Season Outlook

Still, many CPAs see a better year ahead.

by Rick Telberg

CPAs appear to be headed into Busy Season 2010 with cautious optimism that this year will be better, or at least no worse, than last year’s, when the economy seemed to be careening out of control.

A survey of 151 professionals shows that 38 percent of respondents expect the 2010 busy season to be “better than last year,” compared with 22 percent who are bracing for one “worse than last year.” The rest, 40 percent, expect “about the same” according to the CPA Trendlines poll by Bay Street Group LLC for the AICPA Insider.

Michael Kelfer of Kelfer & Associates in Granada Hills, Calif., may not be typical of every tax practitioner when he reports a surge in referral business buoying his outlook for tax season. Yet, he’s wary. “I think the economy is still suffering and I do not see any relief in the near future.” His strategy is simple: “Service. Service. Service.”

Busy Season 2010: What to expect?

How to get ready?

Join the survey; get the results.

(Free. Confidential.)

Among those preparing for a more difficult year is Jerry L. Eden, at Eden, Sprowls & Co. in Elk City, Okla., which, he describes as “an area where oil and gas activity dictates revenue.”

Eden’s anxiety and anger surfaces easily when you ask him about the business situation. “The downturn seems to be leveling out, depending on what segment of the business world you’re in.” But he’s “not sure how things can improve substantially if jobs continue to be shifted to foreign countries.” Jerry is going to do what he knows how to do best: Focus on “continued hard work and knowledge.”

At this early stage of planning, it’s clear that the general economic situation tops the list of chief concerns this year, with 62 percent of practitioners mentioning it, followed by late or unprepared clients and getting up-to-date on the new tax issues.

Chief Concerns for Busy Season 2010
General economic situation. 62%
Clients late or unprepared. 48%
Getting up-to-date on new tax issues. 41%
Tax code changes. 38%
Setting aside enough time to plan. 30%
Late or erroneous K1s, 1099s, etc. 26%
Personal or family issues. 23%
Getting up-to-date on new office, technology or software processes. 21%
Finding good staffers. 20%
IRS operations. 17%
Partner or office issues. 17%
Making plans correctly. 16%
Technology/software problems. 15%
Competition from others. 12%
Getting up-to-date on new accounting and auditing issues. 12%

(Source: CPA Trendlines survey by Bay Street Group LLC for the AICPA Insiders)

As uncertain as the economy appears, and as difficult as it may be, accountants remain more optimistic for themselves than the economy-at-large or even some of their own clients. Only 12 percent rate busy season at all positively for the nation’s economy in general, with more than half (54%) expecting further deterioration.  Less than a quarter (19%) see upticks in the next few months for their clients and customers, but more than a third (39%) see declines.

That said, more than one in three (38%) accountants see improvements in their own firms and businesses, while less than one in four (22%) are bracing for tougher times. And, personally, when it comes to their own families and themselves, more than one in four (29%) accountants are optimistic for their economic lives at home, with 23 percent expecting conditions to worsen.

Terence Niewolny of White Bear Lake, Minn., doesn’t claim to be an economist or even to own a crystal ball. But he voices a common opinion when he says, “2010 will be fairly flat,” and the “economy won’t turn around until the second or third quarter of 2011.”

On the other hand, he’s still hoping to get enough business this tax season to put on some additional part time help. Let’s hope he’s wrong about how long it will take the economy to get going and that he’s right about needing more help this tax season.

Copyright 2009 AICPA
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Posted on November 16, 2009
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15 new client service opportunities for tax season 2010 [VIDEO]

If you’re not already scheduling meetings with tax clients for year-end planning, you may be falling behind.

The government’s massive response to the financial meltdown and business downturn is producing a volcano of changes in year-end tax planning and potentially new challenges when filing season starts in 2010.

We caught up with CCH tax guru Mark Luscombe at this week’s NASBA CPE Expo to get his thoughts on what accountants should be talking about with their clients today.

And we asked what kind of headaches tax professionals can expect for busy season.

Here’s more, a few excerpts from his slides, listing 15 items for individuals alone:

Eight  New 2009 Year-End Tax Planning Tips for Individuals

  1. Making Work Pay Credit (Watch out for under-withholding. Consider economic recovery payments)
  2. First-time Homebuyer Credit
  3. American Opportunity Tax Credit
  4. Qualified 529 Plan Expenses
  5. Exclusion for Unemployment benefits
  6. Madoff Losses
  7. Disaster Relief
  8. Plug-In Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit

Seven New 2010 Tax Proposals for Individuals

  1. Late changing rules, regs and forms through filing season
  2. Revised Saver’s Credit
  3. Restoring 36% and 39.6% brackets
  4. 20% cap gain and dividend rate
  5. Restore phase-out of itemized deductions and exemptions
  6. Limit tax value of itemized deductions to 28%
  7. New fees and taxes with healthcare insurance overhaul, including: (small business credit and surcharge on high-income earners)

Source: CCH

For more tips on client service opportunities in today’s market, click here to tune in to our Client Satisfaction and Retention webinar at 1 pm Eastern on Wednesday, October 7

What do you see as your biggest challenges and opportunities in the upcoming tax season? Tell us in comments…


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Posted on September 25, 2009
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