CPA Trendlines Research

Karbon Builds a Practice Management Platform on Steroids

Cofounder Ian Vacin explains the value of connectedness.

Ian Vacin is the cofounder and vice president of product marketing at Karbon, a software designed to help firms improve their processes. He described why process improvement is vital to a functioning firm.

MORE ON RADICALISM: Firm Product Management Is the Way to the Future | Josh Zweig’s LiveCA Offers New Thinking from the Ground Up | How ‘Agile’ Applies to CPA Firms | Our Pain Points Are Opportunities | Transitioning to a Radical Firm: Bringing a Legacy Customer Along
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“You can’t keep operating at the same pace using the existing processes that you have today,” Vacin said.
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New Tax Law Roils Busy Season 2018

How savvy CPAs turn confusion into new billings.

By Rick Telberg
CPA Trendlines Research

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act won’t officially take effect until next year, but professionals are already reporting that it’s causing problems and depressing their forecasts for this year’s busy season results.

MORE on BUSY SEASON: Tax Pros Gain Slight Ground in E-Filings | Tax Pros Turning in Only 39% of E-Filings | Beware the EZ Way Out | IRS #FAILs at Online Services Spell Problems for Professionals | Can the IRS Improve Its Phone Service? | When Clients Face ‘Unreal’ IRS Audits | IRS Warns about Private Debt Collectors for Tax Season 2018

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Early soundings from the annual CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer show that 33 percent of practitioners are forecasting more trouble this year than last year – and they blame it on the new tax law.

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When Artificial Intelligence Gets Real

Survey: 78 percent “would work with an A.I. manager if it meant a more balanced workload.”

By Rick Telberg
CPA Trendlines

There’s a brave new world rising, a world juiced up on artificial intelligence.

MORE on A.I.: Lessons for Accountants from Self-Driving Cars | How Artificial Intelligence Will Drive the Next Wave of Merger Mania | How Artificial Intelligence Feeds Accounting Marketing

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What’s it going to be like? What will A.I. be capable of? Is it the dawn of a glorious new age of automation or a Cat-5 storm cloud on the horizon?

CPA Trendlines has some answers, and you might not like them.

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Beware the EZ Way Out

IRS mulls new 1023-EZ rules for 501(c)(3)’s.

By Rick Telberg
CPA Trendlines

It’s safe to say that CPA firms tend to love IRS Form 1023-EZ, the simplified form for application for 501(c)(3) tax exempt status. Introduced in 2014, the form was EZ on the nascent, smallish not-for-profit and on the CPA trying to help them get started.

SPECIAL REPORT – Fixing the IRS: IRS #FAILs at Online Services Spell Problems for Professionals | Tax Accountants Fill the Breach of a Failing IRS | Beware the EZ Way Out | Can the IRS Improve Its Phone Service? | When Clients Face ‘Unreal’ IRS Audits | IRS Warns about Private Debt Collectors for Tax Season 2018 | Underfunded IRS Swamped with Problems | IRS in Retreat from Communities | Military Personnel Face New Battles at Home: The IRS | As New Economy Surges, IRS Falls Further Behind | Is the IRS Winning the Battle Against Identity Theft? | IRS Mulls Raising Fees to Cover Budget Shortfalls |

More at taxtrendlines.com

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This easier version of Form 1023 was a good and necessary idea. The IRS was way backed up on approvals of the original application. Approval was taking an average of 315 days. To the delight of do-gooders, wanna-be do-gooders, and outright frauds, virtually all 1023-EZs are approved in short order. Approvals were and still are passed down in just a couple of weeks.

Trouble is, a lot of those expedited approvals were for organizations that didn’t qualify for 501(c)(3) status.

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Biometrics and Next-Gen Security for Innovative Firms

Portrait of Thomas Schoessow — Schoessow

3 critical points to consider.

By Thomas Schoessow
VP of Technology, AbacusNext

When you enter the field of accounting, it’s natural to assume you know what you need to know in order to develop your practice and succeed. After all, you’re an expert in your field, and you can help clients build their business and think strategically about their financial decisions.

But, what you may not have realized is that much of your success and growth will rely not only on your subject matter expertise, but also on how you manage technology and data security within your accounting firm. READ MORE →

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