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ADVISORY & CONSULTING

Outlook 2026: Accountants Brace for a Rough Economy

Expect strong demand for tax planning, business advisory and bookkeeping cleanup work. 

By CPA Trendlines Research

The CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer indicates that tax and accounting leaders anticipate growth in their own firms, even as they prepare for anxious business clients, persistent inflation, and a policy environment that keeps planning on edge.

MORE Busy Season and 2026 Outlook

BUSY SEASON BAROMETER: Join the survey. Get the results

About half of all accountants in the survey are bracing for a deteriorating economy, with a third expecting rosier scenarios, for a net negative 17.2 percentage points. For small and mid-sized businesses, accountants are at a negative 9.3 points.

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CHARTS & GRAPHS

Outlook 2026: The Painful Paradigm Shift in Staff Pay and Hiring

Pivoting with the Paradigm: Staff salaries are rising sharply even as job growth plateaus.

New jobs data signal fundamental pivot for accounting firms.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The year 2026 may be long remembered as the paradigm-shifting moment when accounting firms were forced to pivot everything from their business models to their budgets.

MORE Outlook 2026, Pay, Hiring

The reason: Salary and pay increases are accelerating even as hiring momentum stalls.

Going into 2026, labor costs have been cleaved from labor supply. The new, structurally higher staffing line is forcing firms to rewrite their budgets as well as business models.

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Cornerstone

Outlook 2026: Agentic AI Reaches the Tipping Point in Tax and Accounting Firms

AI-powered firms are closing books faster, reallocating staff time to higher-value work, and widening the competitive gap with slower adopters.

By CPA Trendlines Research
Cornerstone Report

As artificial intelligence transitions from a buzzword to a business imperative, CPA firms across the U.S. are quietly beginning to deploy generative AI assistants, machine learning tools, and “agentic” AI platforms to automate audits, prepare taxes, and provide financial insights.

With the astonishing surge in AI adoption, firm leaders say we’ve reached a tipping point where those not investing in AI risk being left behind.

MORE CPA Trendlines Cornerstone Reports

In this Cornerstone Report, accounting firms show how they are leveraging AI to transform their operations, the benefits and challenges they are encountering, and what it all means for the future of the profession, including:

  • Why AI adoption in CPA firms has hit a tipping point
  • How agentic AI is transforming tax, audit, and advisory work
  • The real productivity, ROI, and revenue gains firms are reporting
  • What AI means for staffing, skills, and firm economics
  • The risks, governance challenges, and regulatory implications ahead
  • How firm leaders can deploy AI without falling behind

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OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

Outlook 2026: Can Tax & Accounting Payrolls Keep Surging to New Highs?

Record High: Tax and accounting industry hits 1,163,600 jobs, an annualized growth rate of 2%, and a new all-time high.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The full tax and accounting industry—which includes accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services—has hit a new record high with 1,163,600 jobs, representing an annualized growth rate of 2%, which is measurably stronger than the year-over-year 1.23% gain, according to new data examined by CPA Trendlines. But a choppy economy and political volatility have accountants and observers alike wondering if the trends can continue in 2026

MORE Staffing and Pay Trends

CPA offices managed to add 1,700 jobs over the past year, keeping the segment on a slow but positive trajectory. Employment at offices of certified public accountants is holding steady at 544,300 positions, matching the month-before figure. The revision from the previous estimate of 544,600 marks a modest 0.06% downgrade. The year-over-year trend improved slightly to 0.3%, up from 0.2% in the prior report. READ MORE →

PRO Member Exclusive

Outlook 2026: Higher Tax Prices, Rising Strains, and a Widening Gap Among Firms

The 2026 filing season will have an increasingly uneven pricing structure.

Busy Season Barometer: Most tax practices remain clustered below $1,500 in typical annual client fees. A smaller, higher-priced tier is emerging, characterized by minimum fees, selective client retention, and a stronger willingness to raise rates. Dig deeper, and the reality is even more nuanced.

By CPA Trendlines

Top-priced tax practices are driving typical annual client fees toward $3,000 and above this year, according to the CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer survey, underscoring how rising costs are pressuring most firms even as a smaller group gains pricing power through scale, selectivity, and tighter engagement control.

JOIN the Busy Season Barometer survey. Get the results. | MORE TAX and PRICING

One CPA respondent put it bluntly: “We are raising rates again this year. Some clients will leave. That’s fine. We can’t keep doing $400 returns when staff wages keep rising.” Another practitioner described a more selective approach: “We didn’t raise everyone equally. We raised prices where the work was painful and left simpler clients mostly alone.”

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