OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

Amy Cooper: New Research Unpacks Key Retention Factors | Know-How Korner

By

Study finds job embeddedness, not engagement, drives retention.

Subscribe anywhere: Apple, Google/Youtube, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music and Audible, Player FM, Audacy, Gaana (India), Boomplay (Africa), or RSS. 


Know-How Korner
With Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation

A new study by Dr. Amy Cooper, CPA, CFE, CGMA, an assistant accounting professor and program director at University of Alaska Fairbanks, challenges conventional wisdom, revealing that job embeddedness—not engagement—is the key to keeping accountants in public firms. 

MORE: Donny Shimamoto

“I assumed smaller firms would foster stronger embeddedness, but my research showed the opposite,” says Dr. Cooper. “Larger firms offer more career mobility, specialization, and structured support, which increase long-term commitment.” 
READ MORE →

Gaps Galore at the IRS

By

stressed businessman, heads on hands

Some of the fixes are simple.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The word “gap” occurs 28 times in the National Taxpayers Advocate’s 2024 Annual Report to Congress. The report highlights a wide and crippling assortment of gaps in America’s favorite tax agency.

  • A tax gap
  • A salary gap

MORE: Is Voluntary Disclosure of Tax Noncompliance Working? | IRS Needs to Work Better with Its Workers | Why ITIN Applications Get Delayed | The Ouches of the Tax ‘Practitioner’ Scam | Could the IRS Do Better with the Phones? | IRS Sluggish on Identity Theft | Tax Preparers Share Advice for Your Clients | Check These 41 Items on Business Tax Returns | IRS Must Speed Up Tax Return Processing | First Tax Filing Reports Are In | Cut Down Your Tax Work in Progress | More Than 1 Million ERC Claims Still Not Processed
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

  • A tax pro oversight gap
  • A hiring data gap

READ MORE →

What CPA Firms Could Do Better

By

Businessman looking thoughtful

Survey respondents have specific suggestions.

By CPA Trendlines Research

People at CPA firms generally think their practice is pretty effective at meeting its objectives with consistency over time.

But only 5 percent think their firm’s doing a great job. And about that many think their firm’s doing a somewhat lousy job.

MORE Barometer: SURVEY: Which Client Industries Will Grow This Year | Tax Preparers Share Advice for Your Clients | Staffing, Tech, Prices Top Tax Pros’ Concerns | Tax Pros Gear Up for a Better Busy Season | Tax Season 2025 Begins. Ready or Not.
GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

 

The 2025 Busy Season Barometer is finding that on a scale of 1 to 10, 45 percent of respondents would rate their firm at an 8 or better, and another 25 percent give their firm a so-so 7.
READ MORE →