OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

Busy Season Barometer Offers Clues for Better Business

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workers in busy office

Take a tip from a peer.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer: Emerging Issues, Opportunities, and Trends is more than just a survey of the state of the industry at CPA firms across the nation. It also offers clues to what firms are doing to make the busy season better, easier and more profitable.

The clues are in the comments – open-ended answers where practitioners tell us what they’re doing, how they’re feeling and where they’re going.

MORE: Tax Practitioners Say Happy Days Are Here … Again | The IRS Is Coming! Get Your Clients into Compliance | End Tax Season Meetings with Clients … Seriously | Brandon Hall: Firms Try to Make Too Much on Tax Prep | Eight Steps to Getting Started with AI: A Guide for Tax Professionals | FTC Nails TurboTax for ‘Free Filing’ Scam | If Only the IRS’s Tax Pro Were Useful | ID Theft a Problem for IRS Even When It Doesn’t Exist
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One of the best questions is “What are you doing differently this year?” Each answer reflects an attempt to make the best of a stressful situation – the annual tax season.

Here are a few quotes to think about, categorized by how well various respondents’ seasons are going this year. Each is an idea that might make your year better.
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Tax Pros Take the Edge in E-Filings

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data table

Refunds up 5+ percent.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

The machine that is the Internal Revenue Service keeps clicking along. As of March 15, the IRS had received 71.6 million individual income tax returns, down 0.4 percent from the same period in 2023, and had processed 70.6 million, down 1.2 percent.

MORE: Tax Pros Handle 46.4% of E-filing | Tax Refunds, Tax Pro Market Share Trending Up | Refunds Up as Tax Pros Tackle 41.5% of E-filings | Tax Pros Handle 37.7% of E-filings | Tax Pros File 33% of Early Returns
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E-filings

Electronic filings totaled 69.5 million, down 0.3 percent.
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Firms Culling Clients as Staffing Woes Persist

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man in suit exiting office building

Others tap outsourcing, training clerical staff as solutions.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Early results from the CPA Trendlines 2024 Busy Season Barometer: Emerging Issues, Opportunities, and Trends are showing a painfully persistent problem with staff shortages, though it seems the hardship may have improved a bit since last year.

MORE: Revenue Up at 59% of Accounting Firms … and More Good News | Compensation’s Up, but Up Enough to Retain Staff? | Are Accountants Charging Too Little? | ChatGPT for the Reluctant Accountant | CPAs Needed to Help Small Biz Adopt AI | Revenue Growth Is Top Priority for Small Firms | Is the CPA Business Model the Clog in the Pipeline?
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This year, like last year, survey respondents are reporting staffing as the second most common concern. Last year, it was reported by 47 percent, almost tied with the main concern: late or unprepared clients.

This year, uncooperative clients still rank first, at 50 percent, but staffing concerns have dropped to 37 percent.
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Tax Pros Gain Ground, and DIYers Maintain Lead

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data table

Refunds are up over 4 percent.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

With about a month left in the 2024 tax season, the individual income tax returns keep pouring in, and the Internal Revenue Service keeps grinding them out.

The IRS had received 62.8 million returns, down 1.1 percent from the previous year, as of March 8, the latest data available. It had processed 61.9 million returns, down 2.1 percent.

MORE: Tax Pros Handle 46.4% of E-filing | Tax Refunds, Tax Pro Market Share Trending Up | Refunds Up as Tax Pros Tackle 41.5% of E-filings | Tax Pros Handle 37.7% of E-filings | Tax Pros File 33% of Early Returns
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E-filings

Electronic filings totaled 61.2 million, down 0.9 percent.
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Revenue Up at 59% of Accounting Firms … and More Good News

By

financial graph on blackboard

Technology is key for competitive advantage.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The 2024 Accounting Industry Report from Wolters Kluwer cuts through a lot of the underbrush of sentiments and anecdotal evidence about the state of the accounting business today. Backed by statistical data, the report presents a some significant truths about the state of the industry.

MORE: Compensation’s Up, but Up Enough to Retain Staff? | Are Accountants Charging Too Little? | Revenue Growth Is Top Priority for Small Firms | Is the CPA Business Model the Clog in the Pipeline? | Accountants Cozy Up to Clients with CAS | SURVEY: CPAs Culling Clients for Better Work-Life Balance | Women-Owned Businesses Upbeat but Need Help | Accountants to the Rescue as Startups Struggle | Looking for Recent Grads? Good Luck | What the Corporate Transparency Act Means for Accountants | Understanding the Full Cost of a Data Breach | Why the U.S. Must Act Now to Protect Our Online Privacy
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And the general state is good. Most firms are growing, profitability is up, new services are surging, and serious practices are making efforts to improve the quality of client experience.

Here are some of the most notable facts.
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