OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

Will Unclogging the Accounting Pro Pipeline Kill Mobility?

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man placing box on desk to move into new job, with to coworkers in background

Changing the 150-hour requirement could have unintended consequences.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The day-to-day of the CPA may be grueling at times, but one thing makes the day a little easier – the facility of mobility.

Not only can a CPA with a driver’s license in one state drive in other states, but in most cases, they can practice their profession in other states, too. If you’re licensed to practice in one state, you’re good to go in every other state except, coincidentally, the one you can’t drive to.

MORE: Accountants Cozy Up to Clients with CAS | Accountants Torn Over 2024 Economy, Offer Advice | Are You Offering the Right Services? | 42% of Accountants Turn Away Work Over Staff Shortages | Talent Gap Widening: Be Very Scared | Looking for Recent Grads? Good Luck
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Practice mobility is crucial in a business system that often as not transcends state borders, and it’s even more important as professionals work remotely, sitting in one state while practicing in another.
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CAS ‘One-Stop Shop’ Means Steady Clientele

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bar chartAccountants share which niches offer the best new opportunities.

By CPA Trendlines Research

How do you measure success in client accounting services?

MORE CAS SURVEY: Accountants Cozy Up to Clients with CAS
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Almost half of early respondents to the CPA Trendlines Outlook 2024: Emerging Issues, Opportunities and Trends survey define success as that glorious moment when they become a one-stop shop for their clients.
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Tax & Accounting Firms to See More Consolidation

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illustration of business negotiation with paperwork, puzzle pieces

ALSO: Next Gen leadership will rise.

By Jennifer Wilson
The Rosenberg MAP Survey

EDITOR’S NOTE: Every year, the Rosenberg MAP Survey asks the industry’s top consultants to share their observations from CPA firms across the country. How do you think the next 12 months will unfold? Also, how would you assess the last 12 months?

Unless there’s another round of vaccines, we’ll see more COVID-19 disruption as colder weather forces more firm activities indoors. More consolidation will happen as more firm leaders feel pressure to move their problems to a larger firm and the megafirms feel more pressure to keep up with the Joneses and absorb more.

MORE: 2024 OUTLOOK: ‘Specialization Is the Future’ | Remote Work Will See Cuts; PE Will Trickle Down | Tech, Capital Will Drive Accounting Profession Growth | ‘Great Shakeup’ in CPA Firms on the Way | PE, Consolidations to Keep Impacting Accounting Profession | Soft Skills Are Front and Center
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At some point, perhaps longer than 12 months from now, one or more of the superconsolidators is going to falter. More than likely is some significant service failures as their lack of integration and acculturation drives turnover and a talent shortage beyond what they’re able to rescue. I hope this doesn’t happen, but it feels like some of these firms are facing a perfect storm of financial performance and growth expectations, high client demand, capacity issues and a less unified, disorganized leadership apparatus unable to respond to these challenges.
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2024 OUTLOOK: ‘Specialization Is the Future’

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man holding pen touching the word "specialization" floating in air with symbols

Audit troubles meet staffing shortages; uh-oh.

By Carrie Steffen
The Rosenberg MAP Survey

EDITOR’S NOTE: Every year, the Rosenberg MAP Survey asks the industry’s top consultants to share their observations from CPA firms across the country. How do you think the next 12 months will unfold? Also, how would you assess the last 12 months?

There are a couple of interesting stories on the horizon. First is the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s crackdown on audit deficiencies and how that will play out vs. a push to ease some of the requirements to become a CPA.

MORE: Remote Work Will See Cuts; PE Will Trickle Down | Three Ways Firms Can Succeed in 2024 | New Energy Comes from New Ways of Doing Business | AI for Accounting Automation Will Be Significant | A 40-Hour Workweek Is Feasible | It’s Time for a New Business Model
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With a perception of the quality of audits declining and the number of CPA candidates dropping, how will the profession reconcile the pressure to improve quality with fewer people to do the work and the proposed solution of lowering the threshold to become a CPA?
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Accountants Cozy Up to Clients with CAS

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bar chartSurvey respondents tell us what their clients want from CAS that they don’t get from other services.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Accountants are using client accounting services (CAS) to get closer to their clients, according to early results from the CPA Trendlines Outlook 2024: Emerging Issues, Opportunities and Trends survey.

MORE: Accountants Torn Over 2024 Economy, Offer Advice | Accountants Bullish on Income | CPAs Culling Clients for Better Work-Life Balance | Are You Offering the Right Services? | Which Niche’s the Best Niche? | 42% of Accountants Turn Away Work Over Staff Shortages
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The survey doesn’t exactly ask about CAS leading to a closer relationship with clients, but responses to various questions indicate just such a result.
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