BUSY SEASON MANAGEMENT

Accountants Cautiously Bullish on the Economy

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The CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer. Join the survey. Get the Results
The CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer. Join the survey. Get the Results

“Local optimism” a bit better than last year.

The CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer
New year, new strategies.
Join the survey. Get the results.

By CPA Trendlines Research

When CPAs talk about the economy, people listen. They listen because accountants have their finger on the pulse of the economy. They look at real numbers all day. They look at where the numbers are coming from and where they’re probably going. It’s what they do.

MORE: Pros Improving Performance | Can the IRS Enforce the Tax Code? | Tax Pros Upbeat on Cusp of Busy Season | IRS Undertakes Overhaul
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For that reason, CPA Trendlines’ 2020 Busy Season Barometer steps back from strictly tax issues to ask how things look economically. The answers are always interesting.

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Use Tax Return Prep for Training and Growth

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Man and two women talking in officePLUS: 10 reasons to improve your review process.

The CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer: New year, new plans?
Join the survey. Get the plans.

By Ed Mendlowitz
How to Review Tax Returns: The Field-Tested Update

Tax season is a microcosm of everything done in an accounting practice.

MORE MENDLOWITZ: 4 Reasons to Push Ahead with Tax Question Research | One Can’t-Skip Touch for Tax Season | 5 Steps for Tax Season Success | Help Tax Clients Help You | 3 Steps to Tax Season Happiness | 12 Ways to Have More Fun This Tax Season | Bill with the Tax Return, Get Paid Faster
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One of the primary concerns of a business is having the proper processes and quality control procedures.

Choosing how to properly use the reviewers’ time and interface them with the staff can contribute immensely to a smooth tax season.
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It’s Official: IRS Sets Monday, Jan. 27, as Start of Filing Season 2020

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April 15 is in 98 days. But who’s counting?

By CPA Trendlines

The Internal Revenue Service confirmed that the nation’s tax season will start for individual tax return filers on Monday, January 27, 2020, when the tax agency will begin accepting and processing 2019 tax year returns.

Follow all our Busy Season coverage here

The deadline to file 2019 tax returns and pay any tax owed is Wednesday, April 15, 2020. More than 150 million individual tax returns for the 2019 tax year are expected to be filed, with the vast majority of those coming before the traditional April tax deadline. READ MORE →

The Top Five Reasons Tax Clients Go DIY

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And the top five ways to win them back.

By CPA Trendlines

Taxpayers are more than twice as likely to use do-it-your-self software to prepare their returns, but they’re also 38 percent less likely to be satisfied when they do, according to a new survey by a tax software vendor.

Focused on what pushes consumers towards tax-prep DIY software technology solutions, the study of more than 500 taxpayers across the U.S. shows broad opportunities for accounting professionals.

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Tax Season Savvy: Five Ways to Stay Sane

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Why good boundaries make good workplaces.

By Kristen Rampe

After spending nearly 20 years with accountants (including myself!), I’ve come to recognize a common trait among our tribe. We’re a group of people who love saying “yes.”

MORE:  Why Host a Partner Retreat? |  SURVEY RESULTS: Effective Stay Interviews for CPA Firms |  The 16 Biggest #FAILs in Delegation |  SURVEY: Work-Life Balance: According to Whom? |  SURVEY RESULTS: Two Ways Your Strategic Plan Can Reduce Turnover

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We say “yes” to clients, firm partners, our team members, family, friends, volunteer engagements and so on. People love us for it. I mean, when you think of qualities you look for in people you work with, willingness and reliability are right up at the top of the list.

But as you’re working tirelessly to meet the needs of everyone you encounter, how are your own needs being met?

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Why Tax Time Is the Best Time to Get New Business

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Businesswoman talking on phoneSometimes it’s as easy as being available.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting

Tax season has always been the best time of the year for me to get new business.

MORE: Problem Clients | How to Make Your Own Opportunities | Large Clients We Landed from QuickBooks Consulting | 26 Value-Added Benefits Clients Need to Know | Some Mistakes I Made | Growing with a Client
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The reason is that there is much less competition.

I never turn down an opportunity to get new business, whether it is tax work, audits, consultations or special assignments. Tax season notwithstanding, I am always available to meet with someone who needs an accountant.
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Debunking the Demise of the CPA Firm

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AI and blockchain aren’t replacing us.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

Industry pundits subject us to a nonstop barrage of predictions that CPA firms will cease to exist very shortly. You know how much I love our industry pundits, who have never worked a day in a CPA firm. I dislike the ones who have not worked in CPA firms in the last 20 years only slightly less. Their predictions are total and utter nonsense.

MORE: How to Thrive as a 21st-Century Firm | 7 Steps to Effective Project Management | WIP-ing Clients Into Shape | Managing People: The Heart of Effective Project Management | Beware the Leeches and Consultants
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I see two main types of doomsday predictions from our pundit buddies. First, they tell us that artificial intelligence will replace us. Next, if AI doesn’t get us, blockchain will.
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Seven Changes in the New Taxpayer First Act Clients Need to Know

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Young man under rain-covered umbrellaOne Congressman says it “levels the playing field.”

By Barry J. Friedman, CPA
IndustryNewsletters

The Taxpayer First Act of 2019 is redesigning how the IRS works with taxpayers, even though it may take a while for many of the provisions to take effect.

MORE: How Manufacturers Can Use the R&D Tax Credit | Padding Your Tax Deductions? The Consequences Are Serious | Beware the Taxes of Self-Employment | Charitable Giving under TCJA
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Some experts have highlighted the following aspects of the bill as especially important:
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How Manufacturers Can Use the R&D Tax Credit

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Bottles of sunflower oil on an assembly lineThere’s a 4-part test.

By Barry J. Friedman, CPA
IndustryNewsletters

Many manufacturing companies fail to take advantage of the generous research and development (R&D) tax credit simply because they don’t have staff working in a lab. The Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) definition of R&D is codified at Internal Revenue Code Section 41 and its related regulations – and it may not be exactly what you think it is.

MORE: Padding Your Tax Deductions? The Consequences Are Serious | Alternative Minimum Tax: What’s It Like Today? | 6 Key Facts About Excise Taxes | Gifts to Charity: 6 Facts about Written Acknowledgments | Yes, Home Equity Loans May Still Be Deductible
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From 2018 to 2027, the estimated value of R&D tax credits to be claimed by U.S. companies is estimated at $163 billion, with $148 billion of that going to corporations.
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