BUSY SEASON MANAGEMENT

Tax Season Faceplant: Accountants Overrun by Late Chaos

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Businesswoman with headache at laptop

 

Technology and the economy threw some wrenches into the mix.

By CPA Trendlines Research

This year’s tax season seems to have been pretty good, according to the latest from the CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer, though not quite as good as expected.

Survey respondents went into the season with cautiously optimistic expectations. The percentage who felt that this year they were better prepared for the three-month grind remains constant at about 46 percent, comparing December/January with early April.

MORE Barometer: Accountants Turn Negative Amid Tariffs, Trade, Uncertainty | What CPA Firms Could Do Better | 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.
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But many who figured they were as prepared this year as ever were apparently in for a sad surprise. Before the season, 41 percent said they were prepared as well as in 2024, but that number plummeted to 25 percent by April. The shift is toward the “worse” end of the scale, with the “much worse” response doubling from 3 percent to 6 percent, and “somewhat worse” nearly doubling from 11 percent to almost 20 percent.
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Start Pondering Next Tax Season Now

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businesswoman wearing glasses seated at computer; growth chart on wall

Take what you’ve learned and make your practice better.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

Please have a seat. No, not that one. Take the one next to me. All of us are here because we love you to death. We only want the best for you. But we can no longer stand by and watch you suffer. When you suffer, we all suffer as a family. We have written some letters to let you know how we feel. I’ll let your firm go first.

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“Your behavior has affected me negatively in the following manner. I’m not as profitable as I should be. You are stifling the development of your staff. Your clients are upset that returns aren’t getting done on time. Your kids resemble the mailman more than you.

“Please accept the help we are offering you today. We have your bags packed, and we’ll put you on a plane to rehab at the beach. Don’t worry about scoring your next fix. We’ll help you detox safely. But you must decide right now. You must give up your addiction to doing everything yourself.”
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Shorter Turnaround = Happier Tax Clients

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woman with tablet wearing swimsuit sitting in beach lounge chair staring out at ocean

 

Do you know your turnaround time?

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

Todd Rundgren sang, “I don’t want to work. I just wanna bang on the drum all day.”

I agree with half of that. I don’t want to work. However, I want someone else to bang on the drum all day for me. I’m not that ambitious.

The key to achieving Hall of Fame-level laziness is delegation.

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If I have no ambition to do anything, but want things to get done, someone else must do them. Similarly, effective practice management is putting the right people in the right places accomplishing the right tasks at the right times. That’s a pretty damn good definition of effective laziness as well. There’s a subtle genius in that.
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Four Problems with ‘Quick’ Tax Questions

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They’re not always so simple.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Tax Season Opportunity Guide

I keep a few of the one-volume tax guides in my office so I could look up a quick answer when I need to. Recently a golf buddy emailed me a question that I thought I could answer quickly. He wanted to know that if he was in the “zero” percent capital gains tax bracket, did that apply to an unlimited amount of capital gains? Sounds like a simple question.

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Well I looked it up online and then in three one-volume tax guides. Only one source had thorough coverage of the issue. I ended up spending an hour on this “simple” question including my emailed response. Nothing is simple anymore.

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Two Types of Tax Review and How to Use Them

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woman reading document at desk

Let color-coded tick marks be your friends.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

One of your roles as CEO is reviewer. There are two types of review: primary and secondary.

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Depending on the size of your firm, you may only have primary reviews. If your firm consists of you and a preparer, you won’t have a second level of review. I don’t consider the self-review as a review step. I consider it part of preparation.
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Make Tax Workflow Work for You

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smiling woman wearing glasses, looking at computer screen

Tell quickly when a delay is the client’s fault. Plus: 12-step tax return and 8-step writeup workflows.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

Let’s play buzzword bingo. I’ll go first: workflow.

Workflow is the CPA firm buzzword of the decade. Every vendor leech trying to suck the life out of your bank account drops this term, and in so doing, workflow now means everything and nothing at all. Marketers have so devalued the term that we shouldn’t be surprised that no one has an effective workflow, because no one knows what it is. Let’s flush the confusion.

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Workflow is not scanning and import software. Workflow is not workpaper binder software. Workflow is not a portal or tax return preparation software. Workflow is not project management software, much as it pains me to so state. These are no more workflow than a hammer is real estate development. They are tools to accomplish workflow.
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Remember These Nine Tax Season Resources

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Happy family of four outdoors in winter clothing on snow

Don’t take them for granted.

By Ed Mendlowitz
Tax Season Opportunity Guide

We have many resources and need to recognize that. And we need to treat each with its own importance. Even if you did everything yourself, you’d still need to rely on your tax software company, FedEx and the Postal Service, stationery supplier, computer consultant, the internet and email, cell phone provider and copier/scanner machine. And that’s just a few of the resources we rely on. Managing your resources well creates an aura of security and consistency to your practice.

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But there more. And they are often overlooked. Or taken for granted. Here are some more resources that need to be managed:
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Teach Time Management and Tax Reviewing

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man and woman looking down at document

Avoid the dreaded “what’s the status of” questions.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

Let’s discuss two training issues in detail: teaching time management and teaching review skills.

The biggest training gift that you can give your staff is time management training. You may want to offer formal training, but I have never found one that was really specific to CPA firms and the daily challenges we face.

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Two time-management skills are at the heart of what CPA firms do. First, teach your staff task switching. By that I mean they shouldn’t get locked in on one type of task to the exclusion of others.
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How to Assign Projects to Staff

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Magnet drawing in three peopleSoftware helps, so here are three tips for choosing it.

By Frank Stitely
The Relentless CPA

Let’s talk about assigning staff to projects. Understand that this discussion will mean nothing the first two weeks of April, when you may be assigning the family dog to some returns.

And that makes perfect sense in those circumstances. I’ve done worse. Who knew that goldfish can’t type?

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There are two factors to consider in assigning a project to a staff member.

First, does your staff member have the technical capability to complete the project? Some people are good at personal tax returns. Others are good at business returns. A few rare, wonderful individuals are good at both.
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