TECH and FINTECH

Busy Season 2026: The Year CAS Firms Seize the Lead

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Why is the busy season better for CAS accountants?

CAS Comparison: At firms where CAS is the leading fee-generator, CAS accountants are handling half the book (left) and collecting 10 times the fees (right).

By CPA Trendlines Research

With busy season 2026, accountants specializing in client accounting services are reaping the benefits of a year’s worth of hard work, in a smoother path to April 15, more compliant clients, and higher fees, according to the CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer.

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JOIN THE BUSY SEASON SURVEY. GET THE RESULTS

MORE BUSY SEASON BAROMETER | MORE CAS | MORE OUTLOOK 2026

The Busy Season Barometer marks the 2026 tax season as the breakthrough moment when CAS crosses from merely an aspirational experiment to a routine part of the service mix for small and midsize firms.

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Top Tech Trends for Tax Season 2026

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Holding Steady, Tuning Workflow, and Testing AI.

Tech plans: 43% of accountants say they’ll be working with new or upgraded versions of practice management & workflow apps, followed by 25% with tax prep packages.

By CPA Trendlines Research

With the 2026 filing season approaching, most accounting firms are not racing to rip and replace their technology stacks. Instead, they are making selective adjustments, tightening workflows, and cautiously experimenting with artificial intelligence — all while keeping a close eye on staffing limits, client behavior, and return on investment.

JOIN the Busy Season Barometer survey here.

MORE TAX, PRICING,  PAY, HIRING, and THE 2026 OUTLOOK

That restrained approach comes through clearly in CPA Trendlines’ Busy Season Barometer, which shows a profession that is less focused on transformation than on execution. The dominant theme across survey waves is not disruption, but discipline.

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Best Practices for Choosing Workflow Management Software

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woman looking at computer screen

You get a trial period. Use it!

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

When evaluating workflow management software, it is important to evaluate your priorities and know what you want out of the system. It is also important to understand that there isn’t going to be an exact fit.

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After comparing options, make sure that the system you go with meets the priorities at the top of your list. Once the system is picked, it is important to spend time inside the system to figure out how your company is going to use it.
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Busy Season 2026: Firms Look to Pricing for Growth

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Revenues and client rosters outpace profit gains as firms battle cost pressures.

On the front lines (clockwise from left): Clockwise from left: Hall, Langworthy, Lenz, Kwiecinski, Dickerson

By CPA Trendlines

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CPA firms heading into the 2026 tax season expect revenue gains driven primarily by higher prices, not by adding clients, even as a majority anticipate another heavy extension season.

JOIN the Busy Season Barometer survey here.
MORE TAX, PRICING, and THE 2026 OUTLOOK

According to the CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer, about 6 in 10 firms expect total revenue to increase this year, while roughly one-third expect revenue to hold steady. Profit expectations trail revenue slightly, a pattern that points to continued cost pressure even as clients and would-be clients clamor for more, and more high-end, services

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Busy Season 2026: IRS Problems, Staffing Issues and Client Wrangling Emerge as Top Pressures

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IRS dysfunction replaces OBBBA as top concern.

On the front lines (clockwise from top left): Woodard, Dienhart, Volk, Stitely, Tejero, Brady, Svihla.

By CPA Trendlines

Join the survey. Get the results.

With only a week to go before the opening of filing season 2026, tax practitioners are focusing on IRS dysfunction as their biggest potential problem this year

And no wonder. The agency was already chronically underfunded, buried under a mountain of overdue paperwork, and crippled by ancient computer systems when it lost 25% of its workforce in early 2025.

JOIN the Busy Season Barometer survey here.

MORE TAX, PRICING, and THE 2026 OUTLOOK

Today 63% of tax professionals say a beleaguered IRS poses the single biggest risk to this year’s tax season, up from 54% just a couple of months ago, according to the CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer.

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