CPA Trendlines

Today's Features

Accountants See a Host of Woes for Businesses

Capital, technology and the federal government are just some of the concerns.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer sure opened a can of worms when it asked what will be “important” for businesses over the next 12-18 months.

MORE Barometer: Top Three Issues for Business: Tariffs, Taxes and Inflation | Accountants Reporting a Pretty Good Year | Concerns Take Curious Shifts as Tax Season Closes | Tax Season Faceplant: Accountants Overrun by Late Chaos | 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
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The survey offers a list of nine issues to choose from but then asks an open-ended question about what else will be important in the near-term future.

It turns out a lot of things will be important. Here are a few in the voices of accounting professionals across the country.
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BUSY SEASON MANAGEMENT

Top Three Issues for Business: Tariffs, Taxes and Inflation

Clients will need your help sorting through it all.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Back in the good ol’ days of December and January, 55 percent of accountants and tax practitioners were identifying technology as the most important issue for business over the next 12-18 months.

Tariffs weren’t even on the radar, and inflation ranked third.

MORE Barometer: Accountants Reporting a Pretty Good Year | Concerns Take Curious Shifts as Tax Season Closes | Tax Season Faceplant: Accountants Overrun by Late Chaos | 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
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.

Three months later, and so much has changed. The April results of the CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer show tariffs and inflation tying at the top of nine issues at 66 percent. Technology has dropped to fifth.
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PRO Member Exclusive

Bissett Bullet: Threat Vs. Opportunity

Today’s Bissett Bullet: “There’s always something on the horizon with the potential to negatively impact the economy. If it’s not a global pandemic, it’s the threat of war or a general election.”

By Martin Bissett

There is also always opportunity. According to a report by Accountancy Age, even during the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdown, the accounting profession grew and not just in terms of necessary compliance work. Advisory services are seen as business critical in uncertain times and clients are happy to pay for additional support. We need to understand that they will look to us for certainty, for security and to point the way forward.

Don’t see threat, see opportunity. Learn to be the rock in the storm, find a way to deliver new value to your clients and thrive while the competition is listening to the media and worrying about how they’ll survive.

Today’s To-Do:

What is being reported in the news right now that could be cause for concern to some or all of your clients? What opportunities could it present? Pick up the phone; find out what value you could offer your clients.

See more Bissett Bullets here

PRICING, FEES & BILLING RATES

Boost Retention by Reducing Repetition

Staff are hard to find. Change your processes.

By Jody Padar
The Radical CPA

If you’ve posted a job for an accountant in the past few years, you know people are hard to come by. The number of responses you received was likely down if you were lucky enough to find any at all.

MORE by Jody Padar
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According to a recent AICPA Trends Report, the number of people graduating with a bachelor’s degree in accounting is down, and we’ve seen a steady decline since 2015. All this while half of U.S. CPA firms have increased the number of new graduates they want to hire. A lot of us are looking for staff that simply does not exist.
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PODCAST

Art Werner: Shift Gears Post-Tax Season | Quick Tax Tip

Start with proactive planning instead of reactive reporting.

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Quick Tax Tip
With Art Werner
CPE Today

As tax season winds down and the dust settles, many CPAs are eager for a breather. But in the latest Quick Tax Tip with Art Werner podcast, the seasoned tax educator offers a powerful—and timely—reminder: now is not the time to coast. Instead, it’s the perfect opportunity to pivot from tax historian to tax strategist.

Click here for more Art Werner

Drawing on decades of experience and his trademark candor, Werner explains how the very tax returns just filed can be the launchpad for a more impactful advisory relationship with clients. “What I would look at,” he begins, “is the tax return you just prepared—and use that as a script.” READ MORE →