By Martin Bissett
E-commerce growth forces firms to rethink accruals, margins, and sustainability.
Accounting ARC
With Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation
Holiday shopping has never been easier. With a few taps on a smartphone, consumers can buy gifts from bed, track deliveries in real time, and return unwanted items with minimal friction. But behind that convenience lies a complicated accounting reality—one that came into sharp focus during a recent episode of Accounting ARC.
MORE Accounting ARC: Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone | Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Don’t Get Fired by Your Own Automation | What Amazon Doesn’t Tell You | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC | Free Speech Is a Right; Respect Is a Responsibility | Cash Bags, Casinos & Audits: How First Jobs Shape Us | Gen Z Redefines Careers | Bootleggers, Baptitsts & CPAs: Rethinking Licensure
Hosts Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP; and Liz Mason, CPA, examine the financial, operational, and environmental consequences of e-commerce returns, using the holiday season as a lens to explore broader shifts in consumer behavior and business sustainability.
Industry research shows that nearly 25% of e-commerce purchases are returned after the holidays, compared with less than 9% of in-store retail purchases. For accounting teams, that disparity introduces volatility into revenue recognition, inventory valuation, and profitability forecasting—often at the worst possible time of year.
By CPA Trendlines Research
The full tax and accounting industry—which includes accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services—has hit a new record high with 1,163,600 jobs, representing an annualized growth rate of 2%, which is measurably stronger than the year-over-year 1.23% gain, according to new data examined by CPA Trendlines. But a choppy economy and political volatility have accountants and observers alike wondering if the trends can continue in 2026
CPA offices managed to add 1,700 jobs over the past year, keeping the segment on a slow but positive trajectory. Employment at offices of certified public accountants is holding steady at 544,300 positions, matching the month-before figure. The revision from the previous estimate of 544,600 marks a modest 0.06% downgrade. The year-over-year trend improved slightly to 0.3%, up from 0.2% in the prior report. READ MORE →
The 2026 filing season will have an increasingly uneven pricing structure.
By CPA Trendlines
Top-priced tax practices are driving typical annual client fees toward $3,000 and above this year, according to the CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer survey, underscoring how rising costs are pressuring most firms even as a smaller group gains pricing power through scale, selectivity, and tighter engagement control.
JOIN the Busy Season Barometer survey. Get the results. | MORE TAX and PRICING
One CPA respondent put it bluntly: “We are raising rates again this year. Some clients will leave. That’s fine. We can’t keep doing $400 returns when staff wages keep rising.” Another practitioner described a more selective approach: “We didn’t raise everyone equally. We raised prices where the work was painful and left simpler clients mostly alone.”
If you’re not the best, what are you?
By August Aquila
MAX: Maximize Productivity, Profitability and Client Retention
There is only one person who can make your practice better. That person is you if you are a sole practitioner. If you are a multipartner firm, then it’s up to all the partners and senior staff. Let’s explore how you get your firm to the next level.
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Do you tolerate mediocrity? Tolerating mediocrity is the death of many good firms. Whenever and wherever you see it in your firm, stamp it out fast. Here are some questions to ask yourself and your partners to see if you are hanging on to what’s comfortable rather than stretching yourself and your partners to truly excel.
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