Busy Season Barometer

Three Ways to Measure Your Team’s Effectiveness

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illustration with three thermometers

They have to work in harmony.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

Once you’ve systemized the processes for your accounting team, it’s important to evaluate the effectiveness of your process on a regular basis. You want to be aware of what’s working well and what’s not. You also want to continually be improving upon your services over time

MORE by Jody Grunden
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There are three things you can specifically monitor when it comes to the effectiveness of your team, as shown in the illustration above.
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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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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

Join the survey. Get the results.

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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Want Better Clients? Raise Your Rates

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portrait of Loren Fogelman
Fogelman
 Loren Fogelman, founder of Business Success Solution, is an expert in pricing strategy and sales for accounting firms. A sought-after keynote speaker, she is continually listed among America’s top-ranked business coaches.

Your fees send a message about your firm.

By Loren Fogelman
The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

Setting your fees appropriately is one of the primary challenges that accounting professionals face. According to McKinsey, 80 to 90 percent of services are priced too low. Throughout my career, I too have found that most firm owners don’t know how much to charge for their services – and too often they undercharge.

MORE Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management
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Many firm owners tell me that setting fees can feel like tiptoeing through a pricing minefield. And pricing shouldn’t be taken lightly. This is especially true for wealth management services. The prices you set today will impact your firm’s profit margin as well as your growth for years to come.
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