SURVEY: Which Client Industries Will Grow This Year
Respondents tell us what they’re watching. Does it match what you’re seeing?
By CPA Trendlines Research
Busy Season Barometer
Tax Preparers Share Advice for Your Clients
Help them prepare for what’s to come.
Join the Busy Season Barometer. Get the results.
By CPA Trendlines Research
Accountants sound worried. When the 2025 Busy Season Barometer survey asked if anyone had advice on how small businesses should prepare for the next 12-18 months, almost half took the time to respond.
MORE Barometer: Staffing, Tech, Prices Top Tax Pros’ Concerns | Tax Pros Gear Up for a Better Busy Season
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.
Here’s a list of some of the more meaningful responses. Which would apply to your clients? Which should you share with them?
___ Figure out which labor-intensive functions they can automate ASAP. (Andrew Schwartz)
___ Take advantage of near-term opportunities with post-Tax Cuts and Jobs Act legislation (as they become clearer) and provide services/planning for more probable changes in taxes/economy for 3-5 year, 5-10 year and 10 year+ timeframes. (Anthony Aleta) READ MORE →
Staffing, Tech, Prices Top Tax Pros’ Concerns
Small businesses are advised to prepare for change.
Join the Busy Season Barometer. Get the results
By CPA Trendlines Research
If you think we’re in for a year of stability and calm, you haven’t been paying attention.
Whether you think the nation and the world are moving in the right direction or the wrong, one thing we can all agree on is: we’re in for some change.
MORE: More Than 1 Million ERC Claims Still Not Processed | Art Werner: The Godfather and Tax Issues | Quick Tax Tip | Advanced Tax Preparers Need Managing, Too | The Top Ten Problems the IRS Still Needs to Fix | Tax Pros Gear Up for a Better Busy Season | IRS Processing Up; Payouts Down | Help Tax Clients Help You | Art Werner: Beneficial Ownership and Control | Four Challenges of Managing New Tax Preparers | IRS Funding Pays Eye-Popping 415x ROI | Tax Season 2025 Begins. Ready or Not. | Every Tax Reviewer Should Be Able to Answer These Ten Questions
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.
If you need details on that, consider yourself lucky. Return to your cave and go back to sleep.
On the other hand, if you’re an accountant, you need to stay awake, monitor the political-economic-financial situation and keep your clients advised. They need you now more than ever.
READ MORE →
Tax Pros See Better Year for Those Close to Home
Nationally … they’re not so sure.
By CPA Trendlines Research
CPAs, Enrolled Agents and other tax practitioners are always on the front line of the economy. With offices in tens of thousands of locations across the country, they know who’s making money and who’s struggling.
According to early results from the 2025 Busy Season Barometer, accountants have completely reversed their 2024 predictions for the economy.
MORE: Art Werner: The Godfather and Tax Issues | Quick Tax Tip | Advanced Tax Preparers Need Managing, Too | The Top Ten Problems the IRS Still Needs to Fix | Tax Pros Gear Up for a Better Busy Season | IRS Processing Up; Payouts Down | Help Tax Clients Help You | Art Werner: Beneficial Ownership and Control | Four Challenges of Managing New Tax Preparers | IRS Funding Pays Eye-Popping 415x ROI | Tax Season 2025 Begins. Ready or Not. | Every Tax Reviewer Should Be Able to Answer These Ten Questions | Taxpayer Advocate Sees Big Improvements at IRS | Ask Tax Clients the Right Questions | Major Changes to Circular 230: Implications for Tax Professionals | Cornerstone Report
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.
A Mirror Image
What a difference a year can make. Look how the numbers have switched places, almost as if in a mirror image.
READ MORE →
Five Ways to Fill the Staffing Gap
It takes more than moolah.
By CPA Trendlines Research
The 2025 CPA Trendlines Busy Barometer is finding that the talent shortage is one of the accounting industry’s primary concerns, and the Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Accountant Report confirms that the shortage of accounting professionals is expected to be a top issue over the next five years.
MORE: Show Us the Money! Accountants Are Making More | Twelve Years and Out: Seasoned Accountants Join the Exodus | How Accounting Firms Are Handling the Staff Shortage
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.
The shortage is global, the Wolters Kluwer report says. Around the world, 35 to 40 percent of firms identify recruitment and retention as their biggest challenge.
READ MORE →