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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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Bot Wars: Wolters Kluwer, Intuit, Thomson Reuters Battle for AI Dominance in CPA Firms | Cornerstone Report

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Smart new toolbox or Pandora’s Box? Inside the surge behind agentic AI.

By CPA Trendlines Research
Cornerstone Report

The accounting industry is undergoing a seismic technological shift as artificial intelligence transitions from a buzzword to a business imperative.

MORE Cornerstone Reports: Private Equity Update: Over 90 Deals, $200 Billion in Value | Intuit Fires Back with Agentic AI after Xero Nabs Melio | Xero Buys Melio for $3 Billion in Race for ‘The Active GL’ | Gen AI in Accounting: Epic Transformation, or Overheated Hype? | Gen Z Surges into Accounting for All the Reasons Your Mother Told You | Major Changes to Circular 230: Implications for Tax Professionals | Salary and Compensation Outlook for Small CPA Firms | Battling the Staffing Crisis: Is a Little-Known, But Controversial, Visa Program the Answer? | Twelve Years and Out: Seasoned Accountants Join the Exodus. | Jobs Outlook: Strong and Steady Growth in Hiring and Earnings for U.S. Accountants | Student Accounting Enrollment Shows Third Year of Recovery | CPA Billing Rates, Tax Return Fees, and Client Accounting Pricing at CPA Firms

MORE AI: 5 Ways to Stay Ahead of the AI Curve | Accounting Influencers | Strategic AI, Not Shiny Objects | Bot Wars: Wolters Kluwer, Intuit, Thomson Reuters Battle for AI Dominance in CPA Firms | Don’t Get Fired by Your Own Automation | Don’t Let AI Sound Smarter Than You | Farlee: AI and Outsourcing Shape Careers | TaxPlanIQ Escalates the Battle in Tax Planning Software | Why Advisory Is Broken. And What Comes Next | Haase, Radzinsky: Inside the TaxDome-Juno AI Alliance

In the past year, CPA firms across the U.S. have quietly begun deploying generative AI assistants, machine learning tools, and “agentic” AI platforms to automate audits, prepare taxes, and provide financial insights.

It’s astonishing:  The profession has reached a tipping point where those not investing in AI risk being left behind.

In this CPA Trendlines Research Cornerstone Report:

  • How CPA Firms Are Embracing AI

  • AI Adoption Surges from Experimentation to Mainstream

  • The New Agentic AI Toolbox: Platforms and Solutions Leading the Charge

  • Measuring the Payoff: Efficiency, ROI, and Firm Economics in the AI Era

  • Talent in the Age of AI: How Roles and Skills Are Evolving

  • AI in Action: Use Cases and Success Stories from Firms

  • Navigating Risks, Regulation, and Ethical Challenges

  • Overcoming Implementation Hurdles: Change Management and Best Practices

  • The Road Ahead: Strategies for Firm Leaders

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Rosenberg MAP: Staff Turnover Falls to Record Low

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Are CPA firm retention tactics finally paying off?

By CPA Trendlines Research
The Rosenberg Survey

Staff turnover at CPA firms has fallen to its lowest level in years, signaling that the profession’s investments in culture, compensation and flexibility are paying dividends.

MORE: The 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey is available from CPA Trendlines here.

The 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey reports average professional staff turnover at 11.1 percent, down sharply from 18.8 percent in 2022 and the lowest since before the pandemic, marking a major shift after years of talent turbulence.

Firms that struggled to recruit and retain staff during the labor shortages of 2021 and 2022 now report greater stability and stronger pipelines.

“This trend may reflect firms’ stronger retention strategies,” the survey notes. “Lower turnover not only reduces recruitment and training costs, but also helps preserve institutional knowledge and maintain stronger client relationships.” READ MORE →

Rosenberg Survey: Efficiency Slips as Staffing Expands

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Now available from CPA Trendlines here

Productivity drives profitability as never before.

By CPA Trendlines Research
The Rosenberg Survey

After several years of steady gains in productivity, CPA firms are seeing a slight decline in revenue per person, suggesting firms are adding staff faster than they are growing revenue, even as hiring rebounds and turnover drops.

MORE: The 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey is available from CPA Trendlines here.

According to the new 2025 Rosenberg Survey, the erosion in average revenue per full-time equivalent employee comes after consistent increases from 2020 through 2024. Larger firms are still posting the highest efficiency levels. But the overall trend points to a mild dilution of productivity as practices rebuild teams and expand support infrastructure following years of lean staffing. READ MORE →

Partner Pay Hits $615,000 But Lags Behind Revenue Growth

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Precision management now drives partner prosperity.

Now available from CPA Trendlines here

 

Precision management now drives partner prosperity.

By CPA Trendlines Research
The Rosenberg Survey

After years of strong top-line expansion, CPA firm partners are finding their personal earnings growth lagging behind overall revenue gains, according to the 2025 Rosenberg Survey.

MORE: The 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey is available from CPA Trendlines here.

Average income per equity partner is rising just 3.2 percent this year to $615,000, compared with double-digit revenue increases in the last two years. The survey concludes that leverage, the ratio of professional staff to partners, and billing rate management remain the most decisive drivers of profitability.

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