new workflows require new labor models.
by steve erickson
steve erickson llc
i have been giving quite a bit of thought to the cost/price squeeze facing many cpa firms. salary and benefit costs are at an all time high as a percentage of net revenue and profit margins have been decreasing for a number of years.
after a conservative 3.2% price increase last year.
complete findings are published in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practitioner’s tax season performance review and outlook report. (learn more here)
tax and accounting practitioners are again cautiously raising prices this year, prompted by years of little or no rate hikes and continuing step-ups in labor and technology costs, according to new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 survey data.
becky klotz, the head of small local firm of tax consultants in oregon, says that, with an economy where “i don’t see much improvement in the near future,” her firm will be raising pricing, but “just a bit.”
on the other hand, wray rives at rives cpa in coppell, texas, is holding the line. “we believe we are priced at the right level for our market,” he says.
small but measurable advances.
preliminary results from a survey by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 suggests that tax and accounting professionals are expecting a better busy season this year than last year.
last year at about this time, practitioners rated the then-upcoming 2.35 on a five-point scale with 5 being “much better” than the year before and 1 “much worse.”
in other findings from the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer and related reports:
complete findings are published in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 practitioner’s tax season performance review and outlook report. (learn more here)
new and preliminary data rate the outlook a 2.42, a scant but perceptible improvement.
practitioners and experts seem to agree this coming tax season should be markedly better than last year’s.
and last year, for most, was better than the year before. we caught up with a few of the best-informed people in the business at the 2011 cch user conference.
click on this video to start the playlist:
survey reveals widening gap with men.
only 48 percent of women are satisfied with their careers, compared to 59 percent of men — a gap that has only widened from year to year, according to a mergis group survey.
and nearly three-quarters of women in accounting and finance believe they face a tougher set of obstacles than their male counterparts.
high performing single-owner firms now focus on digital strategies.
with more than half of solo practitioners planning to step up their marketing activities going into busy season, they will be intensifying their efforts in networking for referrals, spreading word of mouth and providing the best service they can to current clients, according to a new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 analysis.
the complete 179-page study, “marketing and business development strategies at accounting firms – 2012 survey report, with commentary and analysis,” is available for purchase from 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 parent bay street group llc. the study shows trends within the profession, but also distinguishes between high-performing firms and low-performing firms, based on time-tested proprietary 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 criteria. in this study, high performing firms are far more likely than low performing firms to enjoy marketing successes. the data for this report was gathered over the course of more than two years and includes the responses of about 588 practitioners. the margin of error is plus or minus about 3 percentage points at a 90% confidence level. click here to learn more.
mark luscombe, jd, llm, cpa , and cch principal federal tax analyst, tells practitioners what to watch out for in the busy season ahead.
the key: always be evolving.
in a keynote address to over 1,200 accountants at the cch connections user conference in san antonio, cch president and ceo mike sabbatis called on the profession to brace for the challenges ahead by adopting “future-ready” processes today.
sabbatis revealed findings from the new independent “future ready firm survey,” based on interviews with 400 firms nationwide, here: new cch study: cpa firms lag broadly in technology, efficiency. download the full report here.
most tax and accounting firms are falling behind in their operating practices and processes, according to a new survey.
and, astoundingly, they know it and admit that it may take them years to catch up.
iphone and ipad users can click here; androids here.
via cch
cch is launching a free tax news highlights app for iphones, ipads and android devices
the app was spearheaded by cch’s newly formed agile publishing solutions team, a rapid development prototype team.
for now, the cch tax news highlights app focuses solely on the most up-to-date federal and state tax news headlines – available at the touch of a screen icon. the app has the ability to grow into a much larger information content source designed for professionals, educators and students for all relevant tax and accounting news.
hint: the secret weapon is communications skills.
by bruce bailey
guild accountants
while the victor in war is he who wins the last battle, every battle and every outcome is significant (even the battles you lose – we often learn more from our losses than our wins!).
about three years ago we looked at our war for clients by assessing: the nature of our troops, their skills and training, the battlefields on which we would operate and the armaments we would carry.