the season’s first big confab, flagg management’s 7th annual new york accounting show & cpe conference, attracted throngs to a midtown hotel april 29-30, where cpas caught up on cpe, chatted up vendors and hobnobbed with luminaries. more flagg-managed shows … continued
new study reveals widespread weaknesses in accounting firm technology strategies.
by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
accountants aren’t known for their risky decisions. quite the opposite, in fact. in most things, accountants are paragons of caution and care.
that’s, “in most things.”
but as the “accounting firm operations and technology survey,” published by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间, shows again and again, accountants are taking sometimes potentially disastrous risks with their firms and – worse – with their clients. read more →
fy 2016 budget provisions would expand authority for regulation, correctable errors.
refund fraud, especially that caused by identity theft, remains “an ongoing battle” for the irs, commissioner john koskinen said in testimony about the 2015 tax season before the house ways and means committee’s subcommittee on oversight.
“for that reason, and in spite of our budget constraints, we have continued to focus as much of our resources as possible on improving our efforts against identity theft,” he said, improving filters used to detect suspicious returns as they come in at a rate of more than 2 million suspicious returns so far, which is over 500,000 more than last year at this time. read more →
tax season 2015 sees 59% of firms using digital production systems.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the tax and accounting profession appears to have made a quantum leap with busy season 2015, by broadly embracing workflow automation to optimize production, control costs and speed delivery, according to data made available to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.
the association for accounting administration, in a study led by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 contributor roman kepczyk, author of quantum of paperless: the partners guide to accounting firm optimization, finds that in the general movement toward paperless, or at least less paper, firms are increasing their use of technology to save more trees than ever. the survey compared findings in 2013 with what firms expected to do in the 2015 busy season.
a big innovation for many firms has been the use of digital workflow tools to manage tax return progress. fifty-nine percent of firms reporting using a variety of products. specifically, by brand: read more →
goodwill depends on the method of departure.
by marc rosenberg
retirements & buyouts
in the literal sense, retirement is only one of six ways that partners may separate from their firm.
more on retirement: how to juggle tax considerations for partner retirement benefits | how to transition clients from retiring partners | you want goodwill payments? give proper retirement notice | retirement vesting: the devil’s in the details | compromise is in order for some goodwill payouts | three ways to calculate goodwill payable in partner buyouts, none of them great | 5 points to consider when paying out goodwill | how to set terms and limits for goodwill payouts | 4 ways to decide how to pay out capital | partners may balk at guaranteeing retirement obligations
benefits to partners are handled differently depending on which of the six ways they leave:
read more →
don’t be distracted by the hot trend of the moment.
in “10 things that accountants didn’t need to worry about 10 years ago,” 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 contributor hitendra patil generated reader reactions with some provocative thoughts about a tsunami of trends. today, he looks at the other side of the coin, starting with a quote from amazon ceo jeff bezos:
“you should build a business strategy around the things you know are stable in time and then invest heavily in ensuring you are providing those things and improving your delivery of them all the time. if you want to build a successful, sustainable business, don’t ask yourself what could change in the next 10 years that could affect your company. instead, ask yourself what won’t change, and then put all your energy and effort into those things.”
by hitendra patil
pransform inc.
what has remained unchanged in the tax and accounting profession over the last few decades? and what will not change over the next couple of decades?
more on the entrepreneurial cpa by hitendra patil here.
being a futurist is not easy. being a realistic futurist is even more difficult. but being a person who knows the foundational value of his or her profession is relatively easy, if you know why and what customers buy from you. a ceo of black & decker once said the almost proverbial “customers don’t buy a drill machine, they buy a hole in the wall.” as an accountant and tax professional, you must figure out what your customers buy from you and why they buy from you rather than from your competitors.
now is the time to think about what they will continue to buy in the future. read more →
growing business draws on high-level skills and special talents.
plus: professional resources and cpe.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
cannabizcpa.pro
attention cpas: there’s a big new niche opening in your area soon, but are you up to speed on accounting for a legal business that sells an illegal product?
dude, get with it. the united states – some of the states, anyway – is opening up the biggest niche this side of the rio grande. read more →
budget cuts remain a concern.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
no matter what you think of your 2015 tax season, the irs thinks it had it worse.
commissioner john koskinen testified about the season before the house ways and means committee’s subcommittee on oversight, and said even opening on schedule was a “major accomplishment” because of additional preparation needed for the affordable care act and the foreign account tax compliance act, as well as a system update reflecting december’s tax extender legislation. read more →
tax professionals kept 59 percent of the e-filing segment.
when all the clicking and cursing was done, the irs had received more than 132.2 million individual tax returns this year, up 0.8 percent from 2014. as of april 17, it had processed 126.1 million of them, up 0.4 percent from last year and a rate of 95.4 percent for the season’s receipts.
related: tax preparation fees: the national averages [infographic] | irs form 3115: a sin and a travesty | accountants see solid business gains in 2015 | as market share slips away, accountants look beyond the 1040 | irs emerges as major tax season competitor read more →
what’s the difference? compliance sells on fee; advisory sells on value. by martin bissett understanding selling i’ve been asking you to believe in yourself, to get your potential clients to open up to you and to demonstrate to them the outcomes … continued
you get 8 seconds to make a first impression. does your firm’s site measure up?
by sandi smith leyva
the accountant’s accelerator
you can indeed get more business, more clients and more profits from your website. but not if you make these common mistakes!
more on small-firm growth strategies: 4 steps to weather any economic storm | want to be stress-free? use your strengths | ‘time problems’ don’t exist | could you use more energy this tax season? | 15 items for your ‘business bucket list’ | 3 ways to plug your firm’s money leaks
whether creating a new site or updating your existing site, here are some common pitfalls to avoid.
minimizing self-employment taxes is desirable but tricky.
by marc rosenberg
retirements & buyouts
the income tax aspect of practice management issues is an area of my consulting practice in which i have knowledge, but i wouldn’t call it “expertise.” so i sought the counsel of an expert – jeff arnol, cpa, managing partner of kessler, orlean, silver & company in chicago. the information presented here is based on my 20+ years of experience of working with cpa firms on partner retirement plans, liberally supplemented by arnol’s input.
more on partner retirements: two ways to retire, and one’s not pretty | mandatory retirement varies by firm size | mandatory retirement? 4 reasons the firm comes first | how to transition clients from retiring partners | you want goodwill payments? give proper retirement notice | retirement vesting: the devil’s in the details | compromise is in order for some goodwill payouts | three ways to calculate goodwill payable in partner buyouts, none of them great | 5 points to consider when paying out goodwill | how to set terms and limits for goodwill payouts | partners may balk at guaranteeing retirement obligations
‘an accountant’s dream.’