surveys & research

2017 fee survey: price for non-itemized 1040s advances 6% to $176

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national average fees for itemized form 1040 with schedule a and a state tax return. source: nsa

but some other prices are down.

next question: who’s succeeding with value pricing? 
join the survey; get the answer.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

the average fee for a professional to prepare and submit a form 1040 and state return with no itemized deductions will be $176 this year, according to a biennial survey conducted by the national society of accountants. the figure represents a gain of about 16 percent since the last survey in 2015.

more on pricing, fees & billing rates:  why offering packages can catapult your revenue  |  new survey finds widespread rate hikes in tax & accounting firms  |  client retention drives today’s pricing strategies  |  chaos in tax & accounting pricing  | tax & accounting firms wrestle fewer price increases from clients

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compared to two years ago, some prices rose and others dropped – a clear signal of volatility and pressure in the market. surveyed firms expected to increase their accounting service fees by an average of 6.1% in 2017, up from an actual increase of 5.3% in 2016.

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immigrants: surging market for tax & accounting services

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percentage of u.s. self-employed born abroad reaches 19.5 percent. source: us sba

newcomers drive the nation’s solopreneur sector.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

nothing says american like entrepreneurship. no nation offers such fertile soil for the seeds of business. and small businesses are the underlying energy of the american economy. fed by inspiration, elbow grease, and gumption, they account for a disproportionate amount of the nation’s jobs, mobility, and innovation. when small businesses thrive, everybody thrives.

three new reports on entrepreneurship from the u.s. small business administration offer insights that may be of interest to cpa practices. each report looks at one of three groups that are in the news every day: millennials, seniors, and immigrants.

it may surprise many that the educated, tech-savvy millennials are increasingly less likely to start their own businesses.

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survey: accountants’ best advice for president trump

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budaj

‘don’t screw this up.’

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

suppose you could have president donald trump’s ear for just five minutes—just the two of you in the oval office, and him eager to hear and heed your advice…

what would you tell him?

floridian deborah budaj says, “i would discuss the timeline and plans for removing the burden of obamacare from businesses, and also from individual healthcare plans.”

martin j. rooney would like to see some assistance for the hoi poloi: “we need to find meaningful work for the non-college educated people.  it may require some form of government subsidy and hence taxes may need to rise, but without work, the forgotten people have no hope. they are not participating in the u.s. dream.”

rooney

related:  why accountants voted the way they did  |  accountants see better business outlook following presidential election

on the off-chance that he might call in a cpa for some pragmatic and unbiased counsel, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 asked just such a question in our survey on the presidential election of 2016. as it turns out, cpas are prepared for their summons to the oval office. they have opinions. they know what needs to be done. they aren’t necessarily in agreement, but if duty calls, over 1,000 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 members are prepared to proffer presidential pointers.

there is, of course, no shortage of snide advice.

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survey: next generation balking at buyouts

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"partnership" written on two connected puzzle piecesm&a doesn’t solve succession problems.

by terry putney, transition advisors
the rosenberg map survey

succession for retiring partners continues to be a pressing issue for many mid-size and small firms.

more from the survey: many firms have already lost the battle with succession | embracing new technology a must | technology will solve labor shortages | cybersecurity grows in importance | don’t just win work, figure out why | mergers keep racing forward  | map survey top 10 findings
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this is not a new trend. it is amazing how many firms are delusional about their prospects of remaining independent, while doing virtually nothing to address the core issue of acquiring and developing the talent necessary to build the new generation of owners.
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survey: embracing new technology a must

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a man tries to fix a broken hourglass in the forestwhat value are you adding?

by rob nixon

2015 was much the same as other years. too many hours for not enough profit.

more from the survey: technology will solve labor shortages | accounting profession demands swift change | next-gen leaders getting restless | do you have a firm or a co-op? | cpa firm revenues rise a hefty 8%
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a cpa firm will never make serious profits (more than $1 million profit per partner) if they focus on billable hours and realization margins.
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survey: 97% of leading firms now offer flexible work arrangements

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senior businessman mentoring two younger workersbut only 83% provide the tech to do it well.

by jennifer wilson
on staffing

what is work flexibility?

more on staffing: the 12 reasons your staff hates your firm | 8 keys to keeping staff engaged | how to create a talent management strategy | what happened to the relevancy of the cpa profession? | staffing: what cpa firms are learning the hard way
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at convergence coaching we use the terms “anytime, anywhere work” and “work flexibility” very similarly. both refer to increased flexibility around one’s work schedule and the place where work is done, while simultaneously meeting the needs of clients and staff and the goals of the firm.

convergencecoaching’s anytime, anywhere survey

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survey: offshoring on the rise

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illustration of two businesspeople against world mapreal-time accounting is in client demand.

by chris frederiksen
the rosenberg map survey

it’s been was another good year for accountants, with demand for services continuing to outrun supply, thus allowing for price increases.

more from the survey: technology will solve labor shortages | firms must build their benches | mergers spur growth | talent wars, m&a frenzy continue | do you have a firm or a co-op? | accountability, equity, compensation are concerns
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

firms continue to struggle with the issue of finding enough “good” people to get the work done, so we observed two simultaneous trends.
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research: when to replace your firm’s computer equiment

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arrow hitting ground on laptop shows drop on sale or failures

how to plan with “risk of failure” and “ease of replacement” calculations.

by donny shimamoto
intraprisetechknowlogies llc

what are the standard refresh cycles for cpa firm technology equipment? well, it depends on the type of equipment.

as a physical asset, hardware replacement must usually be planned for in advance so that you’re not scrambling to replace it after it fails. this proactive replacement is often referred to as performing a “hardware refresh.”  hardware refreshes are often driven by the risk of failure of a particular hardware asset.  different types of hardware have varying risks of failure as they age. for example, laptops have a relatively high risk of failure once they’re four years old, but they are also moderately easy to replace. on the other hand, servers are generally unlikely to fail in their first three years of use, but they can be expensive and difficult to replace.

the table below shows some of the common types of hardware and general risk of failure based on the number of years the hardware has been in service.

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survey: recruiting and retention are challenges

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clock facestrue flex programs become more important.

by tamera loerzel
the rosenberg map survey

in 2015, firms continued to struggle with a shortage of people.

more from the survey: new leaders promoting positive changes | cybersecurity grows in importance | mergers spur growth | accounting profession demands swift change | don’t just win work, figure out why | talent wars, m&a frenzy continue | next-gen leaders getting restless | mergers keep racing forward  | do you have a firm or a co-op? | accountability, equity, compensation are concerns | map survey top 10 findings | cpa firm revenues rise a hefty 8%
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the challenge of firms to attract, retain and engage their top talent has been a top focus and will continue to be an area all firms need to address to remain competitive and achieve their growth and succession goals.
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the trump effect: accountants see better business conditions

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changes to the affordable care act are envisioned.

picture2

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

in the first days following donald trump’s presidential election victory, tax and accounting practitioners surveyed say the results have lifted their confidence in the business outlook.

curiously, accountants appear distinctly more confident in their own futures than in the nation’s outlook as a whole.

more post-election analysis:   why accountants voted the way they did

some 56 percent say they are “somewhat” or “much” more confident in the 18-month outlook for their own firms. even more, about 60 percent, say the election results could be good for their clients and customers. about 59 percent see brighter prospects for themselves and their own families. and 56 percent are feeling better about the nation’s economy as a whole.

to be sure, however, your outlook may depend on who you voted for. trump voters are decidedly more upbeat about the future than hillary clinton voters.

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survey: how different sizes of firm approach it spending

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money pouring out from a notebook computerplus 4 it rules to live by.

by randolph p. johnston, leslie garrett and brian f. tankersley
the accounting firm operations and technology survey

many practitioners think cpa firm information technology is easy, and the really hard work is done with people who have large databases, etc.

more from the survey: ins and outs of email, document storage | windows 7 and windows server 2012 | accounting firms add new service lines | why every cpa firm is a tech company at heart
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nothing could be further from the truth, as it would be normal for a staff tax preparer to have as many as 12 applications open at once. very few things are as important to your firm’s effectiveness and efficiency as the reliability and effectiveness of your technology.
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survey: technology will solve labor shortages

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business backgroundinternational networks continue their boom.

by gale crosley, crosley company
the rosenberg map survey

in the past year and a half, major trends have taken form.

more from the survey: new leaders promoting positive changes | accounting profession demands swift change | next-gen leaders getting restless | accountability, equity, compensation are concerns
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in audit, data analytics and continuous auditing concepts are starting to be widely discussed. the big four are investing in cutting-edge audit approaches, and these technologies will significantly change what auditors do in the future.
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survey: firms must build their benches

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ice hockey player in bench area watching actionit’s that or watch your bright new stars bolt.

by art kuesel
the rosenberg map survey

in 2015, i saw a moderate shift in mindset from that of “let’s help everyone develop themselves” to “let’s target our resources at our high potentials.” firms worked through their fears of offending lifetime managers as they saw high potentials depart at the fastest pace in recent memory.

more from the survey: new leaders promoting positive changes | cybersecurity grows in importance | don’t just win work, figure out why | mergers keep racing forward  | map survey top 10 findings | cpa firm revenues rise a hefty 8%
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

only a handful of firms started the year with formal “path to partner” programs while many more had them by the close of the year. and mps reported that the biggest gap in skill set for partner potentials continued to be business development.
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