surveys & research

new survey: cpa firm growth rates hit a wall

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organic growth drops under 5% while mergers surge to 30% of new revenue per firm.

rosenberg map 2005 to 2014 growth rates
growth rates level off for cpa firms to 6.7% (rosenberg map survey, firms over $2 million/year)

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
annual map survey

the new 2015-2016 annual map survey presents news both good and bad—and more of the latter than the former.

  • the good news: cpa firms revenues and profits increased last year.
  • the bad news: the increase in revenues was less than in the previous year, a lot of it was only due to mergers, and growth was lowest for the smallest firms. and the increase in income per equity partner was especially sluggish.

most worrisome was the finding that organic growth— which is to say real growth not generated artificially by mergers—was actually a bit lower than in 2013, dropping from 5.2 percent to 4.7 percent, according to the new rosenberg map survey, available exclusively from 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.

more on the  2016 outlook & forecast: cpa firm growth rates hit a wall  |  the five treacherous factors hobbling today’s cpa firm  |  sam allred: change agents needed  |  tamera loerzl on growth, succession plans critical for firms  |  allan koltin on talent wars go from white gloves to boxing gloves  |  get the full report: the rosenberg map survey

is this really the end of the golden age for the profession?

read more →

tax professionals find it increasingly difficult to keep up with late-changing tax regs

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the number of practitioners reporting major issues with code & reg changes doubles.

z_tax key issues

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

across the country, a lot of cpas felt downright punished this busy season as they got hit by problems from all sides. nobody reported earthquakes or tsunamis, but it seems a bunch got slammed by something worse than a tectonic pounding.

bam! pow! oof! yes, it was that dynamic duo, that tyrannical twosome, that yoke of you-know-whats: the united states tax code and the internal revenue service.

according to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season survey, 12% percent of respondents report a busy season “much worse than last year.” another 24% had a “somewhat worse year.” add them up, and more than a third of the nation’s tax preparers suffered a painful busy season.

and the most commonly cited complaint are difficulties with the tax code, ranging from the requirements of the affordable care act to the new repair regs. read more →

the new normal: a busy season that never ends

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staff woes contribute to major tax season problems

z_tax defining differences

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the 2015 busy season may be one for the records. according to this year’s 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season survey, more than a third of the nation’s tax preparers report a busy season that was much worse or somewhat worse than last year, and it wasn’t just the cold and the snow. read more →

cpa firms paying top dollar for talent in nationwide hiring binge

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pay raises trending
pay raises trending

wages hit new high; hourly rates at cpa firms up nearly 10 percent.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

as the economy adds jobs, the accounting industry is grabbing its share and sometimes more, according to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 sources. at the same time, respondents to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 careers and hiring outlook tracking polls show nearly 60 percent ready to jump ship if the right offer comes along.

join the survey. get the results.

in this report, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 covers:

  • current hiring trends in each of the bookkeeping, tax, payroll and cpa segments of the industry, indicating growth and shrinkage among sectors.
  • average hourly wages for key segments, with trends in employee pay rates.
  • typical hours worked per week, showing utilization and productivity.
  • trends concerning women in the workforce, including hiring rates.

it’s not all about the money.

higher wages aren’t everything, as clearly indicated in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 careers and hiring outlook tracking polls. read more →

tech survey: email moves to the cloud

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exchange servers and outside hosting services increasingly popular for cpa firm email systems. learn more.

accountants move email systems to the cloud.

//www.g005e.com/shop/nmgi-irg-tech-survey-ebook/
learn more

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 
accounting firm operations and technology survey

more of america’s cpa firms are choosing externally hosted email systems over internal exchange servers, according to the accounting firm operations and technology survey from nmgi and insight research group.

between 2014 and 2015, the number of firms using their own exchange server for emails dropped significantly from 47 percent to 38.3 percent.

in a parallel shift, the hosting of email outside the office increased from 53 percent to 61.7 percent. read more →

survey results: deal-savvy cpas look to lenovo computers

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lenovo challenges dell and hp’s dominance with competitive pricing on desktops.

screen shot 2015-05-12 at 5.24.47 pm
primary desktop computer, most recently purchased, accounting firms of all sizes. learn more.
//www.g005e.com/shop/nmgi-irg-tech-survey-ebook/
the accounting firm operations and technology survey

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
accounting firm operations and technology survey

attracted by competitive pricing, accountants are increasingly turning to lenovo as their primary desktop computer and challenging the dominant positions of dell and hewlett-packard, according to new survey results available from 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.

to be sure, the accounting firm operations and technology survey shows lenovo still dwarfed by dell and hp. but dell’s position is hardly changing, hp’s appears to be declining and lenovo is coming on strong, almost doubling its share of the profession. read more →

the tech risks accountants would rather ignore

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computer infectionnew 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 →

workflow automation takes root in mainstream cpa firms

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roman kepczyk , author of quantum of paperless at //www.g005e.com/shop/qop/
roman kepczyk, quantum of paperless

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 →

busy season 2015: worse and worser

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z tax 2015 better or worseafter a bad year for many practitioners, watch for the consolidation and shakeout to come.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

before busy season 2015 had even begun, tax professionals were worrying most about the new rules and regulations they’d be facing, among them, the affordable care act.

join the survey; get the results

indeed, so-called obamacare loomed largely over the 2015 season, but practitioners found bigger problems with form 3115, tougher competition and fee pressures. so much so, that a significant number of practitioners swore this tax season would be their last. and with merger season coming close on the heels of busy season, the profession should brace for a new wave of consolidation and shakeout, according to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 analysis.

see comprehensive coverage of busy season 2015 read more →

survey results: latest comments on busy season 2015

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the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometerclick to join the survey; see the results
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer
click to join the survey; see the results

the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer 2015:
join the survey. get the results

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

as results pour in from the final days of the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer 2015, it’s clear that practitioners’ experiences range widely, from outright euphoria to bleak despair.

see comprehensive coverage of busy season 2015

here are a few the latest comments, verbatim…

  • better than last year. volume is up significantly and good smoothness of preparation svc and knowledge of clients.
  • we added a small tax practice in an adjoining town
  • i didn’t have any clients with obamacare non-compliance

read more →