surveys & research

tax refund numbers down, amounts up

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data table

tax pros handled 54% of e-filings.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

more than 100,000 individual income tax returns have flowed in and out of the internal revenue service, and for the most part, we’re slightly ahead of the 2023 season.

more: tax pros own 53% of e-filings | tax stats still playing catchup | tax pros take the edge in e-filings | tax pros gain ground, and diyers maintain lead | tax pros handle 46.4% of e-filing | tax refunds, tax pro market share trending up | refunds up as tax pros tackle 41.5% of e-filings | tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
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with 10 days before deadline – as of april 5, the latest data available – the irs received 101.9 million returns, up 0.5 percent from the same period the previous tax season. it processed 100.1 million returns, down 0.3 percent.
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new phase-change concrete melts snow and ice without salt or shovels

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new self-heating concrete mixes could eliminate the need for snowplows, salt trucks and shovels.

by rick richardson
technology this week

researchers have devised a self-heating substance that can melt snow and ice for up to 10 hours without the need for shovels or salt by incorporating a phase-change compound into concrete. the new substance may lessen the requirement for salting and plowing while helping maintain road surface integrity.

more: ai generates revolutionary new battery design | chatgpt is getting humanlike memory | one state is now america’s clean energy paradise | did ancient romans find a solution for climate change? | telehealth advances with ai-powered clinics | fcc approves superfast wi-fi tethering | major websites blocking content from ai crawlers | printer ink: not just expensive, but a blatant scam? | generative ai coming to microsoft 365 | electronic skin that can sense touch will transform robotics
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the u.s. department of transportation (dot) reports that over 70 percent of roadways are in areas with snowfall. accumulation of snow and ice decreases vehicle mobility and road friction, slowing down traffic and raising the possibility of collisions.
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accountants’ advice: be careful, quick, creative … and lean

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businessman giving advice to female coworker

survey respondents look beyond tax season.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

just about every small business has an accountant, and smart business owners tap their accountant not just for tax prep but for general business advice.

and smart accountants offer smart advice. because what’s good for the client is good for the accountant.

more: seven steps to a stronger future | accountants bullish locally, bearish nationally | firms culling clients as staffing woes persist | are accountants charging too little? | revenue growth is top priority for small firms | is the cpa business model the clog in the pipeline? | accountants cozy up to clients with cas
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the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 2024 busy season barometer has harvested quite a bit of smart advice with an open-ended question about the best advice for small businesses.

responses bounced all over the business ballpark, but a lot of them warned of change and economic turbulence.
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ai generates revolutionary new battery design

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will lithium-ion batteries soon be relics of the past?

by rick richardson
technology this week

researchers have now utilized artificial intelligence’s capacity to expedite the discovery and testing of novel materials to create a battery that is less reliant on the pricey and growingly scarce mineral lithium.

more: chatgpt is getting humanlike memory | lenovo readies new thinkbook laptop with a transparent display | microsoft moves further into nuclear development with new director | tack one launches new location tracker for children and seniors | windows is now an app for pcs, apple products | bill gates says america has a math problem | what is an heic file? | congress: tax prep companies shared private data with google, meta for years | what an a.i.-powered workforce means for accountants
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lithium-ion batteries power numerous everyday items, as well as electric cars. additionally, batteries are needed to store renewable energy from solar panels and wind turbines. therefore, they would be an essential component of a green electric grid.
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tax pros own 53% of e-filings

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data table

most stats are on the plus side now.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

with just over two weeks before the nation’s major tax deadline, most statistics are landing on the positive side … finally.

more: tax stats still playing catchup | tax pros take the edge in e-filings | tax pros gain ground, and diyers maintain lead | tax pros handle 46.4% of e-filing | tax refunds, tax pro market share trending up | refunds up as tax pros tackle 41.5% of e-filings | tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the irs has received 90.3 million individual income tax returns as of march 29, the latest data available, up 0.2 percent from the same period in 2023. it has processed 88.8 million returns, down 1 percent.
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seven steps to a stronger future

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six people in business clothing lined up at start of athletic track

fees and business lines of course, but what about an operations person?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the aicpa’s national management of an accounting practice (map) survey took a good look at a lot of data – revenues and profits, staff turnover and professional salaries, services and fees.

more: accountants bullish locally, bearish nationally | top performers lead in leverage, culling, outsourcing | revenue up at 59% of accounting firms … and more good news | chatgpt for the reluctant accountant | survey shows challenges, priorities shifting | accountants torn over 2024 economy, offer advice | survey: are you offering the right services?
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and then, toward the end, it says, “but all the data in the universe won’t do you any good if you don’t do something with it.”

it then calls on cpa firms to evolve if they want to survive and thrive through seismic shifts in technology and marketing.
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tax stats still playing catchup

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data tablerefund numbers are down but amounts are up.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the end is in sight. documents are signed, buttons are pushed and tax returns are filed. the pile is growing smaller.

if you want optimism, don’t look at the latest internal revenue statistics. with the 2023 filing season opening jan. 23 and the 2024 season kicking off jan. 29, every week of 2024 reporting has seven fewer days of data than the corresponding period the previous year.

more: tax pros take the edge in e-filings | tax pros handle 46.4% of e-filing | tax refunds, tax pro market share trending up | refunds up as tax pros tackle 41.5% of e-filings | tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

as of the latest report, for march 22, the irs had received 80.5 million individual income tax returns and processed 79.2 million returns, down 0.3 percent and 1.4 percent respectively from last year. the impact on your firm? dare we say, none?

perhaps you’ve been the beneficiary of another stat, though … the one showing tax professionals gaining ever more ground on the self-preparers.
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accountants bullish locally, bearish nationally

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one-quarter of accountants see trouble ahead for the source of their bread and butter.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the trendlines 2024 busy season barometer is unearthing a perplexing paradox.

it seems that most cpas think their firm and their clients will do better this year – or at least no worse than last year, which itself was a pretty good year.

more: top performers lead in leverage, culling, outsourcing | auditing standards ‘yellow book’ updated | compensation’s up, but up enough to retain staff? | cpas needed to help small biz adopt ai | survey shows that tech remains the great divide | will unclogging the accounting pro pipeline kill mobility? | accountants bullish on income | survey: which niche’s the best niche?
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at the same time, they tend to see things getting worse for the national economy and small businesses in general.

what’s going on?
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top performers lead in leverage, culling, outsourcing

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two hands on keyboard, two hands doing other work with calculator

the causative difference? look at the amount of work delegated downward.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the aicpa’s 2023 national management of an accounting practice (map) survey has detected some of what distinguishes firms that stand out as top performers.

the survey defines top performers as the top 25 percent of firms based on net remaining per partner.

more: business booming, but not as much as last year | busy season barometer offers clues for better business | end tax season meetings with clients … seriously | ftc nails turbotax for ‘free filing’ scam | can’t irs online accounts be more useful? | taxpayer assistance centers: a good idea that should be better | tax pros are expanding and earning more
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more, more, more

what makes a cpa firm a top performer? in a nutshell, more:

  • more leverage of partner expertise
  • more culling of clients
  • more cpas in the firm

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client acquisition never stops

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nine businesspeople talking in trios at a gathering

six ways to draw people’s interest.

by august j. aquila
price it right: how to value accounting services

a good marketing program never stops marketing the firm. you must always think about acquiring new clients to replace lost ones and to improve the quality of your client base. it’s a fact of life that some clients will move, go out of business, merge or even leave us for another firm.

more: make sure you know what you will get from your marketing | ten questions to refine your successful marketing plan | four questions for choosing your marketing audit strategies | four steps to a successful email marketing campaign | five reasons to implement change orders | make your practice better | eleven marketing strategies for smaller firms | five questions for developing your marketing plan | you only have four strategies | the damage that traditional fee methods do
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let’s look at some basic client acquisition activities that should be part of your marketing plan. you may be asking yourself, “which ones work?” they all do. the secret of business development is to constantly be in the marketplace because you never know when a prospect is ready to buy from you or to move from their existing accounting firm.
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business booming, but not as much as last year

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how does your firm compare?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

if the early results from the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 2024 busy season barometer: emerging issues, opportunities, and trends hold true through april, this will be a pretty good year for the vast majority of accountants and tax practitioners – not quite as good as last year, but still, pretty good.

more: busy season barometer offers clues for better business | tax practitioners say happy days are here … again | brandon hall: firms try to make too much on tax prep | if only the irs’s tax pro were useful | id theft a problem for irs even when it doesn’t exist | irs still falling short on service | eight ways the irs can speed up processing tax returns | treasury ig sees progress at irs | how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks
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despite difficulties finding staff and professionals, 45 percent of respondents say they have increased their client list by at least 5 percent. (last year, it was 65 percent.)

in fact, 14 percent have seen an increase of over 10 percent. good, but not as good as last year’s 22 percent.
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busy season barometer offers clues for better business

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workers in busy office

take a tip from a peer.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer: emerging issues, opportunities, and trends is more than just a survey of the state of the industry at cpa firms across the nation. it also offers clues to what firms are doing to make the busy season better, easier and more profitable.

the clues are in the comments – open-ended answers where practitioners tell us what they’re doing, how they’re feeling and where they’re going.

more: tax practitioners say happy days are here … again | the irs is coming! get your clients into compliance | end tax season meetings with clients … seriously | brandon hall: firms try to make too much on tax prep | eight steps to getting started with ai: a guide for tax professionals | ftc nails turbotax for ‘free filing’ scam | if only the irs’s tax pro were useful | id theft a problem for irs even when it doesn’t exist
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one of the best questions is “what are you doing differently this year?” each answer reflects an attempt to make the best of a stressful situation – the annual tax season.

here are a few quotes to think about, categorized by how well various respondents’ seasons are going this year. each is an idea that might make your year better.
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tax pros take the edge in e-filings

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data table

refunds up 5+ percent.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the machine that is the internal revenue service keeps clicking along. as of march 15, the irs had received 71.6 million individual income tax returns, down 0.4 percent from the same period in 2023, and had processed 70.6 million, down 1.2 percent.

more: tax pros handle 46.4% of e-filing | tax refunds, tax pro market share trending up | refunds up as tax pros tackle 41.5% of e-filings | tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings | tax pros file 33% of early returns
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e-filings

electronic filings totaled 69.5 million, down 0.3 percent.
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