tax season is a microcosm of everything done in an accounting practice. one of the primary concerns of a business is having the proper processes and quality control procedures. many firms, however, do not have uniform tax return review procedures, and even when they do, they are not always adhered to. choosing how to properly use the reviewers’ time and interface them with the staff can contribute immensely to a smooth tax season. read more →
reviewing tax returns is a key part of tax preparation. it also is an area vulnerable to major bottlenecks and backlogs. inevitably, firms have more preparers than reviewers. the latter are highly skilled professionals who are more difficult to train or find. therefore, you must consider ways to reduce review time, even at the expense of adding preparer time.
the best tax season managers know how to: read more →
tax professionals fight political uncertainty, ragged clients, toughened rivals.
by rick telberg 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
after what for many was a disastrous season in 2013, many tax prep professionals are laying new plans and taking on ambitious initiatives to avoid a repeat of last year and maybe even vault ahead of the competition.
with input from more than 400 practitioners, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 expects 2014 to be rocky from the start, with washington politics playing a big role, and also highly competitive, as practitioners battle both fee pressures from clients and each other for a smaller pool of good clients.
in the last 30 days, practitioners’ outlook has been generally positive as they start to get their plans in place and with a momentary lull in washington infighting. as of today, about 60% of the more than 400 practitioners surveyed expect a better season than last year, including 12% who are hoping for a “much better” season.
if there are themes among the new strategies from lessons learned last year, they fall into a few general categories: read more →
most tax practitioners across the nation are preparing for the 2014 busy season with the hoping it can’t possibly be as bad as last year’s “worst tax season ever,” according to exclusive 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 polling.
about 61% of accountants today expect at least a “somewhat” or even “much” better season this year, according to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer, a tracking poll now approaching its 11th year. some 26% expect no change from last year, and 13% are bracing for “somewhat worse” or “much worse.”
in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 special report, responses and comments from more than 400 practitioners surveyed have been tabulated and analyzed. key findings:
pro member download
economic outlook for firms, clients, owners, and the nation in general.
practitioners’ forecasts for the upcoming season, compared with the forecasts from the same time a year ago and with 2013 actuals.
factors contributing to positive outlooks and factors contributing to negative outlooks.
top 10 challenges and concerns to prepare for and examples of how some practitioners are doing so
projections for key busy season metrics, including revenue, profit, client counts, extensions, revenue per client, and profit per client; compared with 2013 actuals and year-ago forecasts
the four key strategies shared by most practitioners with positive outlooks
the four important lessons learned from last year’s “worst tax season ever.”
it’s easy to get sidetracked by politics this year and simply wait to see what’s going to happen in the tax arena. i hope you don’t fall into that trap, though, because there has never been more opportunity in accounting and tax than right now, and now is the time to start preparing so you can make the most of next year’s busy season. read more →
get ready for a transformation in the tax business unlike anything we have experienced since turbotax. the transformation will force many of your colleagues to sell, retire, or go out of business. it will force many of your staff out of the profession. it will change the way you serve clients. and, it will either result in tremendous opportunity for you or end your practice. this transformation is zero data entry.
“worst tax season ever.” “the death of the 1040 practice.” “i’m retiring.”
by frank stitely
since the end of tax season, cpas voiced apocalyptic concerns. you can blame this latest meat grinder of a tax season on congress, competition from turbotax, and the irs.
or you can recognize that three trends are converging that will either transform your practice or eliminate it. read more →
tax guru bob jennings (cpa, ea, cfp, and rtrp) has been polling past attendees of his cpe seminars about tax season 2013.
clearly, tax professionals are still seething. “we sent our survey out and it must have pushed a button because the responses overwhelmed our servers,” says jennings, taxspeaker.com.
the results may not surprise you. but they are sobering nevertheless.
the latest update to the topline results for the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer shows additional confirmation of four key findings, beginning with the across-the-board problems of a late-starting season and buggy software.
how did your season compare? we’d love to hear. send your comments, rants raves, ideas, or questions to me here. – rick telberg
key finding #1: most practitioners, across all size firms, report a tougher 2013 than 2012. (see chart below for comparisons by size of firm.) read more →
a new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 analysis of long-term tax season activity shows how tax professionals may be working harder and enjoying it less. we’ll let two charts speak for themselves.
– rick telberg
even as tax professionals have been increasing the number of e-filed tax returns…
tax and accounting professionals of all shapes and sizes, ranging in size from the soloist to the regional leader, are reporting a filing season markedly more problematic than the year before, according to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer. the data for april, still coming in, shows majorities of firms in all class sizes reporting “somewhat worse” or “much worse” performance and results this year.
busy season barometer
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer, now in it’s tenth year, is a real-time tracking poll of tax and accounting professionals’ sentiment, performance and results. as a reward for joining the survey panel, participants get early previews of top-line results and notifications.
in this report, we present the first wave of in-depth details, starting with a chart that shows the number of respondents reporting on busy season conditions.
those reporting a “worse” season include:
66% of solo practitioners
60% of firms with 2 to 10 professionals
70% of firms with 11 to 50 professionals
72% of firms with 50 to 100 professionals
53% of firms with more than 100 professionals
and:
we gather verbatim comments from the solo practitioners who reported a season “much worse” explaining their rating, and
we present their comments assembled into a word-cloud infographic that reveals at a glance the most oft-repeated issues and concerns.
for complete busy season coverage, click here. and stay tuned to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 as we report on new developments in the data and analysis.
in this article, ed mendlowitz takes issue with worst tax season ever and suggests five strategies for continuous improvement year after year.
barry melancon, ceo of the aicpa, and tom hood, ceo of the maryland society of cpas, both said that they heard this was the worst tax season ever.
i don’t know if it was or wasn’t. for us it wasn’t that bad. this raises a thought. it’s supposed to get better – if not, then why do it, or why not make a serious effort to change what you are doing so it gets better? i am reminded by a remark by jack nicholson in “as good as it gets.” he said, “maybe this is as good as it gets!” i don’t buy that.
here are five things that should be done to make tax season (and the rest of your practice or any business) better. read more →
top leadership must set the tone for solid review work.
by ed mendlowitz, cpa, abv, pfs
