tax season

exclusive survey: practitioners cite 4 big strategies for success in tax season 2014

by

chartexporttax 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.

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 has prepared a special report, “busy season 2014 pre-season forecast and outlook,” available as an ebook here.

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 →

survey report: busy season 2014 outlook

by

click to enlarge
click to enlarge

executive summary

by rick telberg
cpa trendlines

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:

screen shot 2013-11-26 at 4.50.30 am
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.”
  • verbatim comments from hundreds of practitioners.

more

read more →

busy season survey shows four key findings

by

updated with responses from may 2013.

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 →

12 fast, low-cost tips for a stress-less tax season

by

stress management is critical to a successful season.

by sandi smith, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

i don’t want to stress you out, but we really do need to do something about our stress levels.

the american psychological association says our kids are getting headaches, having difficulty sleeping, and eating too little or too much due to pressure from school and household finances. the worst part is that  most parents were not aware of the severity of their children’s stress.

many adults reported not knowing what to do to change their lifestyle so they could reduce their stress, so it just makes sense to talk about this a little.

here are the most common stress-reducing tasks that some people do, according to the survey: read more →

how many irs agents does it take to screw in a light bulb?

by

 … and more tax season humor.

every tax season for the last umpteen years, robert e. mckenzie, a tax lawyer at  arnstein & lehr in chicago, has made a tradition of sharing his carefully curated collection of tax jokes. here are a few of his latest. enjoy!

q: how many irs agents does it take to screw in a light bulb?
a: only one, but the light bulb really gets screwed.
— from garrison keillor’s ‘pretty good joke book’

irs motto: “we’re not happy until you’re not happy!”

read more →

putting the “no jerks” rule to work in tax season

by

and a couple more ideas for high performing firms.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

ed mendlowitz
ed mendlowitz

if you have staff, have happy, cheerful, helpful people. don’t surround yourself with downers and nay-sayers.  make sure they are team players.

part of this is your firm’s culture.  it takes work to get people to work together and to focus on doing what it takes to service the client fully, properly and timely.  everyone working together gets it done.  you need to create that atmosphere.

here are three things that might help:

read more →

tax pro’s turn negative on busy season

by

washington brinksmanship spells big crunch for preparers. join the survey; get the updates.

source: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 / join the survey; get the updates

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

with tax season 2013 delayed by last-minute code changes, staffing problems and software glitches, the mood of the profession is turning markedly sour.

“irs delays will cause confusion and errors, and many upset clients,” says charles postal at santos postal, a five-partner firm in rockville, md. “more extensions will depress cash flow.”

at the same, postal adds, “clients will have more tax needs, but the struggling economy will depress their ability and desire to pay for services.”

in order to battle the business pressures, postal’s firm is “pushing back on fees, using standardized billing by product rather than hours, and adding on charges for technology, audit and tax notice insurance.”

read more →

nine healthy things to do during tax season

by

how to be at your best through april 15th.

tax season can be a marathon. everyone has their own tips and tricks, habits and techniques for staying sane and healthy. here are 10 from 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 contributor ed mendlowitz:

  1. eat lunch out of your office.
  2. go for a 15 minute walk in middle of afternoon instead of eating a snack.
  3. take off either march 17 or 18. read more →

survey results: busy season outlook 2013

by

what accountants talk about when they talk about busy season 2013

mergers, tech and the economy create a volatile mix in forecasting filing season.

by rick telberg
join the survey; get the updates.

washington gridlock, last-minute tax changes and continuing economic uncertainty are undermining tax professionals’ outlook for the 2013 filing season, according to new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 survey results.

the new survey results shed light on:

  1. the changing mood of the profession and it’s leading competitors and decision-makers,
  2. the effects of mergers and new technologies,
  3. the chief operational, competitive and economic concerns,
  4. expectations for key financial metrics, including revenues, profits and number of clients, and
  5. the strategies firms are implementing to cope with the issues and opportunities.

despite political gridlock and economic uncertainty, practitioners are trending increasingly confident about how well their firms will perform this season. most are looking at advances in total revenue, net profit, number of clients, number on extension, revenue per client, and profit per client.

for example: read more →

five ways for partners to lead by example this busy season

by

dustin hostetler

this busy season will test new processes – and a firm’s leadership. [how are accountants feeling about about busy season? join the survey; get the answers.]

by dustin hostetler
flowtivity

as many firms get ready to implement and leverage new and improved processes as busy season ramps up, i thought it’d be worth considering a few pointers for the partner leadership group to keep in mind over the next several months.

related: the coming storm in staff turnover (video)  | three strategies to improve buy-in for change

and i should probably add a disclaimer to take the accounting hats off for a minute and realize this isn’t an exhaustive list nor is it literal in every example.  there are always going to be exceptions, but the more you can abide by the following ideas the better off your firms will be and you’ll be providing better client service as well. read more →