today's features

ask tax clients the right questions

hourglass on paper charts

don’t let them dictate your workflow.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

who makes the errors in your firm? staff obviously, but that’s half of the answer. clients are a major source of tax return errors. clients cause errors in three ways:

  1. errors of omission
  2. errors of commission
  3. errors in attitude

more by frank stitely
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every tax season, we finalize and deliver returns only to hear from the client, “i think i might have forgotten to tell you that we had a baby last year.” does this happen to you? this is a client error of omission. unintentionally, clients withhold important information.
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taxpayer advocate sees big improvements at irs

data table

but still “far from perfect.”

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

for the first time ever, erin m. collins, america’s resolute national taxpayer advocate, has opened her annual report to congress with good news.

“the taxpayer experience,” she writes, “has noticeably improved.”

more: ask tax clients the right questions | major changes to circular 230: implications for tax professionals | cornerstone report | art werner: due diligence and irs enforcement | quick tax tip | make ‘done but’ tax returns a thing of the past | six methods for getting paid faster this tax season | use humor to get tax documents in early | art werner: busy season predictions | four steps could close the tax gap | art werner: how to turn tax prep into tax advisory | art werner: navigating business structure decisions amid tax law changes | tax season memo from staff to managing partner | is the irs adequately tracking corporate tax evasion? | irs still unsure how to measure audit rate
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

collins has good reason for her praise:
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the shift to advisory from a firm perspective

man and woman high-fiving each other in office

it might take longer than you expect, but it’s so worthwhile.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

articles about shifting to advisory are mostly written by consultants. they are smart, well-meaning people. they have lots of advice, some good, some bad, but it’s like hiring a vegan chef to grill your steak. they aren’t living with the consequences.

more from frank stitely
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

my firm made the shift and learned a lot of lessons from grilling our own steak. we mostly survived with just a mild case of food poisoning.

let’s kindly ask our vegan chefs to leave the room and just speak firm to firm. let’s wait a second longer to make certain they’re off grilling tofu.

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the risks of not innovating in audit

hand below light bulb

technology is moving quickly. are you keeping up?

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

auditors, like most accountants, tend to be conservative in nature. we tend to be reluctant to change unless we’re on a burning platform.

more by alan anderson
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

as i’ve said before, audit is at a crossroads. we can continue the way we’ve been doing audit and will likely go extinct. or we can make changes that will keep audit relevant and valuable for the next generations.
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ten types of tax clients to avoid | listicle

//www.g005e.com/category/checklist/listicle/by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

every tax season, tax preparers are looking for new clients, and taxpayers are looking for tax preparers. it’s tempting to take on everybody who expresses interest. and it’s tempting to hold on to the troublemakers of last year. but some are too complicated, or too risky, to deal with.

more listicles here

here are 10 types of clients best avoided even if it means culling your current client list.

1. the chronically late: clients who are consistently late with documents and information complicate your busy season and often extend it by weeks or months. when clients end up penalized, their tax preparer looks bad.

2. non-compliant clients: individuals or businesses who dodge tax laws, hide income, manipulate deductions or outright lie can jeopardize a cpa’s reputation and lead to the costs and complications of legal liability.

3. unrealistic expectations: clients who demand unreasonably low tax liabilities or refunds without legal grounds may create conflicts and ethical dilemmas. and they’re going to tell others that you didn’t serve them well.

4. clients with frequent auditor flags: taxpayers who engage in high-risk activities (e.g., excessive charitable deductions, business losses year after year) may invite irs audits. the irs might question the ethics of the preparer, too.

5. aggressive fee negotiators: clients who argue over fees or expect reduced rates belittle a tax professional’s expertise and cheapen the preparer’s reputation.

6. disorganized record-keepers: clients who provide incomplete or disorganized records can waste your time and cause you to make errors that you may be held accountable for.

7. non-payers: let somebody else have clients who consistently fail to pay or argue over every invoice. it costs less to cut them loose than to take them to court.

8. overly litigious clients: individuals or businesses prone to solving problems through legal action can pose significant professional and financial risks. the cpa might get sued, and even if not, suits against others may require cpa testimony or other participation.

9. high-risk industry clients: some industries, like cannabis or cryptocurrency trading, come with regulatory uncertainty and heightened scrutiny. they may also require a lot of research on the accountant’s part, not to mention extra legal protections.

10. emotionally draining clients: taxpayers who consistently vent, complain or act unprofessionally can cause stress and burnout for the cpa. unless you’re comfortable billing them for the time they’re in your ear, best let them find solace elsewhere.

the trick, of course, is to identify these clients before you take them on. one thing to ask them is who their former accountant was and how well they got along. and if you think a potential client might be one of the above, you’d best just ask them about it.