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pros tackle 49% of e-filed returns

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chart of weekly irs tax return filing datarefunds are down 19% in number and total amount.

by beth bellor

as in recent years, accountants are losing ground to diyers when it comes to individual income tax returns. the question is, do they care? or is this ground they’re all too ready to yield for more profitable pastures?

more: survey: tax season swings into the red | another tax season from hell? | pros process 44% of tax e-filings | tax professionals report tough slogging | busy season 2021 gets off to weak start
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the irs had received 85 million returns as of march 26, down 6.2 percent in a season that started 18 days later than in 2020. it had processed 76 million, down 12.7 percent.
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how to price client accounting services

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price and value balanced on scale above a tablet computerpushing the profit per person.

by hitendra patil
the definitive success guide to client accounting services

pricing your services correctly to ensure reasonable profitability is a major decision you will make in your client accounting services practice.

more: how cas communications are different | how to write your cas engagement letter | 12 signs it’s time to outsource | will 2021 be your cash-flow year? | identifying the right clients for cas | cas is, first, a communication challenge
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our survey results revealed how cas firms price their cas offering:

  • the topmost method of pricing cas offering was fixed/flat fee, used by 41 percent of the respondents.
  • the next most common method of pricing cas was a mixed method of pricing (a mix of hourly, fixed and value pricing), charged by 36 percent of respondents.
  • hourly billing method was used by 33 percent of respondents.
  • about 28 percent of respondents used value pricing as the method for cas pricing.

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how to be assertive while harmonizing

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businessman with hand extended in "no" gesturedon’t be someone else’s rug.

by bill reeb

in the ’70s, there was a big movement in business culture to learn to be more assertive, aptly called “assertiveness training.” michaelle was quick to enroll because this was an important skill set to call upon, especially with many women moving into jobs that had historically been held by men (michaelle was a systems engineer with ibm during this period). the concept was simple: “you need to speak your mind, ask for what you want, demand what is fair and don’t let yourself be a rug for everyone to step on.”

more: do you give yourself too much credit? | how to focus your priorities | increase your odds of success | heading off course? time to correct | don’t let time pass without … | is your sense of duty misplaced?
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in our early years working at ibm together, when one of the secretaries needed to step away or take a  break, she would often come over to michaelle and ask her to cover with typing, answering the phone and so on. in addition to the fact that she held the professional job of being a systems specialist, michaelle also had earned her undergraduate degree in psychology and an mba with a concentration in accounting. i just had a bachelor’s degree in business – far less educated – yet no one ever asked me to fill in.
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the managing partner’s role in mergers

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17 key factors and 18 common turnoffs. bonus: an 8-point history of cpa firm mergers.

by marc rosenberg
the role of the managing partner

we have discussed how the managing partner impacts organic growth activities. but a major growth strategy was not addressed: mergers and acquisitions, or more precisely, how managing partners impact m&a at their firms.

more: 10 ways to hold partners accountable | five ways to evaluate partners | manage partners with goal setting | overarching authority that managing partners must have
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when managing partners are asked what their revenue growth is, they invariably respond something like this: “we grew 12 percent last year, 8 percent organically and 4 percent through mergers.” it’s almost like the 4 percent from mergers didn’t count. but this is changing.
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how accountants are profiting in disruption

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post with two signs, "same" and "change"seek input on your road map.

by gary bolinger

we live and work in a world that is in perpetual motion. customer and client needs will be different tomorrow than they are today. market expectations will evolve.

more: ask the right question(s) | seven elements of engagement for cpas | true advisory work isn’t just consulting
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all of the change we experience results in transformation. transformation creates disruption. cpas are not immune from any of this.
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finding new business in sustainability

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green "opportunity" highway sign with sunrise backgroundwhy now is the time to invest in corporate sustainability and social responsibility reporting.

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

my columns are autobiographical and some tell about things that happened decades ago – although they’re still relevant – and hopefully, there are takeaways you can benefit from.

more: the six types of “impossible” clients | 50 ways to make more money in busy season | 20 good ways to boost tax season production | why annual staff evaluations fall short | why create an accounting firm business model? | the clients that keep you awake at night | creating a cross-selling culture | cross-selling beyond your comfort zone
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this one is about something just starting to happen and presents an opportunity for you to get in on the ground floor of what could become a hot area for additional revenues. the overall topic has various names, two of which are sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
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making partner: what managers need to know

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being a partner includes 16 specific duties, whether you’re equity or non-equity.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

when managers become new partners, they face numerous changes.

more: the 17 rules for making partner at a cpa firm | who shouldn’t be a partner? | nine reasons people are promoted to partner | how to make partner
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those include some things they’re entitled to … and not. read more →

trendwatch: new revenues in financial stress testing

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covid pivot: winning new high-value clients with: “trust, but verify.”

by anthony glomski and russ alan prince
your $5-million high-net-worth practice
now on sale: buy now | learn more

for the extremely wealthy, financial stress testing is quite common. just consider the following case.

more: family feud isn’t just a game show | working with the ultra-wealthy | covid-19 brings high-net-worth opportunities | product-neutral or product-inclusive? | help your referral sources become thought leaders | what the wealthy want
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a super-rich individual (net worth = $500 million or more) asked us to examine a tax mitigation strategy he was using. he was quite proud of how ingenious it was and how well it worked. the complication was that some of his business dealings were under scrutiny, and he wanted to make sure his wealth planning would not cause any problems. as part of this tax strategy, he had done several things:
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the cpa’s best role: leveraging knowledge, not just process

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david bergstein says you’re wasting your time and your client’s money if you’re not focussing on the future.

with steven sacks
the new fundamentals: thriving in disruption

to be more competitive, cpas need to shift their focus from compliance service to process-oriented, value-added work, veteran cpa david bergstein tells 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间. this means working with clients to understand their business operations, competition, and financial challenges, such as liquidity, solvency, and profitability.

more on value-add: how cas communications are different | how value billing eliminates guesswork | avoid last-minute deal making | how a great managing partner impacts firm growth | tax season client meetings: kill them now | do you give yourself too much credit? | the 17 rules for making partner at a cpa firm | family feud isn’t just a game show

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see more 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 videos here | see more david bergstein here

^ download and subscribe to the podcast on itunes here

the key takeaways:

  • accountants need to switch their focus to look to the future and real-time accounting, which means that the right way of doing things these days is to take advantage of all technology and automation.
  • it’s a small and mid-size business that doesn’t have a bookkeeper, that doesn’t have an accountant, that doesn’t have a controller, that doesn’t have a cfo that looks to cpas to help them. cpas’ advantage is to use that technology to automate all those processes and then spend time selling value-added services.
  • today, to be successful as an accountant, you must identify what platform or platforms you’re going to use to capture your clients’ data at the source to move it through the system.
  • payroll tax processing services can be expanded by setting up the human resource tools that go with it. beyond processing payroll, cpas can find ways to get lower workman’s compensation; automate the onboarding of employees, and provide various benefit options.
  • as part of the de-emphasis on process, younger staff members don’t want to do vouchering anymore, which will be supplanted anyway by automation. so, it’s great for firms to offer more training opportunities to their younger staff regarding analytical thinking, selling, and how to consult with clients to find out what their needs are.

 

transcript

david bergstein, interviewed by steven sacks
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50 ways to make more money in busy season

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checklist: leverage tax season to increase income, productivity, and profits.

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

tax season creates many opportunities for an accounting firm. one main reason is the compression of sometimes an almost unbearable amount of work into a short period with tight deadlines.

more: 14 simple, easy tips for a better tax season | you’re not just taxes | granting unconventional request pays off | 20 best practices for staff training and retention | what does the client want to see? | 6 ways to increase your fees … if you dare | the clients that got away | upselling made painless | boosting a fixed fee substantially
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

but it also creates opportunities to benefit immediately from small changes in your system or in a reaction to your awareness. an on-the-spot investment in making the extra effort or change will pay dividends many times over the rest of tax season and thereafter.

here are 50 ways to make more money. for the ones that are obvious – do it! for the not-so-evident, try it!
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when value billing eliminates guesswork

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businessmen standing on dollar billplus three other ways to bill clients.

by jody grunden
building the virtual cfo firm in the cloud

when i attend cpa conferences across the united states, i often hear from cpas: “i don’t want to bill for my time.”

so, how do you bill your clients?

more: make tech your ally in protecting clients | be more efficient with tech stacks | not all employees will work out | learning to love video calls | be more effective remotely with disc | protect client files from cyberthreats | get ready to launch virtual cfo services | riches in niches
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client billing can include hourly billing, but it can also include flat-fee, retainer-based and/or value-based billing. most people use one of these four methods. some use all of them or even a hybrid.

let’s take a closer look at each of them:
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