two questions to ask yourself – before clients or staff do
plus some suggested answers.
by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide
here are two questions to ask yourself:
- why should clients use you?
- why should staff want to work for you?
tax season
the future as the irs sees it
but will it work?
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
uh-oh. the internal revenue service is developing a “future state” plan that it says will transform the way the service interacts with taxpayers.
many components in the plan will may well ease the processing of filing returns, the issuing of refunds, and the identification and resolution of problems. but the tax advocate service – an independent part of the irs that defends and assists taxpayers – warns that key components of the plan are going to aggravate taxpayers and make it more difficult to find answers and resolve issues.
41 checkpoints for business tax returns
a handy reviewer’s checklist for business tax returns.
by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide
get set for refund delays at irs
false positives for fraud can drag things out 11 weeks … or longer.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
tax preparers might do well to prepare their clients for possible delays due to automated inefficiencies at the internal revenue service, according to a report from the tax advocate service.
the delays, which have been reported as a serious problem since 2003, are caused by automatic freezing of refunds when the irs’s pre-refund wage verification (also known as income wage verification) identifies suspected false wages and withholding.
the fundamental problem is that the false positive rate for the electronic fraud detection system in 2015 was a staggering 35 percent. that’s not a whole lot better than random identification would be.
the problem extends to the taxpayer protection program, which is grappling with identity theft. there the false positive rate leaped from 19.8 percent in 2014 to 36.2 percent in 2015.
recognize your tax season resources
nine vital contributors you might be taking for granted.
by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide
we have many resources and need to recognize that. and we need to treat each with its own importance. even if you did everything yourself, you’d still need to rely on your tax software company, fedex and the postal service, stationery supplier, computer consultant, the internet and email, cell phone provider and copier/scanner machine. and that’s just a few of the resources we rely on. managing your resources well creates an aura of security and consistency to your practice.
more on tax season: 40 other services your tax clients should know about | 21 reasons why tax clients switch firms | top 12 tax return preparation errors | eliminate tax season excuses | be happy with your tax practice | 8 ways to delight tax season clients | here’s your new tax season marketing plan | consistency simplifies tax season
but there more. and they are often overlooked. or taken for granted. here are some more resources that need to be managed:
read more →
40 other services your tax clients should know about
bonus: checklist for considering additional client services.
by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide
the following listing can give you ideas of additional services clients might need.
this list is not complete, but it is a good start for you to start thinking about what types of additional services you can offer to your clients!
21 reasons why tax clients switch firms
fix them while you have the chance.
by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide
clients have many choices, including the choice of a tax preparer. every new client an accountant gets is because that client left – fired – their previous accountant.
following is a listing of major reasons why clients switch accountants:
top 12 tax return preparation errors
the good news: they’re preventable.
by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide
here are the top 12 tax return preparation errors:
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- number transposition and spelling errors. this includes income and deduction amounts and client social security numbers, addresses and zip codes. spelling errors should also be avoided – they indicate a lack of attention to what you are doing.
- unreported 1099 income. clients frequently leave out 1099s, but the preparer should make sure all 1099 items from last year are accounted for. missing 1099s that were not final for last year should be accounted for.
- tax payments. entering incorrect and unpaid amounts can be avoided by requiring the client to provide “proof” of the payments. entering “incorrect” amounts provided by the client is a major cause of tax notices.
tax season 2016: irs in crisis
budget breakdowns threaten tax agency’s future.
this year’s toughest issues & best opportunities
today’s bonus question: strategies for dealing with the single biggest problem this year.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
you have a friend inside the irs. it’s the taxpayer advocate service. technically, it’s part of the irs, but legally, it reports directly to congress and the congressional desire to make life as simple as possible for you.
the tas has two main objectives:
- to help individuals resolve difficulties with filing their taxes.
- to identify systemic problems and suggest solutions.
to fulfill the problem/solution objective, the tas presents an annual report to congress. the report identifies at least 20 serious systemic problems. theoretically, congress will look askance at the irs, and the irs will take heed and make life a little easier for taxpayers and tax preparers.
depending on how quickly the irs reacts, the problems detailed in the 2015 annual report may make this year’s tax season a little easier. some of the problems, however, will need long-term consideration. but that’s better than no consideration.
here, briefly, are a few of the main issues the tas has identified:
eliminate tax season excuses
or, 10 things not to say.
by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide
be happy with your tax practice
or target the source of your discontentment.
by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide
successful people are happy with their practices and what they do and get joy from interacting and helping clients. i know a lot of accountants who continuously complain about tax season – yet they make most of their money during the period.
more on tax season: 10 questions every reviewer should be able to answer | 16 qualities of a good tax season client | 8 ways to delight tax season clients | small tax season leaks can cause great damage | 5 ways thorough beats sloppy in tax season | here’s your new tax season marketing plan | 5 personal touches for tax season | 11 clear client instructions to make your tax season easier
do they expect someone to knock on their door with a wheelbarrow of money to hand them? if they are financially secure, why do they keep working? if they are not, then, duh! either do it or find something else, but stop complaining. better yet, look at all the benefits from what you do (if you need me to tell you the benefits then find something else to do).
read more →
where workflow management runs off the rails
ruthlessly efficient workflow management and the tragic tale of tammy tardy.
by frank stitely, cpa, cva
clarity practice management
tammy tardy was an average tax preparer who owned a typical tax preparation firm. every tax season tammy met with a hundred or so tax clients much like many of us. tammy managed her workload using the piles of files method. after a client meeting, she put the file aside, knowing she would get to it shortly.
“ruthlessly efficient workflow management offers the chance to wring another ten years of profitability out of the 1040 market.”
of course, twenty meetings later, she had no idea what she should work on next. so she just picked up a file from her office floor and began. she felt that it didn’t matter which returns you work on when you are overworked and in a hurry. there’s a fixed amount of work to get done by april 15th, and you just jump in and do it.
10 questions every reviewer should be able to answer
bonus checklist: the answers!
by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide
the primary people who should review tax returns are trained tax department reviewers. however, often the bunching and compression of work shifts some of the review to higher level, non-tax personnel such as audit managers and partners who might not necessarily have the comprehensive training, background and experience to handle everything that might come up during the tax preparation process.
more on tax season: 16 qualities of a good tax season client | 8 ways to delight tax season clients | small tax season leaks can cause great damage | 5 ways thorough beats sloppy in tax season | here’s your new tax season marketing plan | when ‘quick and easy’ tax season research isn’t | 5 personal touches for tax season | consistency simplifies tax season | 11 clear client instructions to make your tax season easier | 3 ways to build a tax season team | have fun this tax season | how to get paid faster this tax season
additionally, in many firms, almost everyone on the staff prepares some returns. that lack of dedicated preparers with the trained skills places an added burden on the tax reviewers, making it important for them to have the range of experience needed to perform the review.
following are 10 questions reviewers should be able to answer to qualify for their role.