10 tips to the irs for beefing up staff

two businesswomen meeting in an office

guess who has the federal government’s worst retention rate for employees under 40?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

if you think it’s hard staffing a cpa firm, imagine the challenges at the internal revenue service where

  • the pay’s not so good
  • laws limit bonuses
  • it takes three months to hire an applicant
  • federal bureaucracy gums up the process
  • the hiring process uses antiquated technology
  • only a remote office can authorize many hires

more: eight ways the irs can speed up processing tax returns | irs plays whac-a-mole with the phones | vcs plunk $60 million into ai-powered ‘autonomous’ tax prep | how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

  • the recruitment and retention budgets are austere
  • training programs, spaces and equipment are inadequate
  • more than 100 full-time positions need to be filled every day
  • over half of employees will be eligible to retire within five years

the taxpayer advocacy service says the irs needs to deal with these problems, and it’s going to take money, effort, technology and legislation to get it done.
read more →

six types of person: which are you?

use the answer to help define your business and your future.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

is your practice satisfying?

do you like it the way it is, or do you want it to develop and grow? some people like the way things are and don’t care about change.

more on tax season: answer these two questions first | help your tax clients, help yourself | what’s your value to your tax clients? | are you excited about tax season?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

if you’ve gotten this far, i would suggest that you do care about change, and change means you have to do some things differently.
read more →

eight ways the irs can speed up processing tax returns

businesswoman with headache at laptop

some of the fixes will require software updates, but some are simpler.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

national taxpayer advocate erin m. collins has determined that delays in the processing of tax returns is one of the most serious problems at the internal revenue service.

millions of americans couldn’t agree more.

more: irs plays whac-a-mole with the phones | ten irs problems that need solutions | treasury ig sees progress at irs | vcs plunk $60 million into ai-powered ‘autonomous’ tax prep | tax pros are expanding and earning more | with fresh funding, irs shows service improvements | how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks | top tax vendors caught red-handed selling private taxpayer data
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

collins’s 2023 report to congress is more than a detailed kvetch. it’s also a buffet of solutions – some that the irs could effect, some that congress needs to legislate.

she offers several solutions to the problems with processing. here are the main processing problems and their solutions:
read more →

irs plays whac-a-mole with the phones

frazzled woman yelling at two phone receivers

what, just moving the resources around doesn’t work?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the internal revenue service did a dismal job of answering phone calls in 2021, struggling to pick up the toll-free 1040 phone 11 percent of the time it rang. a year later, that number leaped to a still-dismal 29 percent.

more: ten irs problems that need solutions | treasury ig sees progress at irs | vcs plunk $60 million into ai-powered ‘autonomous’ tax prep | tax pros are expanding and earning more | with fresh funding, irs shows service improvements | how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

so janet yellen did what any treasury secretary would do: she gave the irs a swift kick in the 1040 and committed the service to answering at least 85 percent of calls in 2023 and cutting wait times in half.

and the irs’s customer service representatives did it! yay, right?
read more →

ten irs problems that need solutions

unhappy man waiting on phone in office

how good is better than terrible?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

every year, america’s national taxpayer advocate – in recent years it’s been erin m. collins – presents an annual report to congress. the report identifies successes and failures of and recommendations for the internal revenue service.

more: treasury ig sees progress at irs | vcs plunk $60 million into ai-powered ‘autonomous’ tax prep | tax pros are expanding and earning more | with fresh funding, irs shows service improvements | how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks | top tax vendors caught red-handed selling private taxpayer data
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this year’s report praises the irs for its progress since the worst of the covid-19 pandemic, but it finds plenty of room for improvement.

“the year 2023 was one of extraordinary transition for the irs and therefore for taxpayers,” collins writes. “despair has turned to cautious optimism.”
read more →

help your tax clients, help yourself

beware the opportunity graveyard.

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

many opportunities only come along once. the way to be successful is to not let them pass by without acting on them or taking advantage of them.

more on tax season: what’s your value to your tax clients? | are you excited about tax season?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

spotting opportunities is quite easy if you are looking for them – and extremely difficult if you don’t have a clue of client needs or wants.
read more →

get clients to understand firm processes … or say goodbye

woman in a business suit waving a red flag

with just a little advanced marketing, you can get paid year-round and have more satisfied clients.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

when i’m frustrated, here’s how i explain the importance to clients of letting us work our process:

“when you get your car repaired, you don’t look over the mechanic’s shoulder and tell him which wrench to use. the same principle applies to us. if you knew the best ways to prepare tax returns, you should become our competitor.”

more: train now before it costs you down the road | keep clients from “balance due” shock | it’s ok to say no to clients (even the large ones) | you train your clients, whether you mean to or not | business owners face one of three exits | how small firms can win the talent wars | do you know your turnaround time?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

let’s be perfectly honest with each other.

there’s a reason you aren’t actively training clients to allow you to work efficiently. you’re afraid that you’ll lose clients.

i guarantee that you will.
read more →

a brief history of the us income tax, the internal revenue service, and the tax, accounting and cpa profession | cornerstone

cornerstone report

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the internal revenue service has a long and complex history dating back to the early days of the united states. the story of the irs intersects at critical points with the development of the tax, accounting and cpa profession.

more cornerstone reports here

the current federal income tax can be traced back to the revenue act 1913, passed after the states ratified the 16th amendment to the constitution. the act provided that taxes on individual taxpayers would be imposed beginning in 1913 on incomes of $3,000 and up.

read more →

reader to irs: stop whining and get to work

frustrated woman typing on laptop

an accountant has had enough of broken promises.

editor’s note: a reader shared with us an open letter sent to the irs. we removed some capitalization, bold/italic type and extra punctuation, but every word is just as written.

open letter via priority mail; delivery signature required

the honorable daniel werfel, commissioner
internal revenue service
1111 constitution ave, nw
washington, dc 20224

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

re: aicpa presentation 11-14-23. please stop complaining about budgets. focus on setting priorities, allocating resources, taxpayer bill of rights and the strategic operating plan like the rest of us out here; stop whining and just do your job.
read more →

are you excited about tax season?

woman working at two monitors

if not, take time to determine why.

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: nine tax season resources that get forgotten | eight ways to charm a client | you’re only as good as your last screw-up
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

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 →

treasury ig sees progress at irs

bar charts
comparison of individual return inventory carried over to the next filing season

backlogs cleared, fraud detected.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the treasury inspector general for tax administration has issued a report on the 2023 filing season, and it is generally complimentary to the irs.

more: vcs plunk $60 million into ai-powered ‘autonomous’ tax prep | tax pros are expanding and earning more | with fresh funding, irs shows service improvements | how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks | top tax vendors caught red-handed selling private taxpayer data
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

one big accomplishment: by feb. 2, 2023, the irs had cleared the entire carryover inventory of unprocessed individual tax returns received in 2022 – a backlog of 447,000 paper returns and 445,000 amended returns.
read more →

eight ways to build busy-season stamina

attitude is key, but can only do so much.

by sandi leyva
the complete guide to marketing for tax & accounting firms

busy season is just around the corner. can you feel the excitement? or the dread?

here are eight ways to boost your stamina and minimize burnout for those of you who are working long hours in the weeks ahead.

more: five things that clients don’t know about accountants | are your revenue projections realistic? | six strategies to make more without working more | the art of prompt engineering for accountants | calculate your business relationship ratios | five ways to acquire more clients | five stages of any business | put your linkedin profile to work | what’s in a (domain) name? plenty
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

1. understand the physical limitations of “willpower.”

according to scientists, our willpower is replenished every morning after a good night’s sleep. it’s strongest in the morning (even if you’re an evening person like me), and it wanes throughout the day. the more stress you’re under, the faster it depletes during the day, and sometimes your willpower runs out before the day does.
read more →