6 keys to the perfect proposal
bonus checklist: 7 things that trusted advisors don’t need to do.
by martin bissett
passport to partnership
busy season barometer
busy season 2015: worse and worser
after a bad year for many practitioners, watch for the consolidation and shakeout to come.
by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
before busy season 2015 had even begun, tax professionals were worrying most about the new rules and regulations they’d be facing, among them, the affordable care act.
join the survey; get the results
indeed, so-called obamacare loomed largely over the 2015 season, but practitioners found bigger problems with form 3115, tougher competition and fee pressures. so much so, that a significant number of practitioners swore this tax season would be their last. and with merger season coming close on the heels of busy season, the profession should brace for a new wave of consolidation and shakeout, according to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 analysis.
survey results: latest comments on busy season 2015
click to join the survey; see the results
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer 2015:
join the survey. get the results
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
as results pour in from the final days of the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer 2015, it’s clear that practitioners’ experiences range widely, from outright euphoria to bleak despair.
see comprehensive coverage of busy season 2015
here are a few the latest comments, verbatim…
- better than last year. volume is up significantly and good smoothness of preparation svc and knowledge of clients.
- we added a small tax practice in an adjoining town
- i didn’t have any clients with obamacare non-compliance
busy season 2015: comprehensive coverage
in case you missed it… in this directory, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 compiles complete coverage of the 2015 busy season. irs seeks more tools to fight refund fraud fy 2016 budget provisions would expand authority for regulation, correctable errors. workflow automation takes root in … continued
busy season 2015: top lessons learned so far
click to join the survey; see the results
doing the tax season math: regs + staff + clients + tech + self = busy x busy x busy
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the key lessons learned from the 11th annual 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer study are coming into clear focus.
more:
busy season 2015
comprehensive coverage
a.b. east, at manning elliott in vancouver, bc, canada, for example, took a lesson in smart management. he says he learned “the importance of having the right complement of experienced staff to delegate to so i can reduce my hours and deliver to clients on timely basis.” next year east will continue a very healthy policy: “i have been and will continue to mentor managers, seniors and juniors to advance their expertise on a quicker basis.”
most of the issues practitioners faced this year fit into seven main categories. what’s especially interesting is that the solutions vary from common sense to plain impossibility.
- affordable care act
- irs regs and congressional cruelty
- better staff, more staff
- clients
- management
- technology
- interrelated problems
here’s a summary of our findings: read more →
busy season 2015: fixing the tax system
how tax professionals would remake the tax code.
imagine there’s no deductions,
it’s easy if you try.
no 8965, no1095-a,
above us, only sky.
imagine all the cpas,
living for today…
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
there’s nothing like another tax season to prod accountants into imagining about ways to reform the nation’s tax system. in the this year’s 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer, some cpas have specific suggestions; others are calling on the profession to take a leadership role in the national conversation.
register your comments here: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 2-minute survey: fix the tax system
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 is polling the profession with a two-minute survey asking for specific recommendations for changing the code, the regs, the instructions and the forms – whatever it takes to make life easier for cpas and the american taxpayer. (the call was not to reduce or increase taxes, just to simplify them.)
the earliest responses call for a diverse set of approaches: read more →
busy season 2015: new lessons in time management
click to join the survey; see the results
lesson learned: plan, prioritize, repeat.
next question: key financial metrics for 2015 results.
join the survey; get the answers.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
they don’t call it “busy season” for nothing. it’s a frenetic, hectic, even hellish effort to herd client cats toward an unforgiving deadline.
when we ask 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 members what lessons they’re learning this year and what they plan to do about it next year, we hear a lot about time management. based on the survey, time management issues can be organized into eight main categories:
- disorganized offices,
toback - timing,
- staffing,
- scheduling,
- procrastination,
- poor planning,
- the need for time off and
- the desire to retire.
the solutions cpas will be implementing next year range from minor tweaks to complete overhauls, or even surrendering to retirement and calling it victory. read more →
busy season 2015: vexed by regs, cpas dismayed at congress
next question: what’s the best way to fix the tax system? register your comments here.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the u.s. tax system has become so complex and dysfunctional that even professional tax practitioners are bitterly frustrated and angry – outrage that’s been boiling over in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer.
this year accountants are talking about staff problems, client problems, overload problems and affordable care act problems. but the anger with new forms and regulations isn’t stopping there.
“all reason has gone out the door,” says a cpa in montrose, colo. “i have been preparing tax returns for over 35 years. there has never been a tax season like this one – and there will never be another one like it.”
busy season 2015: when clients are the problem
top nine client management solutions.
next question: lessons learned.
join the survey; get the results
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 annual busy season barometer is uncovering some frank and candid talk about clients. yes, we love them. couldn’t live without them. most of the time. but, well, not always.
it’s not that they’re bad people. but let’s face it, they aren’t always sweating tax prep much in advance of april 1, they have no idea what new regulations are in effect this year and their advisories from their cpa are filed under “migraines that can wait.” plus, they truly believe their cpa is exclusively dedicated to their company and doesn’t really have much else to do but wait around for their phone call.
“no matter how proactive you try to be at scheduling and planning ahead, clients still delay providing information for their taxes,” bryan lantz says. “seems the irs, congress and the media are out to make our jobs even more compressed and stressful.” his solution: “keep communicating with clients to ensure that we can do the best we can at equalizing workflow during busy season.”
from their remarks, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 draws at least nine lessons in smart client management.:
busy season 2015: short-term staffing problems need long-term solutions
not enough trained staff, not enough seasonal staff, not enough staff.
next question: the smartest moves this busy season? join the survey; get the results.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 annual busy season barometer is eliciting a panoply of lessons learned and plans for a smoother season next year. a lot of professionals’ comments this year are nothing short of outright complaint. and not without reason. it’s been a rough year. if the snow didn’t get you, forms 3115, 8962, 8965 or 1095a did. plus all things irs got more complicated, clients got more desperate and, apparently, tensions rose as cpas and staff stretched themselves to the limits of professional endurance.
one of the main lessons learned is the need for enough staff — enough staff hired early enough and trained well enough. nancy casburn at casburn cpa in lee’s summit, mo., sums up the importance of the softest of software: “staffing is the most important reason for failing or succeeding at tax season.”
if we can draw any conclusion from all the staff-related lessons reported in this year’s busy season barometer, it is that the profession needs more staff, better trained staff and an availability of seasonal staff. given the increasing complexity of tax returns, the solution of this problem — more training, more accounting majors — needs to arrive quickly and be broadly based.
busy season 2015: headaches from obamacare
‘aca is pita bs for cpas.’ next year’s plan: ‘become a monk.’
next question: the smartest moves this busy season? join the survey; get the results
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
as busy season 2015 grinds down, tax prep professionals are grappling with myriad and continuing issues with new rules, thin staffing and difficult clients, according to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 annual busy season barometer. but the new affordable care act seems to be causing the most widespread aches and pains among accountants.
survey results: cpa firms accelerate growth
the 2014 national map survey shows widening divide between large and small firms.
exclusive to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间
the national map survey of cpa firm statistics
marking the third consecutive year of quickening expansion since the recession, cpa firms are posting 6.7% revenue growth, according to the latest results from the national map survey of cpa firm statistics reported here exclusively by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.
“the national map survey of cpa firm statistics: the rosenberg survey” is well known and well respected within the national cpa industry, due to its solid reputation for accuracy, thoroughness and high participation rate. exactly 75% of the firms in this year’s survey participated in 2013. this allows for more accurate year-to-year data comparisons. all of these characteristics, plus the highly sought-after executive summary, make “the rosenberg survey” a must-read for any entrepreneurial-minded cpa firm. the survey captures data from participating firms of all revenue ranges, from solo practitioners to those with over $20 million in net fees. read more →
as market share slips away, accountants look beyond the 1040
last-minute surge closes busy season 2014 with strong gains in e-filing. by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 in a late-season rush, tax professionals eked out their first volume gains in three years, and continued to lose market share to do-it-yourselfers, according to a … continued