survey

soloist and small firms taking it on the chin this tax season

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the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer
click to join the survey; see the results

how many will survive? join the survey; get the updates.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

if you’re having one of the toughest tax seasons in years, you’re not alone. in fact, you’re one in an unusually large crowd.

unless trends reverse in the last four weeks of tax season 2013, many practitioners – mainly those practicing solo or in small firms – should be bracing for significant declines in revenues and profits from last year.

tax season trending:
better or worse than last year?

some 64% of solo practitioners are reporting “worse” trends than last year, with half of them terming it “much” worse. about 16% are enjoying “better” trends overall.

to be sure, small firms may be feeling more than their fair share of pain. but many larger firms are hurting too. among the largest firms surveyed, 30% are experiencing positive trends, with 50% reporting negative trends.

more busy season trends:

practitioners across the nation are reporting severe issues. for one practitioner in monroe, la., the season has been running “slow as molasses!”

for some, tax season 2013 may be the last straw. “between the delays caused by the fiscal cliff, software delays and angry clients, it may be time for retirement,” says one veteran of 35 tax seasons and a partner in an 11-partner firm.

“all the irs delays have put my clients in slow motion mode!,” says liz hegarty, an austin, texas, soloist. “my in-flow is down 25% but all that means is a really compacted ‘extension’ craze in april!   and i already have a crazy extension ‘season’ due to late k-1s.”

the latest analysis of survey data sheds light on key financial metrics, including trends in:

  • revenues
  • profits
  • number of clients
  • number on extension
  • revenue per client, and
  • profit per client

read more →

tax pro’s slammed with sloppy software and federal sequestration

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will this be remembered as another “tax season from hell?”
join the survey; get the updates.

busy season barometer

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the last time tax professionals slogged through a tax season from hell, it was 2008, the financial world was crashing into a million little pieces, and 1 in 4 accountants was reporting disastrous operations.

before that, long-timers might recall 1995, when the irs deployed a filing fraud crackdown that delayed millions of refunds.

more tax season research: tax pro’s turn negative on busy season | busy season outlook 2013 | top tax season trends, issues and opportunities

this year, with the irs opening the filing gates not until march 4, could 2013 become another one for the record books?

in the latest update to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer, topline findings include:

  • the number of practitioners reporting a worse season this year, as compared to last year at the same time, is surging month to month.
  • the top 15 issues causing concern, led by irs operations and software and technology problems
  • verbatim reports from practitioners around the nation, including one who is seeing a 20% fee decline in his practice.
  • how practitioners are responding to clients’ lack of understanding, including resorting to discounts.

survey results: busy season outlook 2013

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what accountants talk about when they talk about busy season 2013

mergers, tech and the economy create a volatile mix in forecasting filing season.

by rick telberg
join the survey; get the updates.

washington gridlock, last-minute tax changes and continuing economic uncertainty are undermining tax professionals’ outlook for the 2013 filing season, according to new 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 survey results.

the new survey results shed light on:

  1. the changing mood of the profession and it’s leading competitors and decision-makers,
  2. the effects of mergers and new technologies,
  3. the chief operational, competitive and economic concerns,
  4. expectations for key financial metrics, including revenues, profits and number of clients, and
  5. the strategies firms are implementing to cope with the issues and opportunities.

despite political gridlock and economic uncertainty, practitioners are trending increasingly confident about how well their firms will perform this season. most are looking at advances in total revenue, net profit, number of clients, number on extension, revenue per client, and profit per client.

for example: read more →

survey results: accountants’ new year’s resolutions — 2013 edition

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‘tis the season for new promises and plans. 

we’ve been asking finance and accounting accounting professionals about what 2013 may hold, and you’ve been answering. to get all the details, click here to join the survey and get the results.

meanwhile, here are a few sample new year’s resolutions from colleagues and peers. some may sound all too familiar from resolutions made in 2012. personally, i’m still working on the lose-15-pounds resolution from 2012, and, er, 2011, 2010, 2009… oh well.

— rick telberg
president / ceo 

new year’s resolutions from finance and accounting professionals:

  • new seo plan for getting higher ranking on google.
  • working with tax resolution professional and preparing returns for them at a split fee.
  • work more on marketing
  • downgrade expectations.
  • get more audits of private companies.
  • work, work and work, because of so much competition and unemployment, the best bet is to keep busy by working and get the maximum out of colleagues/sub ordinates. i will not be carried away with number 13, this is my lucky number so i will capitalize on this number. read more →