most tax and accounting practitioners see a bleak outlook ahead.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
tax and accounting professionals are launching into busy season 2022 with widespread fears of crisis and chaos, facing a third year of pandemic conditions, the staffing shortage, a sputtering irs, and political and economic uncertainties.
the outlook for busy season 2022?
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a majority of accountants are telling the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer that they are expecting an even worse year than last year, with 40 percent bracing for “somewhat” worse and 11 percent girding for “much “worse.
the despair in the comments is dire:
- unknown changes in tax code.
- because the irs doesn’t work rapidly and they had around 22 million returns backed up
- we’re short-staffed.
- finding professionals is a big challenge.
- child tax credit, stimulus, disclosures on ppp loan forgiveness etc
- more work and fewer professionals to do it.
- irs is already behind from last year and predictions are that it will get worse. this puts the tax preparers on the
- front line to deal with the clients when things don’t go the way they should.
- virtually every business will be affected by covid, with people either off with sickness or quarantined. thus work will be behind in client information sent to us to work on, broker statements, etc.
- irs is on the brink of failing and killing all the seasoned professionals.
- staffing issues and shortened timelines.
- too many new compications.
- it’s never getting better.
more than three-quarters of accountants say their chief concern this year is the irs itself, under-budgeted, over-burdened, and still buried under a covid backlog. late or unprepared clients come in a distant second, rivaled only by staffing issues.
there are also worrisome signs of weakness in projections for revenue, profit, and client rolls. for instance, among those with the most desperate outlooks, about 46 percent expect to lose clients and 50 percent expect more extensions.
and accountants fear for their clients, as well, with about 60 percent predicting tough slogging for small businesses over the next 12 to 18 months. and a clear minority, 39 percent, feel at all positive about the nation’s economy as a whole.
what are they worried about? in their words:
- grow, big businesses get bigger, more handouts and restrictions
- bleak
- it’s just going to be tough for small business unless the regulations are under control, the irs gets it’s act together, people start going back to work, inflation is under control. these are not in any particular order.
- slow and sluggish.
- slow
- gloomy
- supply chain issues will become the biggest challenges for all businesses
- i may want to retire, but i don’t want to leave my clients.
- with inflation and the negative political picture, i don’t see things getting better.
- i started doing taxes in 1994 and was excited each season. getting the best result for my clients. now i feel like i walk on eggshells and not sure how to help plan for my clients with all the political uncertainty. this all takes time and i’m getting burned out. so, i will cut back on some clients, cutting some income and try to limit my increase in tax prep. i work for less per hour as i look back at 2021.
- rising prices and the resulting increase in firm operating costs (principally salaries) will probably make it the worst of all worlds – rising costs, falling profits and increasing workload.
- pessimistic due to political climate, crime, inflation, apathy, usa in a state of depression and despair and in emotional contraction
- the last two years have been a mental drain and lots of hours learning new laws and how to apply them. this year i feel more qualified to work with clients and i have better systems to have a better tax season.
- inflation increasing; supply chain not improving; political climate gets worse as we approach elections
- my concerns are all over the place for the next 12 to 18 months. supply chains for construction, manufacturing, automotive repair are still extremely messed up. i can see inflation playing havoc in our economy. if the fed increases interest by what they say they are going to increase it that is a 100% increase and by the end of the year may be a 400% increase. i think employees will be looking for pay increases from every employer this year which will feed inflation runs even more. i struggle to see where we as a nation will be able to balance all the changes that are headed our way. wow – i sound optimistic. i think services industries will improve but will be fighting the staffing struggle. i wish i was able to figure out the magic formula to help our nation and our world.
- businesses will be cautious with expansion, i am pessimistic about the world economy because of situations with china and russia
- labor shortages, supply chain issues, and rising interest rates are all negative factors. i don’t see how the outlook can be positive.
- increase business but more irs issues to deal with which can take an inordinate amount of time.
- staffing shortages are biggest concern.
- interest rates rising moderately… maybe to 5%… the economy will “tighten” somewhat as capital/money becomes less available and more expensive…”
- inflation will remain an issue and possible stagflation on the horizon. interest rates will rise and construction will slow as a result on homes.
- bleak
- i think change is the new normal. continual evolution of our firms, staff and pricing is a must. cost increases will have a big impact on the financial reality for most.
- bleak economy due to supply chain issues and higher interest rates.
- high prices, shortages. higher unemployment.
- keep expecting a crash but it seems to be rolling further into the future
- significant uncertainty for the economy related to government policy and covid 19.
- inflation and supply chain issues continue to be a problem. increase in interest rates will tamp down business activities and opportunities.