accountants expect to out-perform their clients. is that a good thing?
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 business barometer is turning up a few cases of covid-19 that shut down cpa offices at the height of the season. and even where the infection hasn’t managed to muscle its way into the office, firms are taking draconian measures to keep operations up and running.
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the busy season barometer is finding cpas cautiously optimistic about their own futures. only one percent think the next 12 months will shape up “much worse” for their firms and families. some 15 percent think their firms will do “somewhat worse.” twelve percent are similarly concerned for their families. about half foresee no change. about a third actually think their economic situation might improve.
but accountants turn quite a bit more pessimistic when they look a little farther from home. while only 16 percent think their firms will do worse over the next year, 36 percent think their clients will do worse.
uh-oh! can cpa firms do better if their clients are doing worse?
still, the global crisis has been relatively easy (and take “relatively easy” with a grain of salt) on america’s accountants and tax preparers. technology is facilitating the shift to remote work. clients have been generally able to provide discussion and documentation without actually sitting down with their cpas.
but it ain’t over ’til it’s over, and it ain’t going to be over for quite some time.
the nation as a whole
respondents are even more pessimistic when they look at the nation as a whole. a nervous 56 percent see the nation’s economy going downhill. only a quarter think it will improve.
so the question is: what are cpas going to do differently over the next12 months?
almost everyone will be resorting to remote work. but most respondents don’t seem interested in being any more precautionary than that.
one, who preferred to remain anonymous, is among those who think their firms and clients will do better while the rest of the nation does worse. he or she plans to continue a multifarious defense:
- “we will continue to wear masks.
- “we will continue to wipe down the surfaces.
- “we will continue to take people’s temperatures before they are allowed in.
- “we will continue to give curbside service for document pickup and delivery.
- “we will rely more on our electronic delivery system each way.
- “two of our tax preparers will work remotely.
- “we will probably re-think the need to rent such a large space.”
a little sunshine
patrick mcdermott, of mcdermott & apkarian in orcutt, calif., sees a little sunshine in the future. “we’re watching our fixed costs more closely,” he tells us. “and, we’re fine-tuning the work-from-home model so our employees may use that option occasionally.”
sole practitioner randal meaux in edgewood, colo., thinks his firm might suffer a bit but that elsewhere, the situation might not be too bad. his proactive measures. “i will only be doing returns using video internet meetings, mail-in, or telephone conversations. also, costs likely to increase for delivery services. i am also considering meeting clients in their homes using covid precautionary measures.”
an anonymous cpa with a small firm hopes to keep the business situation about the same as it is now. “we have set up a safe environment and will be working from appointments as much as possible to reduce the number of people in the office,” said cpa said. “we have been doing walk-ins for years, so not being able to have them may cause a reduction in traffic. we are also redoing our website so that we have a secured portal for clients.”
how long can cpas remain optimistic for themselves but pessimistic for clients and country? that simply depends on how things go as we stagger into the brave new world of 2021.
one response to “survey: a glint of optimism for 2021”
roger
2021 will be another year of chaos, regulations, delays, and clients looking for new tax accountants. yes we will be busy as we were in 2020 which set a new record for us. i envision our business clients will have nol’s to carryback to prior years to retrieve some tax dollars.
i pray the tax deadline is not again extended to july 15, 2021.