they’re of two contradictory minds. hmm…
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
america’s cpas are perceiving a paradox for next year’s economy.
they think their firms will do well.
more: accountants bullish on income | cpas culling clients for better work-life balance | are you offering the right services? | which niche’s the best niche? | women-owned businesses upbeat but need help | 42% of accountants turn away work over staff shortages | ethics on sustainability puzzle some accountants | accountants to the rescue as startups struggle
exclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.
they think their clients might be ok.
but the rest of the country? not ok.
a disturbing forecast
according to early results from the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 outlook 2024: emerging issues, opportunities and trends survey, north american accountants are pretty confident that they’ll do somewhat better over the next 12-18 months, or least no worse.
a solid 42 percent are in the optimistic camp, though only 6 percent dare say they will do much better. the majority – 45 percent – figure they’ll do about as well as they did this year, which for most wasn’t so bad.
they’re not quite as hopeful for their clients. only 3 percent think they’ll do much better, and only 16 percent think they’ll do somewhat batter.
with 46 percent thinking their clients will hold steady, that leaves just shy of 35 percent fearing their clients will do worse.
that’s a disturbing number, but not nearly as disturbing as the forecast for the nation and small businesses in general.
uh-oh
asked how the nation’s economy will go, 63 percent say it ain’t lookin’ good. about half say it’s going to get somewhat worse, with almost 14 percent saying it’s going to get much worse.
the numbers for small businesses were about the same. only 12 percent of survey respondents believe small businesses will do better than they were doing in late 2023. with 27 percent figuring it will be status quo at best, about 48 percent fear a downward trend.
a curious difference
how to explain the curious difference between the forecast for clients and that of all small businesses? small businesses make up the vast majority of cpa firm clients.
with 34 percent figuring their own clients will do worse, almost twice as many think all the other small businesses will do worse.
one possible explanation: small businesses working with cpa firms tend to do better than those going it alone.
survey respondents had plenty of advice for small businesses. the general drift: caution!
that call for caution could be divided into two categories:
1. manage your cash, ditch your debt.
craig s. hanson, writing in from north dakota, advises, “work on keeping expenses as low as possible to get the maximum out of the income that you receive.”
billie anne grigg, at profit first professionals, urges the small business owner to “get a handle on your cash flow now!”
charles wilson, of wilson and johns in jacksonville, fla., keeps it simple: “hoard cash. get out of debt.”
2. do what you do best – and do it better.
phillip brown, working out of springfield, mo., has some good advice: “concentrate on providing a high degree of personal service or high-quality products. target high-net-worth clients. they will always have money to spend. take time to investigate available tax savings strategies and put the savings toward future needs and wants.”
bethany h. dever agrees, telling small businesses to “take enough time to provide a quality service.”
“strengthen what can separate you from competition. be actively engaged in customer retention/satisfaction and employee retention/satisfaction,” says nick waldron at y.o.l.o. tax and advisory services.
an anonymous respondent says, “keep offering the best service; attrition is the enemy.”
another says, “be prepared to work harder over the next 1-2 years due to staffing shortages and increased cost of everything, including access to capital.”
finally, charles h. houston hits both categories of advice.
“enhance your knowledge of service lines offered,” he says. “evaluate and consider best practices of best industry competitors. improve cash flow by maintaining a watchful eye on accounts receivable aging analysis/collections; and develop a strategic plan to meet accounts payable demands. carefully evaluate capital project needs and related financing.”
you’ve still got time to contribute to the outlook 2024 survey. just click here.