one-quarter of accountants see trouble ahead for the source of their bread and butter.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the trendlines 2024 busy season barometer is unearthing a perplexing paradox.
it seems that most cpas think their firm and their clients will do better this year – or at least no worse than last year, which itself was a pretty good year.
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at the same time, they tend to see things getting worse for the national economy and small businesses in general.
what’s going on?
firms and families will do well
the best numbers are for respondents’ firms and families. forty-one percent are pretty sure their firms will do better this year, and about that many are optimistic enough to figure they won’t do any worse. only 17 percent expect a downturn.
the numbers for their families were within a couple of percentage points of the firm numbers.
clients, however, might have a rougher year. one in five cpas can tell their clients to get set for a year better than 2023, and a few more expect clients will do about as well as last year. still, a quarter see trouble ahead for the source of their bread and butter.
small businesses in general might be looking at another 12-18 months of rocky road. only 17 percent of respondents think small businesses be doing better, and barely 36 percent predict they will be able to hold steady. the big number is the one foreseeing a downturn, a prediction of 48 percent.
what’s with the economy?
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 pros tend to be the type to have an ear to the ground. in the trenches of the economy, they know what’s happening. it’s in the 1040s, the 1099s, the 8825s, the 527s, schedules a,b, c, e, f and the eyes of clients.
and what those grounded ears hear doesn’t sound real good.
over half (52 percent) aren’t being fooled by the low unemployment, the declining inflation, the new home construction, the record-breaking rise in gdp, the bump in consumer spending, the improvement in wages, the booming dow.
maybe it’s the political volatility. maybe it’s the high price of food. the price of housing. the interest rates. the greater dependence on credit card debt. the high cost of scarce labor.
whatever it is, it’s causing only 17 percent of america’s accountants to hope for an improvement in the economy, and barely 31 percent say we can count on a continuation of whatever we’ve got right now.
jason jones, a cpa in the heartland of tennessee, is concerned about “shrinking profit margins due to inflationary pressures and higher interest rates restricting the ability to borrow.”
jeff lucke, head of lucke & associates in wichita, kan., warns that “there is no labor pool.”
speaking from california, michael j. munn says it’s “the u.s. government – rules and regulations that favor big companies and destroy little companies.”
and someone else in the great bear state agrees, blames the worsening economy on “regulations that are uber-unfair to small businesses in california; lack of competent and accountable employees; trends that change too fast.”
what are you seeing from your end of the trenches? are you a bull or a bear? the economy needs your two cents. click here to toss them to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer: emerging issues, opportunities, and trends.