taxpayer assistance centers: a good idea that should be better

woman addressing couple sitting at table with her

a modest proposal.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

taxpayer assistance centers are a great service for the tens of millions of taxpayers who can’t afford the professional help of a tax preparer. they offer a chance for a taxpayer to sit down with an actual human being who is prepared to help.

more: irs still falling short on service | must the irs be a dark hole? | irs plays whac-a-mole with the phones | vcs plunk $60 million into ai-powered ‘autonomous’ tax prep | how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks
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among the services tac staff can help with are:

  • account inquiries (help with letters, notices, levies on wages, etc.)
  • adjustments and changes to tax account information
  • basic tax law assistance
  • acceptance of cash payments

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irs still falling short on service

letter blocks with middle section rotating to change word from "quantity" to "quality"

it doesn’t seem to know which problems most need solving.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the internal revenue service wants to do a better job. it really does. it got an infusion of funds (though it seems some might get taken back), and it’s got a strategic operating plan with objectives for improving the taxpayer experience and modernizing operations.

more: must the irs be a dark hole? | 10 tips to the irs for beefing up staff | eight ways the irs can speed up processing tax returns | irs plays whac-a-mole with the phones | ten irs problems that need solutions | treasury ig sees progress at irs | with fresh funding, irs shows service improvements
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and it’s made a lot of progress. but it’s still got wide open spaces to accommodate improvement.
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must the irs be a dark hole?

documents disappearing into dark hole

taxpayer advocate calls for more transparency.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the internal revenue service is the one federal agency that touches nearly every american. yet too often taxpayers and tax preparers find it all but impossible to see what they need to see in that dark and distant entity.

  • many struggle to access information from the irs.
  • many have difficulty finding clear, timely, dependable guidance.
  • many can’t determine the status of pending issues.

more: 10 tips to the irs for beefing up staff | eight ways the irs can speed up processing tax returns | irs plays whac-a-mole with the phones | ten irs problems that need solutions | treasury ig sees progress at irs | vcs plunk $60 million into ai-powered ‘autonomous’ tax prep | tax pros are expanding and earning more | with fresh funding, irs shows service improvements | how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks | top tax vendors caught red-handed selling private taxpayer data
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  • many can’t understand irs correspondence or how to respond to it.
  • many never find an irs agent who can answer a question authoritatively.
  • many find it impossible to resolve an issue.
  • many, after experiencing any of the above, suffer the stress of confusion and frustration.
  • many end up distrusting the tax system.

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10 tips to the irs for beefing up staff

two businesswomen meeting in an office

guess who has the federal government’s worst retention rate for employees under 40?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

if you think it’s hard staffing a cpa firm, imagine the challenges at the internal revenue service where

  • the pay’s not so good
  • laws limit bonuses
  • it takes three months to hire an applicant
  • federal bureaucracy gums up the process
  • the hiring process uses antiquated technology
  • only a remote office can authorize many hires

more: eight ways the irs can speed up processing tax returns | irs plays whac-a-mole with the phones | vcs plunk $60 million into ai-powered ‘autonomous’ tax prep | how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks
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  • the recruitment and retention budgets are austere
  • training programs, spaces and equipment are inadequate
  • more than 100 full-time positions need to be filled every day
  • over half of employees will be eligible to retire within five years

the taxpayer advocacy service says the irs needs to deal with these problems, and it’s going to take money, effort, technology and legislation to get it done.
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eight ways the irs can speed up processing tax returns

businesswoman with headache at laptop

some of the fixes will require software updates, but some are simpler.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

national taxpayer advocate erin m. collins has determined that delays in the processing of tax returns is one of the most serious problems at the internal revenue service.

millions of americans couldn’t agree more.

more: irs plays whac-a-mole with the phones | ten irs problems that need solutions | treasury ig sees progress at irs | vcs plunk $60 million into ai-powered ‘autonomous’ tax prep | tax pros are expanding and earning more | with fresh funding, irs shows service improvements | how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks | top tax vendors caught red-handed selling private taxpayer data
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collins’s 2023 report to congress is more than a detailed kvetch. it’s also a buffet of solutions – some that the irs could effect, some that congress needs to legislate.

she offers several solutions to the problems with processing. here are the main processing problems and their solutions:
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irs plays whac-a-mole with the phones

frazzled woman yelling at two phone receivers

what, just moving the resources around doesn’t work?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the internal revenue service did a dismal job of answering phone calls in 2021, struggling to pick up the toll-free 1040 phone 11 percent of the time it rang. a year later, that number leaped to a still-dismal 29 percent.

more: ten irs problems that need solutions | treasury ig sees progress at irs | vcs plunk $60 million into ai-powered ‘autonomous’ tax prep | tax pros are expanding and earning more | with fresh funding, irs shows service improvements | how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks
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so janet yellen did what any treasury secretary would do: she gave the irs a swift kick in the 1040 and committed the service to answering at least 85 percent of calls in 2023 and cutting wait times in half.

and the irs’s customer service representatives did it! yay, right?
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ten irs problems that need solutions

unhappy man waiting on phone in office

how good is better than terrible?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

every year, america’s national taxpayer advocate – in recent years it’s been erin m. collins – presents an annual report to congress. the report identifies successes and failures of and recommendations for the internal revenue service.

more: treasury ig sees progress at irs | vcs plunk $60 million into ai-powered ‘autonomous’ tax prep | tax pros are expanding and earning more | with fresh funding, irs shows service improvements | how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks | top tax vendors caught red-handed selling private taxpayer data
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this year’s report praises the irs for its progress since the worst of the covid-19 pandemic, but it finds plenty of room for improvement.

“the year 2023 was one of extraordinary transition for the irs and therefore for taxpayers,” collins writes. “despair has turned to cautious optimism.”
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firms offer advice about cas

man with six arms handling various aspects of business

can’t find staff? focus on technology … and other suggestions.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

client accounting services is a bold, new world in the accounting industry, so no surprise we’re getting a lot of good advice from the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 outlook 2024: emerging issues, opportunities, and trends survey.

more cas survey: ten+ ways firms prefer (and prefer not) to market cas | survey: the cas pricing problem | cas challenge: no staff, no services | cas ‘one-stop shop’ means steady clientele | accountants cozy up to clients with cas
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if 59 percent of firms are offering some form of cas, that means 41 percent aren’t even though most (but not all) the 59 percent are saying go for it … but be careful.

asap… but

while one respondent says, “dive in, there is plenty of need out there,” and another just says, “do it asap,” most others recommend some forethought and planning.
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is the cpa business model the clog in the pipeline?

older woman showing young woman something on office computer screen

maybe a flip in perception is in order: 150 hours as an investment, not a burden.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the accounting profession is in trouble. big trouble.

cpa firms experience the problem as a difficulty in finding certified professionals. but the real problem is in the personnel pipeline that feeds the industry, the long, hard, expensive process of becoming a cpa.

more: can big data spot financial fraud? | will unclogging the accounting pro pipeline kill mobility? | accountants bullish on income | which niche’s the best niche? | ethics on sustainability puzzle some accountants | accountants hopeful, concerned and confused about ai | survey respondents see exciting year coming up | the 7 categories of cybersecurity solutions firms need
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to continue the metaphor, it’s also the drain pipe – the increasing flow of professionals out of cpa firms and into retirement. in 2020, 75 percent of cpas became eligible to hang up their green eyeshades and find something else to do, such as get to know their families and experience the pleasures of daylight.
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can big data spot financial fraud?

woman leaning toward desktop computer screen

google searches give auditors a glimpse of true sales.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

google trends is a free service at the world’s most widely used search engine. in an instant, users can see how often a keyword has been the target of a search.

more: will unclogging the accounting pro pipeline kill mobility? | accountants cozy up to clients with cas | cpas culling clients for better work-life balance | women-owned businesses upbeat but need help | accountants to the rescue as startups struggle | looking for recent grads? good luck
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when that keyword is a product, the searches tend to reveal something about sales.

and that should be of interest to auditors.
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ten+ ways firms prefer (and prefer not) to market cas

bar chart

one point of concern: who’s doing the marketing?

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 outlook 2024: opportunities, emerging issues and trends survey is bringing to light an array of marketing strategies that cpa firms are using to promote their client accounting services.

more cas survey: survey: the cas pricing problem | cas challenge: no staff, no services | cas ‘one-stop shop’ means steady clientele | accountants cozy up to clients with cas
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nine strategies are mentioned by at least a few of the early survey respondents.
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survey: the cas pricing problem

bar chart

accountants grapple with how to value insight and advice.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

one of the biggest challenges to offering client accounting services (cas) isn’t offering the actual services; it’s figuring out how and how much to charge for them.

more cas survey: cas challenge: no staff, no services | cas ‘one-stop shop’ means steady clientele | accountants cozy up to clients with cas
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when the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 survey outlook 2024: emerging issues, opportunities and trends asked what’s most tough about cas, finding and training staff ranks #1, of course, for 30 percent of respondents. but pricing cas services was close behind for 29.2 percent.
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cas challenge: no staff, no services

bar chart

demand isn’t a problem, but supply might be.

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 outlook 2024: emerging issues, opportunities and trends survey asks 23 questions about client accounting services. early results clearly reveal certain emerging issues:

more cas survey: cas ‘one-stop shop’ means steady clientele | accountants cozy up to clients with cas
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  • a majority of cpa firms (59 percent) now offer cas, and a lot more (21 percent) may soon join them.
  • a sizable portion of clients want these services.
  • staff shortages and training are the biggest challenge (for 30 percent) and biggest obstacle (for 44 percent) to offering cas.

read more →