desperate cfos are outsourcing accounting functions

bar chart
25 percent of cfos will be looking for staff accountants. personiv

can cpa firms take advantage?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

cpa firms have long been aware of the worsening talent shortage. fewer students are majoring in accountancy. fewer are pursuing cpa certification. and baby boomer leaders of accounting firms are retiring more often than ever.

more: does firm culture still matter? | tax and accounting jobs and salaries show strength | tax law is driving practice development | olympics of outsourcing and offshoring for accountants | new study: strong and steady growth for accountant jobs and salaries | turnover timebomb: 4 of 5 senior managers at risk | are client services a fourth-rate priority? | revenues rising as pricing models evolve | 150 credit hours: helping or hindering? | can’t recruit? retain! | the accountant as a strategic business partner | report: efficiency still the top priority for accounting firms
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

now financial leaders in the corporate sector are feeling the pinch. a survey issued by personnel agency personiv finds that 83 percent of senior corporate leaders recognize the accounting talent crunch, way up from 70 percent in 2022 and 63 percent in 2020. and 10 percent say the shortage is getting worse.

no surprise, then, that 90 percent of cfos who responded to the survey say they have outsourced at least some accounting functions.
read more →

tax law is driving practice development

bar chart

virtual communication, hybrid work environments still pose challenges.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

new laws and regulations now rank as the primary management challenge at accounting practices around the world, according to a report from caseware.

more: olympics of outsourcing and offshoring for accountants | new study: strong and steady growth for accountant jobs and salaries | turnover timebomb: 4 of 5 senior managers at risk | are client services a fourth-rate priority? | revenues rising as pricing models evolve | 150 credit hours: helping or hindering? | can’t recruit? retain! | the accountant as a strategic business partner | report: efficiency still the top priority for accounting firms | is tech causing both cpa shortage and low salaries? | audit firms nervous about new tech | staffing tops list of woes at cpa firms | to replenish the talent pipeline, go back to the classroom | beware the work-life/workload doom spiral
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

and though the difficulty, and even impossibility, of meeting all legal requirements is a massive challenge, meeting that challenge is a driver of rapid change in the industry. this is evidenced by the second-most serious challenge, adopting new technologies – technologies directly or indirectly aimed at meeting legal requirements.
read more →

are client services a fourth-rate priority?

bar chart

there are a few barriers hindering expansion.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

when the thomson reuters 2024 state of tax professionals survey asked 500 professionals in tax and accounting firms what their top priorities were, client services came in fourth, behind efficiency/automation, talent retention/hiring, and pricing/revenue.

more: revenues rising as pricing models evolve | 150 credit hours: helping or hindering? | can’t recruit? retain! | the accountant as a strategic business partner | report: efficiency still the top priority for accounting firms | is tech causing both cpa shortage and low salaries? | audit firms nervous about new tech | what accountants can learn from t-ball | staffing tops list of woes at cpa firms | to replenish the talent pipeline, go back to the classroom | beware the work-life/workload doom spiral | why the dry pipeline? it’s about time
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

note how the top three all might be included in a category called “getting your act together.” they basically deal with fine-tuning the accounting firm machine.

putting that machine to work aims at offering more or better client services and, the fifth priority, growing the practice.
read more →

revenues rising as pricing models evolve

bar chart

boosting your bottom line could come down to better billing.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

one thing cpa practices aren’t complaining about is revenue. according to a thomson reuters survey conducted in the first quarter of 2024, 72 percent of 500 respondents say their firms’ revenues increased over the previous 12 months.

more: 150 credit hours: helping or hindering? | can’t recruit? retain! | is tech causing both cpa shortage and low salaries? | staffing tops list of woes at cpa firms | why the dry pipeline? it’s about time | whole person retention: when it’s not just the money | seven enticements to keep talent on board | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | seven steps to a stronger future | auditing standards ‘yellow book’ updated | compensation’s up, but up enough to retain staff?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

average increase: 24 percent.

not bad, if you like money.
read more →

pause to praise the tax pro volunteers

two businesswomen meeting in an office

they prepared 9.3 percent more returns this year.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 hereby calls for a pause in the post-season doldrums to salute the 67,000 tax pro volunteers and other concerned citizens who helped the needy file their tax returns this year.

more: irs vs. fraudsters | imagine! the national tax advocate does | art werner: maximizing fringe benefits | is the irs mismeasuring phone service? | irs makes big progress but … | tax practitioners say happy days are here … again | the irs is coming! get your clients into compliance | end tax season meetings with clients … seriously | brandon hall: firms try to make too much on tax prep | eight steps to getting started with ai: a guide for tax professionals | ftc nails turbotax for ‘free filing’ scam | if only the irs’s tax pro were useful | id theft a problem for irs even when it doesn’t exist | the nightmare of non-credentialed tax preparers | taxpayer assistance centers: a good idea that should be better | irs still falling short on service | must the irs be a dark hole?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

yes, 67,000. that’s really an impressive number of people. not only are they coming to the rescue of people who, despite their problems and limitations, really want to pay their taxes, but they are doing so during the tax season.
read more →

irs vs. fraudsters

the endless war is not going well.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the fraudsters of the world continue to see the u.s. treasury as a bountiful chest of riches just waiting to be plundered.

it doesn’t take much. a taxpayer’s name, a social security number, a bank account number, maybe an email address, a phone number and a little luck.

more: imagine! the national tax advocate does | art werner: maximizing fringe benefits | is the irs mismeasuring phone service? | irs makes big progress but … | business booming, but not as much as last year | busy season barometer offers clues for better business | tax practitioners say happy days are here … again | the irs is coming! get your clients into compliance | end tax season meetings with clients … seriously | brandon hall: firms try to make too much on tax prep | eight steps to getting started with ai: a guide for tax professionals | ftc nails turbotax for ‘free filing’ scam | if only the irs’s tax pro were useful | tax pros file 33% of early returns | can’t irs online accounts be more useful?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

the irs is used to this. it knows what to do about it.

it just doesn’t do it very well.
read more →

150 credit hours: helping or hindering?

one study suggests there is little if any upside but plenty of downside.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

four decades ago, the american institute of cpas promulgated a rule requiring accountants to complete 150 credit hours to qualify for certification, an increase from 120 hours. basically, it required a fifth year of college education.

more: can’t recruit? retain! | the accountant as a strategic business partner | report: efficiency still the top priority for accounting firms | is tech causing both cpa shortage and low salaries? | staffing tops list of woes at cpa firms | to replenish the talent pipeline, go back to the classroom | beware the work-life/workload doom spiral | why the dry pipeline? it’s about time | whole person retention: when it’s not just the money | global trends show many dissatisfied cpas | more big firms shut their doors to new college grads | seven enticements to keep talent on board
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

state boards of accountancy had discretion over when to enact the rule. by 2015, all states and u.s. territories had adopted it.

fun fact: the national rule did not impose any requirements on what courses the students had to take. it didn’t have to be courses on tax law or accounting standards. philosophy, music theory or basket-weaving would do. state boards, however, often mandate specific course requirements.
read more →

can’t recruit? retain!

bar chart

other options: outsourcing, m&a, even freelancers with different skill sets.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

there’s no good news coming out of the talent pipeline. there are fewer accounting majors coming in at the college end, and fewer coming out at the cpa exam end.

the reasons are legion. kids these days have little interest in a career reputed to be boring and exhausting. they can make more money in some other area of finance or business. the extra credit hours take too long and cost too much.

more: the accountant as a strategic business partner | report: efficiency still the top priority for accounting firms | is tech causing both cpa shortage and low salaries? | audit firms nervous about new tech | what accountants can learn from t-ball | staffing tops list of woes at cpa firms | to replenish the talent pipeline, go back to the classroom | beware the work-life/workload doom spiral | why the dry pipeline? it’s about time | business model transformation: do it or die | misperceptions, corrections, accountancy and lemonade
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

the 2024 thomson reuters state of tax professionals report sums it up with illustrative stats.

  • 39 percent say recruitment will be “highly challenging” in 2024.
  • another quarter say it will be “somewhat challenging.”
  • 33 percent of firms with four or more employees say talent will be a top priority.

read more →

tax and accounting priorities shifting in turbulent times

bar chart

three actions that firms can take.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

a multinational thomson reuters survey of tax professionals has found accounting firms shifting their priorities after a year of unexpected developments and before a year of unexpected developments.

that’s a lot of unexpected developments.

more: report: efficiency still the top priority for accounting firms | is tech causing both cpa shortage and low salaries? | staffing tops list of woes at cpa firms | why the dry pipeline? it’s about time | whole person retention: when it’s not just the money | seven enticements to keep talent on board | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | seven steps to a stronger future
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

in 2023, the annual survey saw firms and their clients hunkering down for a year of post-covid-19 unknowns, a recession that never came, inflation that wouldn’t quit and interest rates that persisted at uncomfortable heights.

this year, it looks like firms are reassessing where they stand and where they are going. times are turbulent – technologically, economically, politically, environmentally – so recovering from the past and preparing for the future are going to require some changes.
read more →

imagine! the national tax advocate does

(you may say she’s a dreamer, but she’s not the only one.)

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

one word keeps popping up in national tax advocate erin m. collins’s introduction to her annual objectives report to congress.

the word is “imagine,” and collins’s dream depicts an irs that is a only bit more feasible than john lennon’s dream of a world with no countries or religion.

more: art werner: maximizing fringe benefits | is the irs mismeasuring phone service? | irs makes big progress but … | business booming, but not as much as last year | busy season barometer offers clues for better business | tax practitioners say happy days are here … again | the irs is coming! get your clients into compliance | end tax season meetings with clients … seriously | brandon hall: firms try to make too much on tax prep | eight steps to getting started with ai: a guide for tax professionals | ftc nails turbotax for ‘free filing’ scam
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

but you can still sing along …

“imagine a taxpayer or a representative receiving a text message

… or email referring the taxpayer to their online account,
read more →

report: efficiency still the top priority for accounting firms

tech’s the tool, but ai? not yet.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

for the second year in a row, the thomson reuters state of tax professionals report finds that improving efficiency is the top strategy priority for accounting firms, but this year, for the first time, it ties with talent.

as the report notes, the two priorities are tightly linked in the sense that efficiency is linked to productivity. the former drives the latter.

more: is tech causing both cpa shortage and low salaries? | audit firms nervous about new tech | to replenish the talent pipeline, go back to the classroom | beware the work-life/workload doom spiral | why the dry pipeline? it’s about time | business model transformation: do it or die | whole person retention: when it’s not just the money | global trends show many dissatisfied cpas | more big firms shut their doors to new college grads | seven enticements to keep talent on board | let interns fix the staffing shortage? | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

the report is based on an international survey of 500 respondents, about half in the united states, with the rest in the united kingdom, canada, australia, brazil and argentina. data comes from the first quarter of 2024.
read more →