i don’t want to stress you out, but we really do need to do something about our stress levels.
the american psychological association says our kids are getting headaches, having difficulty sleeping, and eating too little or too much due to pressure from school and household finances. the worst part is that most parents were not aware of the severity of their children’s stress.
many adults reported not knowing what to do to change their lifestyle so they could reduce their stress, so it just makes sense to talk about this a little.
here are the most common stress-reducing tasks that some people do, according to the survey: read more →
urgency creates stress and pressure and leads to mistakes and improper perceptions of the quality of the work.
planning and execution reduce urgency. one way to eliminate urgency is to properly plan the work with realistic deadlines and proper resources. read more →
if you’re having one of the toughest tax seasons in years, you’re not alone. in fact, you’re one in an unusually large crowd.
unless trends reverse in the last four weeks of tax season 2013, many practitioners – mainly those practicing solo or in small firms – should be bracing for significant declines in revenues and profits from last year.
tax season trending:
better or worse than last year?
some 64% of solo practitioners are reporting “worse” trends than last year, with half of them terming it “much” worse. about 16% are enjoying “better” trends overall.
to be sure, small firms may be feeling more than their fair share of pain. but many larger firms are hurting too. among the largest firms surveyed, 30% are experiencing positive trends, with 50% reporting negative trends.
practitioners across the nation are reporting severe issues. for one practitioner in monroe, la., the season has been running “slow as molasses!”
for some, tax season 2013 may be the last straw. “between the delays caused by the fiscal cliff, software delays and angry clients, it may be time for retirement,” says one veteran of 35 tax seasons and a partner in an 11-partner firm.
“all the irs delays have put my clients in slow motion mode!,” says liz hegarty, an austin, texas, soloist. “my in-flow is down 25% but all that means is a really compacted ‘extension’ craze in april! and i already have a crazy extension ‘season’ due to late k-1s.”
the latest analysis of survey data sheds light on key financial metrics, including trends in:
the last time tax professionals slogged through a tax season from hell, it was 2008, the financial world was crashing into a million little pieces, and 1 in 4 accountants was reporting disastrous operations.
before that, long-timers might recall 1995, when the irs deployed a filing fraud crackdown that delayed millions of refunds.
chicago cpa jody padar helps clients calculate their carbon footprint.
jody padar, new vision cpa group
in a sign of things to come as consumers turn to socially responsible shopping, one of the profession’s leading changemakers, chicago cpa jody padar, is launching the world’s first online tax return service that helps clients save money on their taxes while showing them how to reduce their carbon footprint and earn green perks.
branded ecotaxfile.com, the service “gives consumers and small businesses a level of confidence in their tax returns that can only come from working with a full-time accounting professional,” says jody padar, cpa, mst, operations director for ecotaxfile.com and one of accounting today’s 100 most influential people in accounting as an advocate for forward-thinking cpas. she practices out of her new vision cpa group in arlington heights, ill.
available for tax filers in the u.s. and canada, ecotaxfile.com offers real-time, personalized consulting from professional tax accountants and provides individuals and small businesses with tools and specific recommendations for cutting their carbon consumption along with special offers and deals for less carbon-intensive activities.
ecotaxfile.com
“we provide direct access to full-time cpas and tax professionals who can help eliminate the stress of tax filing while finding every possible way to maximize your refund or reduce your tax payment,” padar says.
“it’s simple: when you file your taxes with us, we’ll also calculate your carbon footprint,” says ecotaxfile.com founder brad cran. “we then identify areas where you can reduce your impact to live cleaner and save even more money.”
here are some fast tips to help you make the most out of busy season, which is when you have the highest amount of your clients’ attention all year long.
1. make a checklist to go through with your prospects during the initial meeting (a/k/a “the sales call.”).
this is the time to find out what your prospects need and why they might be switching accounting service providers. you can get your hands around the scope of a clients’ needs best when you use a checklist.
every tax season for the last umpteen years, robert e. mckenzie, a tax lawyer at arnstein & lehr in chicago, has made a tradition of sharing his carefully curated collection of tax jokes. here are a few of his latest. enjoy!
q: how many irs agents does it take to screw in a light bulb?
a: only one, but the light bulb really gets screwed.
— from garrison keillor’s ‘pretty good joke book’
irs motto: “we’re not happy until you’re not happy!”
if you have staff, have happy, cheerful, helpful people. don’t surround yourself with downers and nay-sayers. make sure they are team players.
part of this is your firm’s culture. it takes work to get people to work together and to focus on doing what it takes to service the client fully, properly and timely. everyone working together gets it done. you need to create that atmosphere.
here are a few of the best lessons i’ve received from the masters. although tried and true, their stories and hardships keep me energized, upbeat, and thinking bigger.
1. don’t give up
thomas edison performed 10,000 experiments before he discovered the light bulb. friends asked him what he would carry on after getting no results. edison said, “i got lots of results. i haven’t failed. i’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”
beethoven had his share of critics during his time and was in constant conflict with the royalty that hired him to write his works. his response: “a few fly bites cannot stop a spirited horse.” read more →
with tax season 2013 delayed by last-minute code changes, staffing problems and software glitches, the mood of the profession is turning markedly sour.
“irs delays will cause confusion and errors, and many upset clients,” says charles postal at santos postal, a five-partner firm in rockville, md. “more extensions will depress cash flow.”
at the same, postal adds, “clients will have more tax needs, but the struggling economy will depress their ability and desire to pay for services.”
in order to battle the business pressures, postal’s firm is “pushing back on fees, using standardized billing by product rather than hours, and adding on charges for technology, audit and tax notice insurance.”
tax season is a business and businesses need to be paid. it is harder to justify prices when providing services rather than products. products are usually priced before delivery while many times services are priced after delivery, i.e. performance.
many accountants price returns before they are worked on, usually basing the fee on last year, or a rate schedule. sending a bill with the return establishes the relationship that you should be paid promptly for the work done. read more →
… and more tax season humor.
