can your tax reviewers answer these 10 questions?

businessman looking up answers in a book

bonus checklist: the answers!

by ed mendlowitz
tax season opportunity guide

the primary people who should review tax returns are trained tax department reviewers. however, often the bunching and compression of work shifts some of the review to higher level, non-tax personnel such as audit managers and partners who might not necessarily have the comprehensive training, background and experience to handle everything that might come up during the tax preparation process.

more on tax season: the top 12 mistakes in tax return preparation | six types of person: which are you? | answer these two questions first | help your tax clients, help yourself | what’s your value to your tax clients? | are you excited about tax season?
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additionally, in many firms, almost everyone on the staff prepares some returns. that lack of dedicated preparers with the trained skills places an added burden on the tax reviewers, making it important for them to have the range of experience needed to perform the review.

following are 10 questions reviewers should be able to answer to qualify for their role.

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get clients to understand firm processes … or say goodbye

woman in a business suit waving a red flag

with just a little advanced marketing, you can get paid year-round and have more satisfied clients.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

when i’m frustrated, here’s how i explain the importance to clients of letting us work our process:

“when you get your car repaired, you don’t look over the mechanic’s shoulder and tell him which wrench to use. the same principle applies to us. if you knew the best ways to prepare tax returns, you should become our competitor.”

more: train now before it costs you down the road | keep clients from “balance due” shock | it’s ok to say no to clients (even the large ones) | you train your clients, whether you mean to or not | business owners face one of three exits | how small firms can win the talent wars | do you know your turnaround time?
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let’s be perfectly honest with each other.

there’s a reason you aren’t actively training clients to allow you to work efficiently. you’re afraid that you’ll lose clients.

i guarantee that you will.
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private equity leading to corporate-style cpa firms

pawns and stacks of coins, each with an arrow leading to several coin stacks in the center

long-term incentives remain a challenge.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

for some reason the advent of private equity and other alternative investment in cpa partnerships isn’t receiving much media attention though it is quickly setting in motion an extensive overhaul of the traditional partnership structure.

more: pe, consolidations to keep impacting accounting profession | a 40-hour workweek is feasible | five ways staff shortages are changing firms forever | soft skills are front and center | it’s time for a new business model | rosenberg map: partner incomes surge 11.4%
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asked what they expect to see in the next 12 months, several experts opining in the rosenberg national survey of cpa firms statistics identify increasing outside investment in cpa firms and consequent new business models.
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despite staffing crunch, firms freeze pay raises

line chart
average hourly earnings of all employees in the accounting profession. hint: don’t show this chart to recruits.

 

millennials say compensation isn’t the most important thing. employers say, “heard.”

by beth bellor

suppose you’re a leader in a field that has fretted for months over staff shortages. would you put on your thinking cap, plug it in for a while and come up with… frozen pay?

more: tax & accounting firms grow for 9th straight month | tax & accounting profession grows, but wages don’t | tax and accounting pay advancing at 5.9% pace | accounting jobs up 4% for year
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strangely enough, that’s what the latest tax and accounting profession earnings data show. compared to previous months, the trend is stagnant or even down. the only bright spot was in payroll services staff, which also added bodies – but cut hours.

(how’s that song go? if it weren’t for bad luck?)
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train now before it costs you down the road

your time investment now could reap dividends during tax season. 

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

we’ve all heard it.

ask if an assigned project has been completed and get the, “it’s done, but …” followed by a few reasons why said project is still – let’s be honest – incomplete.

more: keep clients from “balance due” shock | stop clients from performing “favors” | control your time: avoid ambush meetings and calls | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity | six ways to create a millennial-friendly firm
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

let’s examine how we got a “done but” society. a lot of this will sound like, “back in my day, sonny …” old man nonsense, and a lot of it is.

however, i promise you a solution after my sociological exploration of 21st-century culture. you won’t need a degree in sociology to understand this.

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“done” only has one meaning

“done but” increases wip and turnaround time. profits go … well, you know.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

in my last book, i recommended hiring younger staff. in that book, i cautioned that you might have to teach very simple tasks like breathing and using the bathroom to your newbies.

more: keep clients from “balance due” shock | stop clients from performing “favors” | who needs fall tax planning? clients … and youit’s okay to say no to clients (even the large ones)control your time: avoid ambush meetings and calls | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

one reader posted that she didn’t believe it was the responsibility of an admin department to teach bathroom use. she was new to this hot new writing technique called sarcasm, but she did a great job making my point that you have to teach your staff a lot of basic things.

one of those teaching tasks is the meaning of “done.”

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how ai works in plain english

check out these three reads to understand ai and how to leverage it for business.
 
by rick richardson
technology this week

science fiction author arthur c. clarke once said, “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” yet artificial intelligence isn’t magic, and you don’t need to be a computer scientist to understand how chatgpt works.

more: new tech could let evs go 3,0000 miles on a single charge | major websites blocking content from ai crawlers | what is an heic file? | bill gates behind next-generation nuclear plantelectronic skin that can sense touch will transform robotics | four of today’s new technologies that will be tomorrow’s ‘norm’
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if it hasn’t already, ai will soon be present in your home and business. ideally, you should be ready.
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looking for fresh accounting grads? good luck

line chart of degree trends

the pipeline is just a trickle.

join the new staffing survey.

benchmark your firm.
be the first to get the winning strategies.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the american institute of cpas 2023 trends report on new graduation data has good news and bad.

which would you like first?

more: cpa biz is booming, but for how long? | survey respondents see exciting year coming up | survey: accountants economic outlook brightens | research: accounting pros cautiously optimistic about generative ai | why the u.s. must act now to protect our online privacy
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

spoiler alert: even the good news is pretty bad.
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