today's features

tax pros handle 37.7% of e-filings

data table

paper still used by 2.2 percent of filers.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

tax season moves slowly forward, and tax professionals slowly gain ground

more: tax pros file 33% of early returns | if only the irs’s tax pro were usefulthe nightmare of non-credentialed tax preparers | must the irs be a dark hole? | irs plays whac-a-mole with the phones | tax pros are expanding and earning more
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

as of the week ending feb. 9 – the latest for which data are available – the irs had received 25.6 million individual income tax returns, down 11.4 percent from the same period a year ago. it had processed 25.4 million returns, down 4.4 percent.

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do you focus on data or decisions?

the difference defines your work future in the ai world.

by hitendra patil
rise of the aiccountants

imagine there is no artificial intelligence.

i know it is tough to imagine this, but for the next two minutes, just imagine there is no ai.

more: what could accounting-specific ai bring? | how to use the three types of artificial intelligence | ai means clients need you more than ever | seven changes ai brings to accounting | humans beat ai in some aspects | why accountants should embrace artificial intelligence | ai brings opportunities for accountants | seven things you must know about ai
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

how have you been working as an accounting professional without ai so far?
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maybe what you need is a marketing audit

two people seated across table, comparing notes and charts

how to get started.

by august j. aquila
price it right: how to value accounting services

great marketing tactics can take time, money and a great deal of sweat to plan and execute. cpas who appreciate the power of marketing are frequently anxious to jump right into the implementation process without doing any planning. but do they really know what the marketplace wants from them? sometimes gut feelings are right, but few firms can afford to act on intuition alone.

more: clients have six reasons for needing you | four steps to a successful email marketing campaign | five reasons to implement change orders | make your practice better | eleven marketing strategies for smaller firmsfive questions for developing your marketing plan | you only have four strategies | the damage that traditional fee methods do
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

investing marketing dollars with confidence requires a thorough understanding of your practice, its people, the marketplace and your competitors. an audit-based marketing plan lets you do just that. this post provides both the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to (1) perform a marketing audit, (2) develop marketing objectives and strategies and (3) implement the plan through an integrated approach.
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bissett bullet: do i know you?

today’s bissett bullet: “what is your linkedin connection strategy? do you have one?”

by martin bissett

a vast number of connections on your linkedin profile page may look impressive but there is a compelling argument for knowing at least the vast majority of your linkedin contacts personally.

there will of course be people connected to you that you have never met in person. you may have worked with them remotely, may have presented with them on a virtual panel or you may have engaged with their content and identified them as somebody with whom you could build a mutually beneficial relationship; but there is a genuine connection there.

your linkedin network is a potentially valuable referral source and time spent nurturing those relationships is time well spent. the better the relationship you have with your connections, the more likely they are to champion your firm when someone in their network is in need of a recommendation.

today’s to-do:

take a look at your strategy moving forward. start to be more selective about who you connect with and prioritize people you know, would like to work with or who can introduce you to your ideal clients.

see more bissett bullets here

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leverage your strengths to beat stress

woman tossing exclamation points into air

24 ways you may be better than you think.

by sandi leyva
the complete guide to marketing for tax & accounting firms

how many times a day do we tell ourselves with the little voice in our head that we’re falling short of the ideal we have for ourselves? “i forgot to add the salt, so i ruined the recipe.” “i’m not good enough.” “i was mistaken.” “i’m not smart enough.” “i didn’t get picked for the finals.” “nobody likes me.” and so on.

more: you don’t have a time problem | ten ways to have more energy this tax season | seven steps to keeping your clients forever | give to receive, and eight more ways to boost sales | five things that clients don’t know about accountants | five ways to wow your clients | how to fight feeling overwhelmed | you’re missing 60% of your revenue | make the most of cpe conferences | beyond compliance: six tips for adding value | track six figures to test your marketing | when you don’t know what you don’t know
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

instead, why don’t we focus on our strengths? a university of michigan psychology professor undertook an extensive research project to discover 24 positive character strengths that each person has to varying degrees.
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if only the irs’s tax pro were useful

businessman sitting on cloud

the national taxpayer advocate has a long wish list.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

if you are a cpa, tax preparer or registered agent – a tax pro, in other words – there is a slim possibility that you are registered with the internal revenue service’s tax pro  program.

more: can’t irs online accounts be more 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? | 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
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

but even if you are registered, the odds are vanishingly small that you actually use it.

why? because it’s really of limited use.
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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?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

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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tax pros file 33% of early returns

table of irs filing data for week ending feb. 2, 2024

a shorter season to date makes comparisons difficult.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the internal revenue service has fired up the machinery and begun cranking out tax returns. and so begins our annual ritual of tracking how well they do that.

all of the initial figures are double-digit down, largely because of seven days’ fewer collections. the 2023 filing season began on jan. 23 vs. 2024’s jan. 29, so 2023 totals cover 12 days as opposed to this season’s five days.

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can’t irs online accounts be more useful?

angry man wearing tie and glasses, punching fist through laptop screen

taxpayers and pros alike are frustrated, exasperated, disappointed and angry.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

ever-improving internet commerce is one of the great developments of this first quarter of a century. the process and potential of dealing with products and services, including government services, has come a long way from the toddling brouhaha of the world wide web of the 1990s.

more: 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? | 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
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the internal revenue service still dreams of joining these early years of the 21st century. to get started, the service has gone so far as to launch an individual online account program. iolas allow taxpayers to

  • view basic information,
  • make payments,
  • enter into payment plans and
  • view and download certain notices.

all of which is very nice but soooo 1998.
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let tech make communication easier

man seated at laptop talking on phone

how to create effective systems.

by penny breslin
it’s not just the numbers

open and clear communication is essential when you provide back office support (bos) services. you cannot take on this type of work and not stay on top of it. previous examples have shown what happens when you do it right. here’s what happens when you don’t.

more: how to craft a service level agreement | three examples: pricing your bos value add | use timesheets for productivity, not billing | revisit your back office support procedures | federated search: what it is, why it matters | accounting tech tools to minimize your pain | do your apps play well with others? | it’s ok to have favorite clients | ten questions for teamwork | yes, you can be an outsourcer
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

case study: when you don’t keep up your side of the agreement

a cpa wanting to provide bos services to his clients contacted us to help with the first setup. the software of choice by the business owner was quickbooks.
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nuclear battery could keep your future phone running for 50 years

you would need a new phone before you ran out of juice.

by rick richardson
technology this week

a new nuclear battery created by a chinese company might power your phone for 50 years with no need to be charged.

more: did ancient romans find a solution for climate change? | tack one launches new location tracker for children and seniors | windows is now an app for pcs, apple products | bill gates says america has a math problem | what is an heic file? | congress: tax prep companies shared private data with google, meta for years | what an a.i.-powered workforce means for accountants | smartwatch saves two lives | chatgpt unlikely to replace accountants
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

at 15 x 15 x 5 mm, betavolt technology says it has successfully shrunk atomic energy batteries. through the process of radioactive decay, the small battery produces 100 microwatts and a voltage of 3v using 63 nuclear isotopes.

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health, wealth, stealth: challenges on the path to partnership

and why we need them.

by martin bissett
passport to partnership

now we move on to our sixth “c” in the passport to partnership – challenges.

again the heading has more than a single application, which we’ll explore here.

more: it’s time to prepare the next generation | walk the commitment walk | two steps toward mastering selling | thirteen ways to show commitment | clients can’t grow without you | seven mistakes in winning new fees | how to develop your communication abilities | five questions for measuring partner potential | five ways to rally your firm to its culture | when would-be partners aren’t candidates | make your expertise a new-client magnet
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

ultimately, the partners interviewed in our research broke “challenges” down into two key areas:

  1. the ability for a manager to pull the firm out of the mire when there’s a problem
  2. the ability for a manager to pull the client out of the mire when there’s a problem

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when clients want to manage their own wealth

businessman sitting on stacks of paper currency

can they? maybe. but should they?

by anthony glomski

i have told you that your business owner clients will face new challenges, new transitions and new opportunities as they navigate their way through a liquidity event and emerge on the other side. i also have emphasized that you must do everything in your power to help them preserve, protect and maintain the wealth that they have worked so hard to build.

more: four attributes your experts need | your wealth management team needs these five people | there’s more to giving than tax implications | eight questions for estate planning | clients who don’t listen | how to outline your client’s big picture
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

nassim taleb, author of the bestselling book “the black swan: the impact of the highly improbable,” argues that we can not only learn to navigate these frightening and overwhelming events, but learn to become stronger as a result of them and to take advantage of the opportunities they provide.

by helping your clients prepare the right way to withstand the next black swan event, you can help ensure that they’ll be able to have a huge impact not only in their life, but in their family’s life, in their community and even in the world at large.
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