busy season archives - page 2 of 8 - 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

comparing winners and losers in the tax business

august 13, 2015

tax code changes emerge as prime cause of ‘worse’ tax seasons for many professionals.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

a fresh analysis of the data from the 2015 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season survey turns up several worsening situations in american tax preparation.

among those who report a “much worse” tax season, the worst-and-getting-worse cause of aggravation is the u.s. tax code and changes—especially mid-season changes—to the tax code.

but the worst among all respondents is their clientele, or more specifically, clients who are late or unprepared. a staggering 49% of respondents report client problems, a 7% increase over last year. and the percent is nearly the same for those who report a much worse season—51%—and those who had a “much better” season, 45%.

if you thought tax season 2015 was bad…

july 23, 2015

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

…the irs says 2016 could be even worse.

irs projects even worse taxpayer service for the 2016 filing season (fy 2015).

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

the 2015 filing season was akin to a tale of two cities, according to the irs’s own watchdog.

“for the majority of taxpayers who filed their returns and did not require irs assistance, the filing season was generally successful,” according to the report issued to congress by the national taxpayer advocate’s office headed by nina olson. “for the segment of taxpayers who required help from the irs, the filing season was by far the worst in memory.”

meanwhile, olson urges congress to undertake “fundamental tax reform,” pass a “taxpayer’s bill of rights” law, and boost irs funding.

“everyone is in collective denial about what inadequate funding for the irs means to taxpayers,” olson says. read more →

single-owner firms trail bigger competitors in tax prep

july 1, 2015

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

analysis shows smaller firms having the most trouble.

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’ surveys reveal a panoply of gripes from sea to shining sea about tax season: affordable care act. new regulations. computers. clients. even health problems and weather problems can seem worse.

and who are suffering the most? solo practitioners, the ones with the gumption to go it alone, the ones who can’t stop working on tax returns to fix a computer, go to a doctor, shovel some snow, or explain federal forms to a client.

then again, there’s john briggs, president of incite tax, a small but growing firm in sandy, utah, reporting a 2015 season of glee. “referrals keep pouring in. we took on 92 new clients just during the tax season. add that to 81 new clients we added between last busy season and january 2015, and we have a total of 173 new clients. regulatory issues lead to opportunities.”

soloists lag multi-owner firms in economic confidence

june 30, 2015

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

multi-partner firms show bullish signs. soloists turn bearish on the u.s. economy.

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

z-busy solos vs other in otlook cpas aren’t economists, but they do know numbers, and they have their fingers on the pulse of the flow of money in their local areas. they know how their own businesses and their clients’ businesses are doing, and they have at least an inkling of the causes. remembering 2014 and living through the 2015 busy season, they are well placed to prognosticate on financial flows over the next 12 months.

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 survey research detects a certain optimism, but it seems to be a bit more cautious among solo practitioners. read more →

busy season 2015: worse and worser

april 15, 2015

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

after a bad year for many practitioners, watch for the consolidation and shakeout to come.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

before busy season 2015 had even begun, tax professionals were worrying most about the new rules and regulations they’d be facing, among them, the affordable care act.

join the survey; get the results

indeed, so-called obamacare loomed largely over the 2015 season, but practitioners found bigger problems with form 3115, tougher competition and fee pressures. so much so, that a significant number of practitioners swore this tax season would be their last. and with merger season coming close on the heels of busy season, the profession should brace for a new wave of consolidation and shakeout, according to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 analysis.

see comprehensive coverage of busy season 2015 read more →

survey results: latest comments on busy season 2015

april 10, 2015

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 busy season barometer 2015:
join the survey. get the results

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

as results pour in from the final days of the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer 2015, it’s clear that practitioners’ experiences range widely, from outright euphoria to bleak despair.

see comprehensive coverage of busy season 2015

here are a few the latest comments, verbatim…

better than last year. volume is up significantly and good smoothness of preparation svc and knowledge of clients.
we added a small tax practice in an adjoining town
i didn’t have any clients with obamacare non-compliance

busy season 2015: comprehensive coverage

april 9, 2015

by edward mendlowitz

in case you missed it… in this directory, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 compiles complete coverage of the 2015 busy season. irs seeks more tools to fight refund fraud fy 2016 budget provisions would expand authority for regulation, correctable errors. workflow automation takes root in … continued

busy season 2015: top lessons learned so far

april 8, 2015

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

doing the tax season math: regs + staff + clients + tech + self = busy x busy x busy

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the key lessons learned from the 11th annual 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer study are coming into clear focus.

more:
busy season 2015
comprehensive coverage

a.b. east, at manning elliott in vancouver, bc, canada, for example, took a lesson in smart management. he says he learned “the importance of having the right complement of experienced staff to delegate to so i can reduce my hours and deliver to clients on timely basis.” next year east will continue a very healthy policy: “i have been and will continue to mentor managers, seniors and juniors to advance their expertise on a quicker basis.”

most of the issues practitioners faced this year fit into seven main categories. what’s especially interesting is that the solutions vary from common sense to plain impossibility.

affordable care act
irs regs and congressional cruelty
better staff, more staff
clients
management
technology
interrelated problems

here’s a summary of our findings: read more →

busy season 2015: fixing the tax system

april 7, 2015

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

how tax professionals would remake the tax code.

imagine there’s no deductions,
it’s easy if you try.
no 8965, no1095-a,
above us, only sky.
imagine all the cpas,
living for today…

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

there’s nothing like another tax season to prod accountants into imagining about ways to reform the nation’s tax system. in the this year’s 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer, some cpas have specific suggestions; others are calling on the profession to take a leadership role in the national conversation.

register your comments here: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 2-minute survey: fix the tax system

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 is polling the profession with a two-minute survey asking for specific recommendations for changing the code, the regs, the instructions and the forms – whatever it takes to make life easier for cpas and the american taxpayer. (the call was not to reduce or increase taxes, just to simplify them.)

the earliest responses call for a diverse set of approaches: read more →

busy season 2015: new lessons in time management

april 6, 2015

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

lesson learned: plan, prioritize, repeat.

next question: key financial metrics for 2015 results.
join the survey; get the answers.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

they don’t call it “busy season” for nothing. it’s a frenetic, hectic, even hellish effort to herd client cats toward an unforgiving deadline.

when we ask 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 members what lessons they’re learning this year and what they plan to do about it next year, we hear a lot about time management. based on the survey, time management issues can be organized into eight main categories:

disorganized offices,
toback
timing,
staffing,
scheduling,
procrastination,
poor planning,
the need for time off and
the desire to retire.

the solutions cpas will be implementing next year range from minor tweaks to complete overhauls, or even surrendering to retirement and calling it victory. read more →

busy season 2015: vexed by regs, cpas dismayed at congress

april 1, 2015

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

get a read on the busy season. join the survey; get the results

next question: what’s the best way to fix the tax system? register your comments here.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the u.s. tax system has become so complex and dysfunctional that even professional tax practitioners are bitterly frustrated and angry – outrage that’s been boiling over in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer.

this year accountants are talking about staff problems, client problems, overload problems and affordable care act problems. but the anger with new forms and regulations isn’t stopping there.

“all reason has gone out the door,” says a cpa in montrose, colo. “i have been preparing tax returns for over 35 years. there has never been a tax season like this one – and there will never be another one like it.”

busy season 2015: when clients are the problem

march 31, 2015

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

top nine client management solutions.

next question: lessons learned.
join the survey; get the results

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 annual busy season barometer is uncovering some frank and candid talk about clients. yes, we love them. couldn’t live without them. most of the time. but, well, not always.

it’s not that they’re bad people. but let’s face it, they aren’t always sweating tax prep much in advance of april 1, they have no idea what new regulations are in effect this year and their advisories from their cpa are filed under “migraines that can wait.” plus, they truly believe their cpa is exclusively dedicated to their company and doesn’t really have much else to do but wait around for their phone call.

“no matter how proactive you try to be at scheduling and planning ahead, clients still delay providing information for their taxes,” bryan lantz says. “seems the irs, congress and the media are out to make our jobs even more compressed and stressful.” his solution: “keep communicating with clients to ensure that we can do the best we can at equalizing workflow during busy season.”

from their remarks, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 draws at least nine lessons in smart client management.:

busy season 2015: short-term staffing problems need long-term solutions

march 30, 2015

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

not enough trained staff, not enough seasonal staff, not enough staff.

next question: the smartest moves this busy season? join the survey; get the results.

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 annual busy season barometer is eliciting a panoply of lessons learned and plans for a smoother season next year. a lot of professionals’ comments this year are nothing short of outright complaint. and not without reason. it’s been a rough year. if the snow didn’t get you, forms 3115, 8962, 8965 or 1095a did. plus all things irs got more complicated, clients got more desperate and, apparently, tensions rose as cpas and staff stretched themselves to the limits of professional endurance.

one of the main lessons learned is the need for enough staff — enough staff hired early enough and trained well enough. nancy casburn at casburn cpa in lee’s summit, mo., sums up the importance of the softest of software: “staffing is the most important reason for failing or succeeding at tax season.”

if we can draw any conclusion from all the staff-related lessons reported in this year’s busy season barometer, it is that the profession needs more staff, better trained staff and an availability of seasonal staff. given the increasing complexity of tax returns, the solution of this problem — more training, more accounting majors — needs to arrive quickly and be broadly based.