coronavirus

irs: short on time and running out of room

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the situation isn’t funny, but laughing beats crying.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

half the country may be vaxxed to the max, but that hasn’t helped the irs recover from last year’s covid-clogged backlog. in fact, it’s gotten so bad that the backlog is causing a logjam that’s backing up more logs.

more: 173% increase in irs correspondence backlog | hunker down: the irs backlog isn’t going away anytime soon | the irs studebaker bomb | irs has recruiting problems, too
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when tax clients start to gripe about the refunds they haven’t received, maybe not even last year’s, describe this scenario to them, as described by the interim results of the 2021 filing season report from the treasury inspector general for tax administration.
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tax pros race to the finish line

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the tax season from hell enters its final stages.

from the front lines (clockwise from top left): hill, saarinen, watson, holmes, claasen, barber, metzger, sorge, rowe
how are accountants handling this crazy tax season?
bonus question: the new rules for small busines post-pandemic?
join the survey. get the facts.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

tax professionals are entering the final stretch of a second crisis-wracked busy season with only a precious few reporting better-than-year-ago metrics so far, according to the 20th annual 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season tracking poll.

this is a recovery? nearly half of tax professionals are reporting this year’s busy season metrics “worse” than last year’s. source: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer.

more: pros surge ahead in tax prep | tax pros handle 53% of e-filings | tax pros hold their ground | pros tackle 49% of e-filed returns | survey: tax season swings into the red | another tax season from hell?
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meanwhile, the spread between tax professionals’ gains and diyers’ losses increased from 9.1 percentage points in the last reporting period to 12.2 points in the lastest, according to data reported by internal revenue service for the week ending april 23, the latest available.

the agency had received 116.1 million individual income tax returns, down 4.7 percent from the same period in 2020 when tax season began 18 days earlier. it had processed 105.3 million returns, down 4.3 percent, pegging its processing rate at 90.7 percent.

some 49 percent are calling 2021 “worse” than 2020, with about 16 percent holding steady, and 36 percent reporting a “better” year, including 10 percent enjoying a “much better” season.

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women lag men in accounting jobs recovery

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new records set in hourly earnings.

by beth bellor

across the tax and accounting industry, almost all the jobs relinquished by men in the coronavirus layoffs have been regained by men. the jobs given up by women, on the other hand, are still largely vacant.

more on jobs: comeback stalls as layoffs hit 1,500 in accounting | tax & accounting regains 3,800 jobs | accounting jobs recovery slows | tax & accounting firms rehire two-thirds of pre-covid workforce | tax & accounting firms rehire two-thirds of pre-covid workforce
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overall, the tax, accounting, tax prep, payroll, and bookkeeping sectors employed 1.02 million full-time equivalents in march 2020, before 70,000 layoffs hit in april. so far, the industry has re-filled all but 17,600 positions.

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survey: full recovery by year-end?

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sage study finds nearly three-quarters of u.s. small and midsize businesses expect to see pre-pandemic revenue levels by end of the year.

sage survey: pandemic prompts innovation
sage survey: pandemic prompts innovation

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

u.s. businesses are becoming increasingly confident they will return to pre-pandemic revenue levels by the end of 2021, according to a new survey by sage, a market leader in cloud business management software.

nancy harris, evp and managing director, sage north america
harris

more surveys & research: making partner: what managers need to know |  who’s heating up accounting tech?  |  survey: tax season swings into the red  |  peer-to-peer: your best advice for 2021  |  ppp client fraud: how much risk is too much?  |  ppp traps: 1 in 5 accountants report shady dealings  |  clients want to pay you more (really!)  |  accounting firms take billions in ppp payouts  |  members only: the full 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 list of 6,611 ppp borrowers in the tax and accounting industry

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“it’s no surprise the covid-19 pandemic disproportionately affected small and midsize businesses, along with their employees and customers. as we faced unique challenges at home and work, businesses saw great success implementing new programs, offering flexible work arrangements, and prioritizing commitment to the communities in which they operate,” says nancy harris, evp and managing director, sage north america. “as the world begins to reopen, it is critical that these key learnings from the last year are not lost, and that organizations continue to leverage creativity and technology to foster stronger relationships with employees, customers, and prospects for continued growth.”

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will new taxes push you to cash out?

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it might be time to implement plan b.

by domenick j. esposito
8 steps to great

the new administration faces global uncertainties. biden officials have set the stage for higher corporate and individual tax increases.

more from dom esposito:  keep your firm from biting the dust | the six ingredients for firm value | four ways to add $100,000 in new business fees every year | eight steps to small firm survival | no partner candidates? whose fault is that? | prune your firm: ‘rightsize’ managers and partners | how partners fail | ineffective management is hazardous to your firm’s health | profitability requires discipline |

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

at the same time, if your midsized cpa firm has not at least started to move away from a general “compliance shop” to either:

  • a specialized niche firm that has established a brand in the marketplace that transcends size and locations, or
  • a professional services firm that provides advisory/consulting, accounting, tax and assurance services to marquee clients in specialized industries,

its worth or valuation in the marketplace continues to diminish from the historical one times revenue payable upon individual partner retirements over 10 to 12 years.

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trendwatch: new revenues in financial stress testing

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covid pivot: winning new high-value clients with: “trust, but verify.”

by anthony glomski and russ alan prince
your $5-million high-net-worth practice
now on sale: buy now | learn more

for the extremely wealthy, financial stress testing is quite common. just consider the following case.

more: family feud isn’t just a game show | working with the ultra-wealthy | covid-19 brings high-net-worth opportunities | product-neutral or product-inclusive? | help your referral sources become thought leaders | what the wealthy want
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

a super-rich individual (net worth = $500 million or more) asked us to examine a tax mitigation strategy he was using. he was quite proud of how ingenious it was and how well it worked. the complication was that some of his business dealings were under scrutiny, and he wanted to make sure his wealth planning would not cause any problems. as part of this tax strategy, he had done several things:
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survey: tax season swings into the red

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on the front lines (clockwise from top left): hundshamer, jones, mills, lopez-williams, mauro, raboin, newman, behar

efiilings lag by 5 million as practitioners call it a “nightmare.”

surviving busy season 2021:
join the survey. get the results.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the irs is narrowing the gap between this season and 2020, still behind in almost every area but with more deficits now in the single digits. that’s what passes for good news these days.

more: another tax season from hell? | pros process 44% of tax e-filings | tax professionals report tough slogging | busy season 2021 gets off to weak startgoprocpa.com
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meanwhile, tax practitioners are reporting further deteriorations in their busy season, with 35 percent now terming is “much worse” than the year-ago, up about 11 points from the earlier soundings on the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer. join the survey. get the results.

on march 17, the treasury department and irs announced the 2020 individual federal income tax filing due date would be automatically extended from april 15 to may 17. since then, some 25 states and localities – but not all – announced similar extensions.

busy season red shift: the percentage of tax practitioners reporting a “much worse” season than last year grew 11 points to 35% from before march 15 to after march 15. (卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer)

as of march 19, the latest data available, the service had received 76.1 million individual income tax returns, down 9.6 percent from the same period last year, when the season began 18 days earlier. it had processed 67.7 million returns, down 16.6 percent, for a current processing rate of 89 percent.
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the irs’s $3-billion problem

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bar chart

 

92% of paper returns stuck in the backlog.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

tax preparers would be wise to advise their clients to e-file this year. according to the government accountability office and the taxpayer advocate service, the irs is not keeping up with paper returns.

in fact, it seems to be barely trying.

more: hunker down: the irs backlog isn’t going away anytime soon | the irs studebaker bomb | imagine irs ‘concierge’ service. just imagine. | irs has recruiting problems, too
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chickenfeed

the covid-19 pandemic is only part of the problem. yes, of course, last year, with irs offices shuttered and phones shut down for months, a backlog built up. by the end of the year, “irs had a significant backlog of returns and taxpayer correspondence,” according to the gao.
read more →

comeback stalls as layoffs hit 1,500 in accounting

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cpa firms cut average staff pay.

“the tax season from hell?”
join the survey. get the results

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the accounting profession sector by sector generally looks slightly brighter, with most reporting headcount growth for the month – but losses for the year.

exceptions include the profession overall, which is taking a 0.2 percent dip, tax preparation services up for the year 3.3 percent, and bookkeeping, up 1 percent.

more on jobs: tax & accounting regains 3,800 jobs | accounting jobs recovery slows | tax & accounting firms rehire two-thirds of pre-covid workforce | tax & accounting firms rehire two-thirds of pre-covid workforce | new job cuts at cpa firms | covid job toll: tax & accounting cuts 17,500 employees | firms recall half of furloughed staffers
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

in this report, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 highlights:

  • current and long-term hiring trends in each of the bookkeeping, payroll, tax, and cpa segments of the industry (all data seasonally adjusted)
  • average hourly wages for key segments
  • typical hours worked per week
  • trends concerning women in the accounting workforce

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josh fisher: battling for staffers

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you’re competing with the world these days.

^ click to play

with richard rothstein

in this interview, richard rothstein, founder of rothstein consulting, speaks with josh fisher of district partners, about what recruiting looks like for accounting firms in 2021, and how covid has affected things. read more →

how and when to leverage ziprecruiter, indeed, and social media

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the digital toolset for hiring at a small accounting firm.

^ click to play

with richard rothstein

accounting firms need to use every tool available to maintain a fresh supply of top-notch talent, according to manny cosme, president of cfo services group, in this 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 interview with richard rothstein.

more: learning how to hire amid covid  | how covid rewrites the rules for recruiting | steven braunstein: new covid strategies for staff recruiting and retention | irs has recruiting problems, too | 12 signs it’s time to outsource | how aging boomers impact the accounting profession | why remote workers need retreats | 44 key attributes for assessing staffers | coaching the right way | 20 best practices for staff training and retention | the art and science of hiring: three essentials for the covid age | uncover potential in 10 interview questions | why your firm needs to attract more millenials | why small firms can win the talent wars | the one big reason your hiring sucks | five ways to improve operating margin during covid | getting and keeping the best people | be a talent magnet | who’ll quit next? | why you must constantly push work down |

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cosme makes some great points about working for a small nimble firm like cfo services group and the challenges of retaining great talent in the face of competition from bigger firms for high-quality talent. read more →

irs has recruiting problems, too

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irs budget cuts lead to staff cuts, even as returns climb.
irs budget cuts lead to staff cuts, even as returns climb.

theirs stem from money woes.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the irs may a one-of-a-kind organization, with a unique mission, strengths, and weaknesses. but in at least one way, the irs is a lot like many tax and accounting firms.

more on tax season: team expectations: a checklist for busy season | you’re not just taxes | the happier, saner, richer tax firm | survey: a glint of optimism for 2021 | ppp traps: 1 in 5 accountants report shady dealings

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the problems, of course, are many. but one rises above all the others:  staff recruitment and retention.

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