survey

tax preparation fees and services

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screen shot 2015-06-09 at 9.19.17 pmthe national trends and averages

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

while tax professionals taking a well-deserved break this summer, they are also carefully assessing how well – or poorly – they fared in tax season 2015 and they are beginning to lay plans for tax season 2016. chief among their concerns will, no doubt, be a thorough review of their mix of services and fees.

fortunately, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 has compiled authoritative data in an easy-to-use set of charts, graphs and infographics to guide the strategizing for 2016.

in this report, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 reveals:

  • the average time it takes an amateur do-it-yourselfer to do a 1040 – useful information in understanding and communicating to clients the true value of a professional.
  • how many tax professionals give away over $100 per client in free consultations – and how competitive the market may be for practitioners.
  • prices by type of form: itemized 1040; state; schedule c’s; 940s; 1065s; 1120ss.
  • prices by region: west, midwest, northeast and south.
  • how many preparers charge to file an extension and how much they charge.
  • trends in 1040 business.
  • practitioners’ age ranges and years in business.
  • the characteristics of the communities in which they operate.

read more →

cpa firms paying top dollar for talent in nationwide hiring binge

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pay raises trending
pay raises trending

wages hit new high; hourly rates at cpa firms up nearly 10 percent.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

as the economy adds jobs, the accounting industry is grabbing its share and sometimes more, according to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 sources. at the same time, respondents to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 careers and hiring outlook tracking polls show nearly 60 percent ready to jump ship if the right offer comes along.

join the survey. get the results.

in this report, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 covers:

  • current hiring trends in each of the bookkeeping, tax, payroll and cpa segments of the industry, indicating growth and shrinkage among sectors.
  • average hourly wages for key segments, with trends in employee pay rates.
  • typical hours worked per week, showing utilization and productivity.
  • trends concerning women in the workforce, including hiring rates.

it’s not all about the money.

higher wages aren’t everything, as clearly indicated in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 careers and hiring outlook tracking polls. read more →

survey results: deal-savvy cpas look to lenovo computers

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lenovo challenges dell and hp’s dominance with competitive pricing on desktops.

screen shot 2015-05-12 at 5.24.47 pm
primary desktop computer, most recently purchased, accounting firms of all sizes. learn more.
//www.g005e.com/shop/nmgi-irg-tech-survey-ebook/
the accounting firm operations and technology survey

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
accounting firm operations and technology survey

attracted by competitive pricing, accountants are increasingly turning to lenovo as their primary desktop computer and challenging the dominant positions of dell and hewlett-packard, according to new survey results available from 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.

to be sure, the accounting firm operations and technology survey shows lenovo still dwarfed by dell and hp. but dell’s position is hardly changing, hp’s appears to be declining and lenovo is coming on strong, almost doubling its share of the profession. read more →

the tech risks accountants would rather ignore

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computer infectionnew study reveals widespread weaknesses in accounting firm technology strategies.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

accountants aren’t known for their risky decisions. quite the opposite, in fact. in most things, accountants are paragons of caution and care.

that’s, “in most things.”

but as the “accounting firm operations and technology survey,” published by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间, shows again and again, accountants are taking sometimes potentially disastrous risks with their firms and – worse – with their clients. read more →

workflow automation takes root in mainstream cpa firms

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roman kepczyk , author of quantum of paperless at //www.g005e.com/shop/qop/
roman kepczyk, quantum of paperless

tax season 2015 sees 59% of firms using digital production systems.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the tax and accounting profession appears to have made a quantum leap with busy season 2015, by broadly embracing workflow automation to optimize production, control costs and speed delivery, according to data made available to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.

the association for accounting administration, in a study led by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 contributor roman kepczyk, author of quantum of paperless: the partners guide to accounting firm optimization, finds that in the general movement toward paperless, or at least less paper, firms are increasing their use of technology to save more trees than ever. the survey compared findings in 2013 with what firms expected to do in the 2015 busy season.

a big innovation for many firms has been the use of digital workflow tools to manage tax return progress. fifty-nine percent of firms reporting using a variety of products. specifically, by brand: read more →

survey results: latest comments on busy season 2015

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the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometerclick to join the survey; see the results
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer
click to join the survey; see the results

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

read more →

busy season 2015: comprehensive coverage

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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

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the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometerclick to join the survey; see the results
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer
click to join the survey; see the results

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. blair east
east

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.

  1. affordable care act
  2. irs regs and congressional cruelty
  3. better staff, more staff
  4. clients
  5. management
  6. technology
  7. interrelated problems

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

busy season 2015: fixing the tax system

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tax frustrationhow 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

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the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometerclick to join the survey; see the results
the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer
click to join the survey; see the results

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:

  1. disorganized offices,

    lisa toback cpa
    toback
  2. timing,
  3. staffing,
  4. scheduling,
  5. procrastination,
  6. poor planning,
  7. the need for time off and
  8. 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 →

tax season 2015 marks watershed in cpa firm digitalization

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roman kepczyk , author of quantum of paperless at //www.g005e.com/shop/qop/
roman kepczyk , author of quantum of paperless

tax season 2015 may signal a landmark change in workflow automation.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

this year’s busy season could mark a turning point in the tax and accounting industry’s techno-history, with mainstream firms flooding into digital processes like optical character recognition, pdf bookmarking, and collaboration tools.

results from this year’s paperless benchmarking survey, conducted for the association for accounting administration by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 contributor roman kepczyk, author of quantum of paperless: the partners guide to accounting firm optimization, found a generally upward trend in the use of technology to avoid the carving of audit and tax prep data into stone or printing it out on paper. the survey compared responses in 2013 to foreseen usage in the busy season of 2015.

but which trends are trending the fastest? where are the rockets of digitalization?

read more →