tax season management

new survey findings: tax season price wars

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accountants scramble as competition surges for bread-and-butter tax work.
join the survey; get the results.

_top 10 tax season issues

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

pricing and fee pressures are surging as the hot-button issues this tax season, according to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer.

to be sure, late or unprepared clients remain the single biggest issue, with 48% of more than 500 practitioners surveyed in february citing it, followed by tardy 1099s and k1s at 35%. those metrics are little changed from last february.

but this year, 31% of practitioners are complaining about pricing and fee pressures, which is triple the year-ago 10% figure.

related research
is the tax prep business topping out?  the number of filings by tax professionals appears to have slowed or even reversed.
tax season metrics shift for the better:   key indicators point to a better 2014 than 2013.
practitioners plot fee-pressure countermeasures:  competitors vie for clients on price and promises.

read more →

quality control: the first test of leadership

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eight data points to check your tax season quality control systems.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns

accounting firms that have high review times usually have high error rates necessitating the higher review time. doesn’t that sound crazy?

why not set up procedures to reduce the error rate? i have been told that error rates range between 5% and 95%. 95%!? that is crazy! there must come a time when you decide to fix this. you can rationalize all the expediency reasons in the world, but this is just bad, stupid and poor business!

start by considering eight key metrics. read more →

tax return reviews: the key to a smooth tax season

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em htrtr cvr cliptop leadership must set the tone for solid review work.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns

tax season is a microcosm of everything done in an accounting practice. one of the primary concerns of a business is having the proper processes and quality control procedures. many firms, however, do not have uniform tax return review procedures, and even when they do, they are not always adhered to. choosing how to properly use the reviewers’ time and interface them with the staff can contribute immensely to a smooth tax season. read more →

tax return review: the overlooked factor in tax season success or failure

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em htrtr cvr clipgreat reviewers aren’t born. they’re made.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns

reviewing tax returns is a key part of tax preparation. it also is an area vulnerable to major bottlenecks and backlogs. inevitably, firms have more preparers than reviewers. the latter are highly skilled professionals who are more difficult to train or find. therefore, you must consider ways to reduce review time, even at the expense of adding preparer time.

the best tax season managers know how to: read more →

tax pro’s still running behind last year’s pace

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at this rate, practitioners may be on track to make the april 15 deadline, but just barely. at the same time, the number and proportion of self-prepared returns continues to rise. it has been estimated that between 2010 and 2012 some 12 million taxpayers dropped out of the paid-preparer market to go to do-it-yourself software programs. and that trend is clearly continuing.

in this report: the box score so far this season, compared to year-ago periods. read more →