tax season

new survey findings: tax season price wars

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accountants scramble as competition surges for bread-and-butter tax work.
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_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 professionals lag last year in early filing

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in its first sounding on tax season 2013, the irs says filings are coming in faster this year. and that may be true enough. as of feb. 7, the irs received 27.3 million returns, up 2.5 percent compared to the same time last year. electronically filed returns account for almost 96 percent of those filed so far this year.

but filing by professionals is actually running behind last year, by about 5.6%, and without the crushing effects of last year’s government shutdown. read more →

your best busy season survival tips

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by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

accountants joining the annual 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer poll are recommending regular rest and recreation among their leading survival strategies.

some know how to balance things just right, like vic butcher who says to “exercise every morning and go out for pizza and drinks every thursday night.” we can’t object to pizza and drinks, although alan gray would have us “eat and drink less.” read more →

seven busy season success secrets

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tip #5: get paid before filing.

by sandi smith leyva
accountant’s accelerator

here are some fast tips to help you make the most out of busy season, which is when you have the highest amount of your clients’ attention all year long. 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 →

exclusive survey: practitioners cite 4 big strategies for success in tax season 2014

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chartexporttax professionals fight political uncertainty, ragged clients, toughened rivals.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

after what for many was a disastrous season in 2013, many tax prep professionals are laying new plans and taking on ambitious initiatives to avoid a repeat of last year and maybe even vault ahead of the competition.

with input from more than 400 practitioners, 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 expects 2014 to be rocky from the start, with washington politics playing a big role, and also highly competitive, as practitioners battle both fee pressures from clients and each other for a smaller pool of good clients.

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 has prepared a special report, “busy season 2014 pre-season forecast and outlook,” available as an ebook here.

in the last 30 days, practitioners’ outlook has been generally positive as they start to get their plans in place and with a momentary lull in washington infighting. as of today, about 60% of the more than 400 practitioners surveyed expect a better season than last year, including 12% who are hoping for a “much better” season.

if there are themes among the new strategies from lessons learned last year, they fall into a few general categories: read more →

survey report: busy season 2014 outlook

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click to enlarge
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executive summary

by rick telberg
cpa trendlines

most tax practitioners across the nation are preparing for the 2014 busy season with the hoping it can’t possibly be as bad as last year’s “worst tax season ever,” according to exclusive 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 polling.

about 61% of accountants today expect at least a “somewhat” or even “much” better season this year, according to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer, a tracking poll now approaching its 11th year. some 26% expect no change from last year, and 13% are bracing for “somewhat worse” or “much worse.”

in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 special report, responses and comments from more than 400 practitioners surveyed have been tabulated and analyzed. key findings:

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  • economic outlook for firms, clients, owners, and the nation in general.
  • practitioners’ forecasts for the upcoming season, compared with the forecasts from the same time a year ago and with 2013 actuals.
  • factors contributing to positive outlooks and factors contributing to negative outlooks.
  • top 10 challenges and concerns to prepare for and examples of how some practitioners are doing so
  • projections for key busy season metrics, including revenue, profit, client counts, extensions, revenue per client, and profit per client; compared with 2013 actuals and year-ago forecasts
  • the four key strategies shared by most practitioners with positive outlooks
  • the four important lessons learned from last year’s “worst tax season ever.”
  • verbatim comments from hundreds of practitioners.

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read more →