{"id":122641,"date":"2024-03-14t00:00:31","date_gmt":"2024-03-14t04:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/?page_id=122641"},"modified":"2024-04-17t18:16:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17t22:16:10","slug":"tax-and-accounting-professionals-survey-results-busy-season-barometer-2024","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/tax-and-accounting-professionals-survey-results-busy-season-barometer-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"busy season barometer 2024: topline results"},"content":{"rendered":"
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accountants bullish locally, bearish nationally<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/header>\n
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\"\"one-quarter of accountants see trouble ahead for the source of their bread and butter.<\/strong><\/p>\n

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research<\/em><\/p>\n

the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 2024 busy season barometer is unearthing a perplexing paradox.<\/p>\n

it seems that most cpas think their firm and their clients will do better this year \u2013 or at least no worse than last year, which itself was a pretty good year.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

more:\u00a0<\/b>top performers lead in leverage, culling, outsourcing<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0auditing standards \u2018yellow book\u2019 updated<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0compensation\u2019s up, but up enough to retain staff?<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0cpas needed to help small biz adopt ai<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0survey shows that tech remains the great divide<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0will unclogging the accounting pro pipeline kill mobility?<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0accountants bullish on income<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0survey: which niche\u2019s the best niche?<\/a>
\n\"goprocpa.com\"exclusively for pro members.\u00a0<\/strong>log in here<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a02022世界杯足球排名 today<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

at the same time, they tend to see things getting worse for the national economy and small businesses in general.<\/p>\n

what\u2019s going on?
\n<\/span>
\nfirms and families will do well<\/strong><\/p>\n

the best numbers are for respondents\u2019 firms and families. forty-one percent are pretty sure their firms will do better this year, and about that many are optimistic enough to figure they won\u2019t do any worse. only 17 percent expect a downturn.<\/p>\n

the numbers for their families were within a couple of percentage points of the firm numbers.<\/p>\n

clients, however, might have a rougher year. one in five cpas can tell their clients to get set for a year better than 2023, and a few more expect clients will do about as well as last year. still, a quarter see trouble ahead for the source of their bread and butter.<\/p>\n

small businesses in general might be looking at another 12-18 months of rocky road. only 17 percent of respondents think small businesses be doing better, and barely 36 percent predict they will be able to hold steady. the big number is the one foreseeing a downturn, a prediction of 48 percent.<\/p>\n

what\u2019s with the economy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 pros tend to be the type to have an ear to the ground. in the trenches of the economy, they know what\u2019s happening. it\u2019s in the 1040s, the 1099s, the 8825s, the 527s, schedules a,b, c, e, f and the eyes of clients.<\/p>\n

and what those grounded ears hear doesn\u2019t sound real good.<\/p>\n

over half (52 percent) aren\u2019t being fooled by the low unemployment, the declining inflation, the new home construction, the record-breaking rise in gdp, the bump in consumer spending, the improvement in wages, the booming dow.<\/p>\n

maybe it\u2019s the political volatility. maybe it\u2019s the high price of food. the price of housing. the interest rates. the greater dependence on credit card debt. the high cost of scarce labor.<\/p>\n

whatever it is, it\u2019s causing only 17 percent of america\u2019s accountants to hope for an improvement in the economy, and barely 31 percent say we can count on a continuation of whatever we\u2019ve got right now.<\/p>\n

jason jones, a cpa in the heartland of tennessee, is concerned about \u201cshrinking profit margins due to inflationary pressures and higher interest rates restricting the ability to borrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

jeff lucke, head of lucke & associates in wichita, kan., warns that \u201cthere is no labor pool.\u201d<\/p>\n

speaking from california, michael j. munn says it\u2019s \u201cthe u.s. government \u2013 rules and regulations that favor big companies and destroy little companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

and someone else in the great bear state agrees, blames the worsening economy on \u201cregulations that are uber-unfair to small businesses in california; lack of competent and accountable employees; trends that change too fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

what are you seeing from your end of the trenches? are you a bull or a bear? the economy needs your two cents.\u00a0click here<\/a> to toss them to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer: emerging issues, opportunities, and trends.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

happy days are here\u2026 again <\/strong><\/h3>\n

(for most, anyway)<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n
\"busy
busy season barometer:<\/strong> 70% report as good or better than last year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research<\/em><\/p>\n

so far, halfway into tax season 2024, accountants and tax practitioners are reporting another pretty good year.<\/p>\n

that’s two in a row!<\/p>\n

last year, 58 percent of survey respondents reported a much or somewhat better year than 2022, which, as you may recall, had been a rather rotten year.<\/p>\n

so, when 37 percent of this year’s contributors tell the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer this season is better than 2023, it doesn’t mean fewer are having a good year. it means more than a third are reporting a year better than a good year.<\/p>\n

another 36 percent say this year’s about the same as last year, which is another way of saying they’re having a second good year.<\/p>\n

still, more than a quarter\u2014almost 27 percent\u2014say this year’s “somewhat worse.” hardly anybody\u2014just three percent\u2014says it’s even worse than somewhat worse.<\/p>\n

\"on
on the front lines:<\/strong> banto, ekmanian, coladonato.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

breath deep<\/strong><\/p>\n

so what’s going on?<\/p>\n

for one thing, we’re seeing practitioners report a more manageable workload. some have managed to add staff. some are culling clients. some are better organized.<\/p>\n

and some have managed none of the above.<\/p>\n

the general staffing shortage is now the second-most common problem, reported by 37 percent. more serious by far is clients who are late or unprepared, a problem for exactly half of the respondents. and, of course, some hapless practitioners have bad clients and not enough staff to deal with them.<\/p>\n

pricing and billing rates ranked third, at 31 percent.<\/p>\n

borbala banto, founder and ceo of concierge cpas, found a good solution, albeit not easy. her firm’s having a “much better” season, and this is why: “we overstaffed the office to anticipate growth and a smoother tax season.”<\/p>\n

compare that with bruce ekmanian, owner of ekmanian tax & accounting in california. he’s having a “somewhat worse” year\u00a0 because “with professional staff shortages, i have had to bring in a contract tax preparer.”<\/p>\n

someone with a small practice in virginia has found a magic combo: “we’re firm with client internal deadlines so we can concentrate on returns being filed by 4\/15,” the anonymous respondent says, adding, “breathe deep and do yoga. i’m limiting my hours so i don’t work on sunday.”<\/p>\n

better organization<\/strong><\/p>\n

tony coladonato’s year is about the same as last year. he’s having trouble with too few staff and too many unprepared clients\u2014a rock-and-hard-place situation\u2014but he’s making up for it with better organization,<\/p>\n

“we’re doing a better job of managing workflow,” he says, “with project tracking & managing client expectations with specific due dates for clients to have their complete tax information to our office in order to avoid their returns being on extension. we do this in particular with our ‘annual \/ tax return only’ clients.”<\/p>\n

someone else is doing somewhat better by “logging each piece of information received, by date, type, and source.”<\/p>\n

and someone else is doing much better, thanks simply to “working 99% remote.”<\/p>\n

and somebody out in everett, wash., is trimming the firm and taking it easy. “not working late,” the anonymous practitioner says, “raising prices, firing clients that want in-person meetings and not willing to pay.”<\/p>\n

respondent comments are by no means consistent. there are problems aplenty. but, generally speaking, it looks like cpa and tax firms are finding solutions to their problems.<\/p>\n

the reasons<\/strong><\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

they\u2019re seeing a better season \u2013 better than last year\u2019s good season! \u2013 for several reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n