Happy New Year...and Another Tax Season!

As if it wasn’t hard enough that the CPA business is so competitive, the firms we’re hearing from are telling us that they are also having a difficult time simply running the business.

Over 60% of the CPAs responding to the RF Resources New York Metro Area CPA Economic Outlook Survey say they are focusing more attention, more time, and/or more money on just “finding and retaining quality staff.” True,
the problem can’t be as bad as it was pre-recession. But when more than 60% of firms are telling us they have an issue, then I think it’s a real issue.

Some of the same firms that are hiring at the staff level are also looking for “partners with a book of business” and a merger or acquisition. That might help explain why, personally, I’ve been so busy lately. It seems like every other firm is hiring, merging, acquiring, or dealing with retirement. And now, because of the RF Resources Metro New York CPA Survey, we know how really true it is.

Some people just want to move on with their lives. One New York City CPA, a name partner in his firm, checked off “succession planning” as an important issue, and he tells me he just wants to retire. “I’m getting old and tired,” he says. Believe me, I know the feeling.

Click here to join the RF Resources New York Metro Area CPA Economic Outlook Survey. Participants get a special report of the results.

Another CPA, one of three partners in a firm with an office in White Plains, N.Y., is simply worried about, in his own words, “maintaining current clients.”

A third CPA - this one a senior manager at a firm in Uniondale, N.Y., on Long Island - is worried about “maintaining work flow” at the firm.

None of these are easy problems to solve. But, as we look fresh at the New Year, I’m sure that more and more CPAs I know will be thinking hard about enduring yet another tax season.

Despite it all, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and best wishes on a prosperous and successful New Year.

If you’d like to discuss this or any other issues related to your practice or career, please don’t hesitate to contact me: My direct line is (212) 490-9700. Or email me rfligel@rf-resources.com. Absolute confidentiality always assured. - Robert Fligel, CPA