Practice Management and Tax Practice in the Current Environment

2022 Annual Survey of New York State Practitioners

Susan B. Anders, PhD, CPA, CGMA, and Carol M. Fischer, PhD, CPA (Inactive)

In BriefProfessional accountants continued to deal with practice-related, economic, social, and tax law changes resulting from the global pandemic during the 2022 busy season, as well as a continuation and worsening of issues from 2021. IRS staff shortages contributed to long waits to reach IRS helplines and a ballooning backlog of unprocessed returns, which created a challenging environment for practitioners. CPAs kept up with tax law and pandemic-related changes, and they developed expertise in newer areas such as cryptocurrency to assist clients. Many participants in this year's survey have adopted new practice management tools in response to remote or virtual office operations, such as document drop-off procedures and virtual meetings with clients. Accounting professionals are facing significant practice management challenges–including attracting and retaining sufficient staff to meet client demands–that exacerbate the pressures associated with remote work. Not only must CPAs design and manage their own remote work structure, but many are assisting clients with remote work issues. The practice management tools that facilitate remote work have required professionals to add new cybersecurity resources to prevent phishing and malware attacks. All of these trials contribute to an environment in which CPAs must constantly reassess the best way to deploy talent and manage resources.Survey respondents relied on technology tools to help them with tax compliance and research activities. They expressed satisfaction with the features of tax preparation and research software used to meet client needs for compliance and planning, with modest increases in almost all ratings relative to the previous year. Most survey respondents use the IRS and New York State tax department websites, as well as a variety of other free online resources, to assist in tax research, but ratings for these products generally declined slightly. Although some comments from respondents reflected concerns with commercial software customer service, other remarks offered insights on big picture issues such as tax policy and the impact of complexity on practitioners. New York CPAs have endeavored to serve their clients in challenging circumstances, and have once again provided valuable practice information to their fellow professionals in responding to this survey.