David R. Peters, CPA, CFP, CLU, CPCU
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of the South Carolina CPA Report
As the accounting pipeline continues to dwindle, many of us in the accounting profession have begun re-examining the seemingly tried-and-true “facts” about our industry. We are now questioning how we incentivize employees, bill clients, and even how we promote the profession to soon-to-be college graduates. While many of us are prepared to wrestle with these questions, there is one uncomfortable question that directly affects how we work (and seems preposterous to even think about) – is it possible to eliminate busy season?
For some CPAs, busy season is a badge of honor. Maybe it represents “paying your dues” or indicates that you “belong” among your peers. That being said, you would be hard-pressed to find a tax accountant or auditor who isn’t thinking about how lovely life would be without busy season after several weeks of 16-hour days workdays.
So, what holds us back from this utopia? It boils down to a few key things – client expectations, industry expectations, and our own expectations of ourselves.
Deliverables as a Byproduct
Whenever the subject of eliminating busy season is brought up, the immediate opposition is that clients would never go for it. The feeling is that clients expect deliverables by certain dates to run their businesses, and we owe it to them to meet this expectation. While this seems like a noble reason at first, my question is always, who sets this expectation? Why do clients expect auditors to pull multiple all-nighters to get the audit report out? Why are tax accountants expected to sacrifice family time and personal time to meet a two-week turnaround time? Is this a client expectation? Or is this an expectation that we have set?
I recently interviewed Samantha Bowling, CPA, on the Accounting Podcast about prospecting new clients. She rightly points out that the decision to take on a new client is two-fold. It is the client’s decision as to whether they want the CPA for a particular engagement, but it is also the CPA’s decision as to whether the client is a good fit for the firm. A client who never wants to file an extension on their tax return may not be a good fit for a firm. A client who doesn’t respect the fact that you are not available on weekends for appointments may not be a good fit either. Setting boundaries and saying no does not make us bad CPAs. On the contrary, it makes us responsible and human.
This is not to say that regulatory deadlines should be ignored. Certainly, at some point, the books need to be closed, the audit report needs to be issued, and the tax return must be filed. However, we need clients to understand that the deliverable is only a small part of what they pay for. They are really paying for our expertise, advice, and the strategy that we can help them implement to save money and run a more efficient and better business. The deliverable is merely a byproduct of this. Meeting a two-week turnaround time for a deliverable is much less important than these higher-level strategic goals. If we can help the client understand this, then the busy season deadline becomes less imposing.
Focusing on Quality Over Quantity
A close friend who recently retired from the CPA profession has always said that CPAs are “gluttons for punishment.” We “admire” our peers when they tell us their billable hours for the past busy season. Some feel this number gives them “a sense of belonging to the profession.”
This is the image we have historically portrayed, so why shouldn’t our clients expect it? Many in our industry (including me) have written or talked about moving away from billable hours because it feeds this obsession. However, I think the bigger issue is that we have lost sight of what got us into the profession in the first place.
I don’t think many CPAs get into the industry because of their love of 1040s or signing off on financial statements. I genuinely think that most people enter the industry because of their love of helping others succeed, whether that means helping someone save money on their tax return or helping them implement a process that may make operations more efficient. Yet somehow, our industry has set the precedent that more clients are better, more deliverables are better, and more billable hours are better. If we are going to change our story and eliminate busy season, we need to emphasize quality over quantity. We need to remember why we wanted to be CPAs in the first place.
Changing How We View Our Own Worth
For many years, accountants have been told that their jobs would be taken over by machines. I will never forget sitting in my introductory accounting courses and being told how automation would essentially take over the industry, and I would be left without a job. This hasn’t happened and most likely never will because the worth of accountants is not in their ability to put the debits on the left and the credits on the right. The value is in our ability to think critically, objectively, and strategically. It is our ability to analyze a situation and be the voice of reason for clients, colleagues, and society.
If we are going to eliminate busy season, we also need to be confident in the skills that we bring to the table. This concept really comes back to how we vet our clients. We owe it to ourselves and our clients to give them our best efforts. We need to work with people we think we can help – and not be afraid when it causes us to turn away business. If we emphasize the quality of client relationships over the number of clients, the stress of busy season is reduced. We worry less about our ability to get around to everyone and more about doing what is right for that particular client at that specific moment.
A World Without Tax Season?
Changing perceptions is never easy. However, the good news is that most of the items mentioned here are within our control. We can change how clients, the industry, and we view our work – and this should make us optimistic.
Required Disclosure: This is not specific investment advice. Financial and Investment Advisory services offered through CFO Capital Management. Brokerage and Custodial Services offered through TD Ameritrade Institutional, member FINRA and SIPC. CFO-CM and TDA are not affiliated. Tax services are provided by Peters Tax Preparation & Consulting, PC and are not provided by CFO Capital Management.
