“In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you,” went the screencaps and tweets that made rounds online in 2022. The quote originated from Everything Everywhere All At Once, where the central couple struggled to file their laundromat’s tax return in their main universe.
This struggle exists in real life, even amplified during the accounting busy season. With fewer people interested in doing anyone’s taxes anymore, firms scramble to meet client demands as tax deadlines loom. The numbers say it all.
Tax Busy Season Staffing Dilemma
According to Bloomberg, the United States has 340,000 fewer accountants than five years ago. The talent pipeline corroborates this number: Accounting graduates decreased by 7.8% from 2021-22, accelerating a downward trend that has been developing since 2015-16.
This talent shortage is most acute during the accounting busy season. When firms struggle to fill urgent vacancies, existing professionals bear the brunt of additional workload nearing tax deadlines and the end of the fiscal year, resulting in a higher likelihood of errors.
In 2023 alone, over 720 companies had to correct their financial statements due to staffing challenges. If this trend continues, firms risk triggering market uncertainties and shaking investor confidence.
It’s become clearer that an adequate, well-supported workforce during the accounting busy season impacts compliance and business outcomes.
Tax Season Survival: Understanding the Talent Exodus
Several factors drive the shortage of accountants impacting tax season preparedness. Below, we list four.
- Perception Problem
Accountants are wholly misunderstood. If you’re familiar with the sitcom The Big Bang Theory, there’s a clip aired during the 2012 Emmy Awards where Penny quips that accountants “just add up the votes.”
Her view highlights the persistent stereotype that accountants are robotic number-crunchers devoid of creativity and social skills.
Research by software provider FreeAgent underscores the same perception problem:
These stereotypes fail to capture the dynamic and increasingly strategic nature of modern accounting. For the profession to attract and retain talent, CPA societies, educators, and practitioners must do more to highlight the impact of today’s accountants.
- Work-Life Balance Concerns
Ironically, the shifting role of the modern accountant has become a cause for concern. Many businesses are increasingly relying on accountants for advisory roles.
So, when it comes time to file client income taxes, accountants’ demanding workload intensifies further. They face long hours navigating the filing process while providing financial guidance and completing other accounting processes. This simultaneous responsibility blurs the lines between work and personal life during busy seasons.
With frequently evolving financial regulations and compliance requirements added to the equation, accountants are in a perpetual state of professional recalibration, often without additional compensation.
- Educational and Professional Barriers
The cost of an accounting degree can be prohibitive. To qualify for the CPA license, aspiring professionals must comply with the 150-hour rule, 30 hours more than the typical four-year degree. Essentially, it’s five years of contending with rising college tuition costs and other fees.
Then, they must pass four four-hour exams within an 18-month window. Once they pass, they must complete a year of supervised work experience with a licensed CPA.
Despite projections of about 130,800 job postings annually, high school students increasingly favor other financial and STEM-focused majors, which are arguably more engaging and promise higher starting salaries.
For these students, investments in an accounting degree don’t seem worthwhile when the path ahead means they supposedly become dull, burnt-out number crunchers with a salary that fails to compensate for the mental toll.
- Great Resignation and Retirement
The thousands of accounting role openings are arguably the result of hemorrhaging talent. Firms are mostly hiring to fill vacant positions, not so much adding to their headcount.
Long work hours due to additional tasks and relatively low, stagnant pay continue to drive younger and mid-career accountants away. Exacerbating the situation, Baby Boomer accountants are closing their books for good, with approximately 75% expected to retire in the next decade.
Without a pool of new talents to replace them, the industry will only continue to age. Indeed, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the median age of accountants and auditors in the US in 2023 was 44.9.
The double whammy of resignation and retirement fuels a vicious cycle in which the talent shortage leads to even fewer accountants. Failure to address this crisis will leave the industry with empty positions and a gap in institutional knowledge.
Strategies for Easing the Tax Season Burden
Unlike the protagonists of Everything Everywhere All At Once, accounting firms can’t just leap into alternate universes where accounting shortages and the tax busy season are nonexistent. But we do have a few strategy suggestions.
- Invest in Employee Well-Being and Retention
The accounting busy season often pushes professionals to their limits. So, the seemingly most obvious move is for firms to invest proactively in their current workforce. After all, their commitment to hires doesn’t end at the onboarding:
- Competitive Salaries – Keeping pace with market salary rates is still the leading retention strategy. Offering compensation that reflects skills and living costs shows you value your people.
- Attractive Incentives – Providing bonuses for hitting specific targets throughout and at the end of the tax season can help keep morale high. So do benefits like meal allowances.
- Continuous Learning – Providing industry-aligned training opportunities equips your team with the tools and skills to handle tax seasons efficiently, emphasizing career growth and satisfaction.
- Provide Flexible Work Arrangements
More adaptive work models ensure your accountants are not stuck in their office cubicles for over eight hours daily, burning out throughout the tax season. They’re more empowered to balance their professional responsibilities with personal needs.
A flexible work strategy also signals support for employees with diverse personal circumstances. These arrangements can take multiple forms:
- Hybrid – Combining in-office and remote work
- Flex Time – Allowing employees to adjust their working hours
- Compressed Work Weeks – Enabling fewer but longer working days
- Remote – Allowing employees to work outside the office
- Support Work-Life Balance Through Tech
Technological integration can be a lifeline for accounting firms grappling with limited human resources. AI and automation solutions, in particular, streamline repetitive tasks with the following interventions:
Automated Data Collection and Verification
- AI-powered tools that can quickly gather and cross-reference financial documents
- Machine learning algorithms that flag potential discrepancies
- Optical character recognition (OCR) technology for rapid document processing
Cloud-Based Collaboration Platforms
- Real-time document sharing and editing
- Secure access from multiple locations
- Version control and audit trails
Advanced Tax Preparation Software
- Automated compliance checking against Internal Revenue Service regulations
- Verification of estimated taxes
- Integration with various financial systems
Acknowledging the complicated angst over emerging technologies, employers should collaborate with CPA societies and universities in the long term to reshape a curriculum that prepares students to work in tandem with technology.
That way, perhaps those well-suited talents can focus on accountants’ impactful contributions and available prospects instead of their dull, miserable stereotypes.
Related Reading: Smart Tax Preparation: A Practice Guide to Automation
- Embrace Offshoring as a Strategic Solution
Through offshoring, firms can access a diverse pool of qualified accounting professionals versed in modern workflow systems. This model allows firms to manage peak workload periods without the overhead of traditional full-time hiring.
The 2024 Intuit Quickbooks survey reveals compelling benefits:
In this sense, offshoring addresses the fundamental issues driving the accounting talent shortage. By leveraging global talent specifically trained in compliance, firms can mitigate the overwhelming regulatory burden contributing to tax season stress.
When individual staff burnout is reduced, your tax team is less likely to commit errors, maintaining service quality. Understaffed firms should consider offshoring as a viable option.
Related Reading: The Ultimate Guide to Offshore Accounting
The Way Forward for the Accounting Profession
Today’s accounting landscape differs from when Baby Boomer accountants started their careers. With the ongoing staffing crisis, tax season feels like navigating parallel universes of complexity, leaving an already stretched workforce more vulnerable to burnout.
To find its way forward, the profession must be creative and adaptable. By maximizing tech innovations and alternative staffing models like offshoring, firms can survive and thrive during critical periods.
Ultimately, different actors in the profession must work collaboratively. By doing so, they can inspire the next generation to rediscover accounting’s core value: transforming complex financial data into insights that drive informed decisions and sustainable business successes.
Take the Stress Out of Tax Season with TOA Global
TOA Global’s trusted offshoring accounting services can help you bridge staffing gaps and maintain smooth operations during tax seasons and beyond. With a wide pool of US-trained offshore accountants, bookkeepers, and auditors, you can find tailored solutions for your immediate and long-term needs.
Navigate tax season with confidence. Talk to us today.
