What do tax professionals and CPAs do after a long tax season?
Probably pack their bags and go on a very long vacation for at least six months.
Right?
Not really!
It is generally perceived that once the tax season is over, CPAs rest till the next season. Of course, a huge responsibility is relieved from their shoulders, and they may rest. But for only some time. For business continuity, most of the leading CPAs seize opportunities after the tax season. They organize their work, become better, and improve their efficiency.
Below we have discussed 7 crucial activities that every tax professional or CPA firm should conduct once the tax season is over. Read on to understand these activities.
Here’s What CPA and Accounting Firms Can Do After Tax Season
It is imperative to keep track of your documents and strategically handle your financial planning once tax season is over. Let’s see how you can do it.
1. Financial Consulting
CPAs are skilled individuals who have reached a successful career through consistent learning and development. These experts can use their knowledge to offer financial consulting to clients.
In fact, it is believed that your tax professional or CPA can become your route to cost-efficient execution. These individuals can suggest methods to improve profits and reduce risks in investments.
Multiple CPAs specialize in dedicated zones such as non-profit formation, contracts, forensic accounting, and strategic planning. These are some of the amazing skills which can be used throughout the year by concerned organizations.
Apart from accounting-related consulting, CPAs can advise the payroll team, overlook bookkeeping activities, and keep a close eye on daily accounting. They can find solutions to recurring bookkeeping problems and tax-related issues.
2. Extension Handling
In reality, taxes don’t end on the last tax day. Multiple organizations ask for extensions, which means that taxes are never really completed. The pressure may release, and stress may reduce, but the responsibility of creating financial statements and meeting specific goals never ends.
You can utilize the low-season right after the tax season to fulfill these extensions. There’s no need to wait for the end extension day for filing returns. Complete the job sooner and move to more strategic tasks given in this list.
3. Tax Record Management
Manage your tax records. There are multiple things that you may need to do. Check what are these:
- The IRS can select you (or the client) for an audit. If that happens, you need your records and updated documents. In that case, you need copies of receipts and returns.
- There can be an error and you may then have to make amendments to this error. In that case, too, you need data to figure out what mistakes you have made.
Hence, you should keep your tax records updated for at least 3-5 years. This would allow you to access data immediately without any hassle. By hosting your accounting applications and data on cloud, you can easily store all your crucial documents.
4. Audit Yourself
After surviving a hectic and crucial tax season, check if you need to make adjustments to your records and personal finances. There’s no need to go to college and gain a degree to audit your financial documents after the tax season. You can do it yourself and see if your workflows and processes are giving you a valuable outcome or not.
For instance, first, check the money you owe. If the money you owe is more than the revenue, it is highly likely that you were mistakenly or knowingly under-withholding your wages. Similarly, if your tax refund is huge, you are likely to give more money to the government. This means you need to adjust the withholdings for a balance.
Auditing yourself (or the client) once the tax season is over gives you a clear insight into your situation. Hence, get to the task as soon after the tax day has passed.
5. Stay In Touch With Clients
You may have clients who need support from you during the tax season. But this doesn’t have to mean that you can’t stay in touch with your clients after the tax season. You can personally get to know your clients, reach out to them to offer financial advice, or simply connect.
Here’s what you can do:
- Send out periodic or monthly newsletters that contain valuable content for users.
- Plan a party with your clients and unwind and relax.
- Send out best wishes and thank your clients for staying connected.
- Get on a call to deliver the latest changes in tax reform.
6. Plan For Next Season
After the tax season, you can also plan for the next tax season. Believe us, it is not too early. In fact, starting this early can help you plan accordingly and plan better.
Here are a set of tips from our experts:
- Plan the recruitment requirements of your team. See if you need more people, hire them, and train them while you still have time.
- Create an online or offline income tax course center to train new students and offer them application-based knowledge.
- Plan for the expansion you have been thinking about and work on it throughout the year.
- Plan the relocation or new office setup that was due because of the tax season.
- Check and audit your software to analyze and evaluate whether you need a new tax software or not.
- Create your website and promote it for future benefits. If you already have one, then make it better and more feasible for your users and customers.
7. Plan Workshops and Seminars
While you may not get time to get involved in a hectic schedule as it were during the tax season, you can still make up for this by continuing your education.
You have two options here:
Either you learn, or you teach.
If you are a beginner still trying to adjust to the market requirements and demands, then it is the right time to learn and proceed towards career growth. In that case, you can attend workshops, seminars, and online courses.
However, if you are an expert, then you can train and teach. You can be the person delivering knowledge to beginner-level CPAs. You can start online classes or arrange workshops. This will not only help you keep engrossed but also improve your connections.
Conclusion
If you are struggling to keep yourself engaged after the tax season, read the above points, and start your strategic planning today. From managing your documents to planning valuable seminars, you can achieve a lot in this time. Instead of wasting it on activities that don’t matter, spend time improving your efficiency and productivity.