Jackie Meyer, founder and president of tax planning software provider TaxPlanIQ, wrote that recent research has found that 99% of accountants experience burnout.
Although this is disturbing on a personal level, Meyer wrote for CPA Practice Advisor that it can ultimately affect a company's bottom line. In her article, she examines how firms prevent burnout and increase their profit margins simultaneously.
Burnout is most common in accounting during tax season. Meyer cited a survey from
FloQast that found that close to all accountants questioned felt some level of burnout, with roughly one in four feeling it at a medium to high level.
She defines what “burnout” means by citing the definition of the American Psychological Association, which says that burnout is feeling overwhelmed and worn out from too much stress over a drawn-out period of time. It is not merely about being tired, it is also about deep exhaustion that impacts individuals emotionally, physically and mentally.
Burnout signs could include feeling constantly tired, relationship changes, having a difficult time focusing, and, at times, resorting to things like medication or, in extreme instances, substance use to cope with the feeling. It is hard on both the individuals feeling it and affects the quality of their work.
Tax season usually feels like a “necessary evil” for a company's success, bringing with it a lot of stress. The temptation is to believe that this stress is just part and parcel of the job or attribute it to demanding clients, Meyer explained.
But realistically, a lot of the “overwhelm” emanates from not having strong enough plans, boundaries or systems in place. It is crucial to realize that individuals are not at the mercy of these various stressors. By accelerating one's planning and management game, Meyer said a person can take control and make tax season more manageable.
Making advance plans not only makes life easier for individuals and those in their teams, but it also enhances the firm's client services, Meyer said. With some smart adjustments, the stress can be dialed down to stop burnout from happening.
Meyer said that it is all about perspective and focusing on what can be changed. It is true that tax season is inevitable, but the way the firm handles it can be managed and changed.
She enumerated some of the main reasons why burnout is prevalent in tax firms:
• High workload: Tax season can be very stressful given the long hours and high client expectations. This can result in a heavy workload and increased stress levels.
• Tax law complexity: Tax laws and regulations are complicated and constantly evolving. Keeping on top of the changes can be both challenging and time-consuming.
• Client expectations: Clients usually have high expectations and meeting these can put a lot of pressure on tax firm owners.
• Lack of work-life balance: During tax season it can be hard to maintain a healthy work-life balance that can lead to burnout.
• Technological challenges: Adapting to new tax software or dealing with technical issues can also result in stress and burnout.
• Tax preparation vs. tax planning: Most likely the most significant reason why so many tax professionals feel burnout is due to not offering tax planning and are only concentrating on tax prep and bookkeeping. Once individuals move to tax advisory services, they can begin providing high-ticket services that will increase their revenue without having to increase the hours they have to work. Business owners that do tax planning can also see a 30%-plus year-over-year average revenue growth versus tax preppers at only 9%.
Meyer also wrote about how reducing burnout can result in higher-value clients and thus help to scale the business.
Meyer said one of the most significant benefits of reducing burnout is having more time to research tax planning strategies and how the firm can charge higher rates for less work. This means working fewer hours, making more money and creating a better quality of life.
Meyer said that in her personal experience running a full-service accounting firm for six years, she had built her firm to $350,000 in revenue with four contractors on staff, although was still working 60 hours per week. Over time, she was experiencing burnout and felt she was not offering the value she wanted to her clients and realized she needed change.
She started providing tax planning and advisory services and soon came to realize that manual tax planning is difficult. There are too many strategies to memorize, calculations to perform and presentations to build to demonstrate value to the client. It could take days to put all of this together for just one client, she said.
But when Meyer presented the results to the client saving them tens of thousands in taxes, it was all worth it. She found that even with all of the manual tax planning work, my firm started changing with clients very happy.
The firm’s revenue began a steep rise, and Meyer was able to work fewer hours while making more revenue with a lesser number of clients. She was also able to spend a lot more time with her family, which was her ultimate goal. Her firm grew to $900,000 in revenue with 10 part-time staff, and she was working just four hours per week. She suggests that others can do the same. However, this takes the right tools and planning to help facilitate staying ahead and serving clients at the highest level.