Small firms think ‘challenges when working with the IRS’ is a bigger PITA than trying to find and retain talent according to the results of the 2022 AICPA Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) CPA Firm Top Issues Survey released by the AICPA this week.
The IRS issue didn’t resonate only with the smaller firms. It also ranked as the No. 2 concern for firms that employ 11–20 professionals and third among those that employ 21 or more professionals — which generally have more resources to deal with such challenges.
CPA firms with 11-20 professionals and 21 or more professionals report finding qualified staff is their #1 concern, with the 21+ firms citing retaining qualified staff as their second biggest concern. No surprise there. Responses were collected from 752 firms that were provided a list of issues and asked to rank them in order from biggest pain in the ass to least on a one to five scale. The only group unconcerned with finding qualified staff was — surprise — the sole practitioners.
If you were wondering what keeps accounting firm partners up at night there you go.
