Shane Lukas from AVN advises on how to improve the tax season
January is over! Tax returns are done! So, how are you feeling?
Drained of energy and the capacity to walk and talk? Or full of life and enthusiasm since January was just like any other month?
(I realise that January isn’t tax return season everywhere. But if you’re familiar with this kind of stress and exhaustion during your own busy period, read on; this is relevant.)
After 25 years of working with accountants, I’ve seen how utterly horrible January can be. Working seven days a week, 12 or 14 hours a day. Constantly under pressure. No time or energy for family or friends. Absolutely shattered by the end of the month.
What really amazes me is that accountants continue to put up with it.
After all, if you know something is going to be this bad, don’t you try to change it for the better?
Say you previously had a terrible experience driving into the centre of a big city. You got caught in the one-way system, took many wrong turns, arrived late for your appointment and ended up with a fine for entering a bus lane. It was highly stressful – and expensive!
If you had to make the same journey again, you’d prepare better, wouldn’t you? You’d check out the one-way system and where the bus lanes start and end. Maybe you’d even decide to go by train instead.
So, why don’t accountants do the same with tax returns?
There seems to be a widespread assumption that this is just how it is. That it’s always going to be stressful and there’s nothing you can do about it, so you just have to put up with it.
This isn’t due to a lack of advice on how to tackle the issue. At AVN we’ve been banging on for years about communicating with clients early, being strict with your own deadlines (not HMRC’s) and taking a stronger line with any clients who try to take advantage. We aren’t the only ones either. The accountancy media is full of tips and recommendations, along with real life stories from accountants who have all their tax returns wrapped up by September.
And yet … there are still far too many accountants who stumble blinking into the morning of 1 February, having not seen daylight for the last month.
Thankfully, I think this is changing. Technology is making it easier than ever to automate reminders and for clients to submit information. Outsourcing is being used more and more frequently as that too takes advantage of technology to make the process faster and more reliable. And perhaps a younger generation of accountants has seen how their predecessors suffered and simply said ‘NO’.
Our AVN practice growth experts have reported a definite mindset shift amongst some (admittedly not all) of the accountants they coach. These accountants are getting strict with their clients and actually sticking to the deadlines they’ve set. It’s noticeable how much more confident and in control they feel when they take this approach.
When I started writing this, I planned to give you some key tips on preparing for the next tax season well ahead of time. But you’ve already read that kind of advice before and either ignored it or felt you couldn’t action it for some reason.
Instead, I’m going to ask you one question: do you believe a stress-free January is possible?
If you don’t, no amount of tips and advice will make a difference. You’re stuck in the mindset of ‘this is just how it is.’
But if you do, I’ll leave you with another question, what’s stopping you making it happen?
Shane Lukas – AVN for Accountants
I’m running a 45 minute webinar that aims to give you the tools (not least a shift in mindset) to take your accountancy practice forwards. It’s not specifically about preparing for tax season but it will certainly give you some ideas. Find out more.