Posted on 11/12/2025 12:39:05 PM PST by AAABEST
Desperately seeking a Tax manager, or at least a CPA who can work this tax season.
The USA is currently experiencing a terrible, stubborn and ongoing shortage of qualified CPAs, to the point where many firms are having to turn away all new business.
We've been forced to farm out returns and other tasks overseas, but have been very disappointed. Shoddy, inconsistant work, and none are capable of reviewing or signing off on returns. We have one young Filipino who has a great work ethic and has been excellent in admin and basic tax work, but his skillset is not at the CPA level.
We would LOVE to hire qualified American CPAs, but they don't exist. Over the last 2 years, we've spent TENs of thousands on head hunters, who have sent us nothing but losers who crap out, don't want to work or scare our clients off. I have some stories that I won't trouble the forum with.
If you are that person, or know that person, please PM me. We are in Fort Myers, FL, but the candidate can live anywhere in the USA. We pay well - 6 figures - for remote work.
The candidate will work as an independent contractor. We use Ultratax on the cloud as accounting software, hence should have experience with that. We do a lot of international work, so experience there helps, but is not required. Quickbooks experience is a plus.
Sounds like you are committed to hiring CPA's only, but you have to ask yourself if you are looking for somebody who can touch all components of the practice, or crank out returns. During the filing season, and even the first months of extension season, getting numbers out the door requires tonnage more than expertise. At least from what I have seen in the past 50+ years.
I’ll pass this on to my friend. He’s retired, just over 70, I think, but he still takes on some work around tax time. He was controller for a small/medium sized outfit for a number of years. just not sure if he wants to get too deep into it.
And yes, he’s a CPA.
Good idea - get them fresh out of college and then offer to help finance the CPA exam training, if they don’t have that already. From what I recall, an accounting degree, even a masters, does not fully prepare you for the CPA exam. But it’s a good start.
Try contacting bdaspinwall@gmail.com Brian Aspinwall. Sharp as a tack,for real not like Biden. WP tax associates .
I don’t know anything about the accounting business; but I’ve learned a lot about lazy, dishonest, narcissist executives and managers.
I got a degree in Accounting in my 30’s, paid for by my employer while I was working FT as a Developer. It’s the first time in my life that I made A’s. My employer demanded I move to Accounting to sit for the CPA and I refused. I made more money that they did.
My Best Friend got me into it and he’s a CPA now.
EAs are usually very good preparers, 1040s etc., and yes perhaps even better than CPAs.
We really need someone who can review and understand personal and business returns comprehensively after the preparers are done.
We also need help managing all the prep work.
Why would a “qualified” CPA wish to be a remote temp at your firm? I have my corp taxes prepared by a CPA who is a partner in his firm. The tax department is employed year around. No one bills less than $500/hr. You are paying chump change.
What type of company uses a part time seasonal CPA to do tax work?
Yeah well lazyness, dishonesty and narcissism doesn’t apply to us in any way, at all...ever. We’re hard working believers who’ve run an ethical operation for two decades and couldn’t get away with any of what you like to ascribed to people you don’t even know.
Not sure why you’d assume any of that with zero information.
CPA here, but happily retired.
I kept my license current just to handle audits, expert witness, litigation consulting, tax court and collections cases. It’s harder getting out of practice than it was getting into it. I’m also a CMA, CIA, and several other useless credentials as I took the exams many years ago when I was a tax law professor.
I just spoke with another firm that does about 2,500 returns and the two partners are calling it quits as they have the same problem as you, i.e. finding good help.
I wish you the best in finding someone. I’m at the point in my life that I wouldn’t accept a full time position no matter the compensation.
🙏
My theory was a 10% increase per year and lose 10% of the clients. They stayed anyway and many new clients wanted to come in.
About 45 years ago when we did taxes by hand with a calculator, I started a new charge for clients on our return control sheets. It was a PITA charge. If anyone asked, it was a Pennsylvania Income Tax Adjustment charge as Pennsylvania Income was different than Federal Income.
It actually stood for a “Pain in the ass” charge! 😁
Integrity is like virginity, you can only lose it once.
Instead of trying to land CPA Superman, identify work that could be done by a Lois Lane now done by people with high skill levels and hire a Lois Lane.
Maybe hold classes during slack times.
Read this redacted report to learn and pass it on to the next person on the circulation list.
Not sure how the "chump change" or "temp" ideas got into your tiny brain, but there's always at least one thread imbecile. Thanks for signing up.
Technical skills can be learned.
Behavior is hard to change.
You don’t want to risk losing a valued client.
I had my own firm for many years. In hiring, I had rules that guided me.
1. Never hire anyone that is unemployed.
2. Find good prospects and go after them. I hired many good tax preparers from H&R Block and other firms. It doesn’t pay to train someone as there is no room for mistakes.
I don’t think big companies want their financial secrets to be able to hit the Internet.
Thank you t&r.
Given that you’ve been here for nearly a quarter century, your screen name is beyond hilarious.
There was just a mass exodus of senior IRS employees who finally took retirement. Spoke with several of them recently, one was with the IRS for 38 years, most working in Appeals.
It is total chaos in the IRS right now as Biden’s new IRS hires were terminated and the old established employees took the retirement package.
You company might want to focus on its strengths.
Insurance tax law is a specialty in itself.
Your form could develop check lists by specialty/country & form line descriptors.
One account might check depreciation, another sales tax payment, etc.
I’ve been wanting to learn and then post up critical points of the Florida Building Codes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.