Does thinking about the upcoming tax season make you a regular investment holder in Tums? If it does, you can help your plight by investing in highly-skilled personnel to alleviate the inevitable burden tax season brings, instead of investing in antacids.

You can eliminate tax season burdens by hiring highly trained and knowledgeable professionals on contract or full-time. Most likely your staff is working at its full potential already—and during tax season, above and beyond. This is a recipe for costly mistakes, which can be avoided by hiring additional temporary personnel such as:

• Tax Accountants.  A highly skilled and experienced tax accountant can provide services that your existing personnel may not be able to. Tax accountants specialize in tax advice, tax liability, and tax returns. They double as advisors on tax efficient business decisions.
• Sales Accountants. These are accountants that specialize in establishing an accurate picture of your businesses sales revenue, while verifying and recording revenue from different sources, like billing customers, and maintaining customer records.
• Tax Analysts. Tax Analysts provide an essential set of business services. They are trained in highly specialized areas like interpreting and complying with state, local, international tax statutes, regulations, and legislation.
• Tax Preparers. Tax preparers can assist with a host of tax duties that tend to hit all at once. They can assist your staff with tax returns, reviewing financial records such as income statements, and documentation of expenditures to determine forms needed to prepare tax returns. Tax preparers assist with complex tasks like consulting tax law handbooks for preparation of atypical returns. They act as auditors and check data input and verify totals on forms to detect any errors as well.
• Payroll Tax Analysts. These professionals are trained to help you with all payroll-related compliance, and accounting functions. A payroll tax analyst ensures that your business is in compliance with federal, state, and local payroll regulations. They research and recommend best practices to optimize payroll tax processes.
• Corporate Tax Accountants. Corporations are complex. You may need a tax accountant who is trained to prepare complex tax returns, and filings for property and sales tax, sales and use tax, premium and self-procurement tax, federal excise or property tax. Corporate Tax Accountants are trained to do all of these.

Hiring specially trained professionals during tax season is something that everyone from small business owners to owners of corporations does on a regular basis. This extra staffing during tax season will help to eliminate stress that comes before, during and after tax time. Best of all, you can invest more of your money into your business rather than in Tums.

If you’re searching for additional support during tax season, The A&F Group can help.  Just call us today at (302) 504-9870!

Chances are, you’re already tensing up, thinking about the busy season: Incredibly long work weeks. Colds, headaches, dizziness, weight swings, stomach pains… the list of ailments can grow as you get less sleep. And drinking too much coffee to stay alert during the day means you might need to take medication or drink alcohol to get to sleep at night. The result? Feelings of irritation and anxiety.

It’s no wonder so many accountants burn out after the stress of tax season. What can you to do avoid becoming one of them?

1. Take the Time NOW to Get Organized

Having a disorganized workspace will only add to your stress. Especially in the accounting business, piles of papers and files quickly get out of control, spilling all over the floor and teetering on the edges of crowded desks. And what happens when a client calls and you can’t find their information easily?

Before the busy season ramps up, prepare for the onslaught of work. Arrange your files, clean out your Inbox and set aside an area for projects that can wait until the season is over. And once work starts coming in, spend a couple minutes at the end of every day to tidy up your office. You’ll feel empowered and well-prepared for the next day.

2. Start or Revise an Exercise Program

If you don’t already exercise regularly, start now. Even a 20-minute daily walk will help prepare your body for the upcoming onslaught. If you already work out, make sure you don’t slack off because you don’t have the time. Just cut back. If it takes too much time to go to the gym, do light exercise at work. Take the stairs to the office, power walk around the parking lot or do squats at your desk. Whatever revs up your circulation and helps your heart pump in a healthy way.

3. Eat Right.

Eat three meals a day, along with healthy snacks. Don’t skip breakfast or work through lunch no matter how busy you are. You’ll get fatigued or starved and end up filling the void with junk food. Instead, keep healthy snacks like fruit, nuts, yogurt, or hard-boiled eggs on hand. But don’t use food to relieve your stress. Try stretching, deep breathing, or a little exercise instead.

4. Give Yourself a Break.

In the past, you may have found yourself working 10-14 hours a day during busy season, which is not unusual. But you’re only asking for more stress, the more hours you work. Schedule in some breaks for yourself: decide in advance each day what time you’re going to leave the office, and stick to it. On a regular basis – at least one day a week – put aside all thoughts of taxes, numbers, and difficult clients and treat yourself. Go to a movie, enjoy a massage or plan an evening out with friends.

5. Remember You’re in Charge.

Tell your clients that you can’t work miracles and give them deadlines. They need to know up front that they MUST hand in their materials by a particular date or you’ll be filing for an extension on their behalf. End of story. Don’t let a client’s procrastination put you into a panic on April 14^th.

At The A&F Group, we know the ups and downs of the accounting world. If you’re looking for more tips to alleviate on-the-job stress, please give us a call today and we’ll be happy to share.

According to US Department of Labor statistics, employment opportunities for accountants and auditors are expected to increase by 18 percent between the years 2006 and 2016. This trend is faster than the average for any other occupation. It’s a great time to be in the industry, and an even better time to keep your skills sharp.

If you don’t have the time to fit a real-time class into your busy schedule, here are some websites that offer career training, advancement within your current job, or skill acquisition. Some even offer CEU credit.

• ExpertRating.com: ExpertRating’s online accounting course offers a unique opportunity to achieve certification from one of the leaders in online skill testing and certification.
• CPA-Resource.com: CPA Resource is a training and development website for CPA professionals. They provide unique up-to-date CPA training opportunities through audio conferences, seminars, webinars and articles.
• AICPALearning.org: As the national, professional association for CPAs, the AICPA offers on-site, off-site or online training programs.
• CPEOnline.com: The Center for Professional Education Inc. is America’s leader in providing the up-to-the-minute, highly specialized continuing education programs that CPAs and financial professionals need to earn CPE Credits and become more successful in today’s rapidly changing world.
• DWMBeancounter.com: As the cartoons may indicate, while this site is all business, it’s a little less serious and a lot more fun. Bean Counter is primarily an educational and information site that offers free accounting and bookkeeping tutorials/courses, tests, and quizzes.

Ready to take the next step?

Here at The A&F Group, we help talented accounting and finance professionals find challenging career opportunities with top businesses across the country. When you’re trained and ready to take the next step in your career, search our available accounting and finance jobs!