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"The number of people taking CPA exams in 2022 was just over 67,000, down from 72,000 in 2021 and short of the institute’s forecast of 74,000, according to a note in AICPA’s annual report published this month. That was the lowest level since the beginning of records for the modern exam in 2006."

For missed rental depreciation, it's really NOT that bad. I just did one this year and it's mostly annoying persnickety checkboxes, a bunch of meaningless-but-required attachments, a couple of lines to fill in, and a reason (t/p didn't know; came for help, we're fixing it). PM me if you want gory details.

I got another reminder from Microsoft on upgrading to Windows 11. I decided to download it and it downloaded seamlessly and later upgraded itself. I don't know how long they will support Windows 11 but it will likely exceed my remaining time as a tax guy. And I now have no need to buy another computer hopefully.

My brother is a workaholic. He works 365 days per week and when he was CEO was monitoring activity on Xmas morning. We always joke that if he "retired" and took a 40 hour per week job it would be part time work.

In my humble opinion, the CPA designation is worth all of the headaches. I'm happy I earned the designation (many years ago) and have absolutely no issue with attaining the required CPE. It's a designation that is still in demand today and offers those who have the initials great professional opportunities.

I have a CPA sister that did the opposite and works too much.

My brother was a CPA and went to work for a company he audited. He was treasurer and moved up to being CEO. Now he's the CFO of a large company. He refused to be a partner of his CPA firm because of the Arthur Andersen meltdown and financial meltdown it caused the partners. He also didn't want the stress of having to bring in clients.

CPA's are even leaving the profession and becoming CFO, comptrollers etc... They no longer have to take CPE hours or be licensed and probably earn more and are less stressed.

It's not just CPA's, but the accounting profession over all. The CPA firm I left in December, where I was a senior staff accountant (CMA and EA), has called me twice asking what they can do to get me to come back. They are so short of help they are looking into contracting with a firm in India to handle the "backroom" tasks such as bookkeeping and tax prep that the staff accountants used to handle.

I should mention, 40 hours per week is enforced at my nephew's firm. The CEO is often in the lobby of the headquarters as people come in as they want people IN THE OFFICE. At the same time management wants them OUT by 5pm and no meetings can be set after 4:30 / 2:30 on Friday. My wife works for a company that says you must work 40 hours but you can show up anywhere from 7am to 9am (thus leaving floats but many leave at 3:30pm). Then consultants set meetings at 5pm on Friday and everyone throws a fit but management quietly ignores it as long as they aren't included in the meeting. My wife's boss tells her to automatically respond with OUT OF OFFICE at that time but she misses a lot of meetings.

From what I've been told it's a three fold problem: it's the extra hours of college that are required. 150 hours versus 120 means you need a 5th year or you are getting your masters. My nephew considered it but that extra year was a deal breaker so he chose the Finance degree. Now he negotiates contracts. The other issue is the extra hours of work a CPA is required to do. His job is 40 hours per week except for 2 weeks at the end of the year when companies get desperate to finalize deals. His CPA friends are working 50-60 hours per week for the same money year round. When you are 20 years old, who wants to commit to that for the next 40 years? The public auditing requirement is perceived as overly burdensome and boring. The perception is that nobody wants to do the job and that's why it's required as a condition. They get low cost labor nobody wants to do.

Here's the full article: https://www.ft.com/content/e8dc2264-6b8d-4ed5-8bbd-e4a67e7d1e46 "The pipeline of new candidates has thinned because university accounting courses have become less popular in the US. Graduates’ starting salaries can also be at least one-fifth higher in finance or technology, and those careers may not require such an expensive professional qualification. “With the length of time it takes to become a partner, the length of time it takes to achieve financial success, the financial model of CPA firms is archaic,” said Alan Whitman, who ran the accounting firm Baker Tilly for seven years until March." Add in the extra year of college needed, long hours and gruntwork for newbies at large firms, perception of boring, etc.

Surveys say that the members of Gen Z don't consider being a CPA to be a desirable profession.

CBS, I'm wondering why. I'm wondering whether the prospect of becoming a CPA has lost some of its appeal for younger folks. I can't imagine that to be the case. From what i know, CPAs serve a more helpful and needed service now more than ever. The number of companies who are sound except for their financial housekeeping seem to be at an all-time high. I've heard of some professional people (doctors, attorneys, etc) regret entering their profession and would not do it again if they were younger and had the choice. I don't know any CPAs who would regret such, although they can be under pressure oftentimes. (I don't know thousands of CPAs but I do know several). The sociologists and such tell us we have left the industrial age and entered the information age. With information at a premium, I believe the demand for the services of a CPA should be at an all-time high. I am inviting discussion on the topic - please ignore that I have not posted in a while.

This is why I still fax them. It's easier, faster and less complicated.

Of course, I said I would live and die with Win 10. Well, since the explosion, I have purchased two new laptops with Win 11; one, because I had to (See FYI Explosion) and the second because it was too good a deal to pass up. Once I did the deed, I didn't look back. I have happy homes for both laptops that I am replacing. That only leaves me with my WORK desktop, if and when I must. Much as we hate it, we have to move with the times and bear in mind that Win 12 Beta is already out. Once the crush is on, Win 11 computers will be at a minimum and pricy. (My thinking, anyhow). I am likely the oldest person on this board, but I don't intend to quit anytime soon.

Age 59 1/2 is 6 months after the taxpayer attains age 59. It was covered in this topic a few years ago. From the top of that topic, scroll down to see my first answer that has a link too.

Online POAs don't jump the queue, it still will take weeks to be processed.

I know this is an older post. Just a suggestion, if your credit is frozen with all three credit bureaus, the ID.ME process or any other process that uses credit information for verification purposes won't work. I set mine up a while back and can't remember if I had to thaw the credit or not. Again, just something to watch out for.

My struggle has been with the CAF unit. I obtained a CAF number numerous years ago. I moved to SC in the fall of 2021. Changed all my addresses on everything. First 2848 I did since the move, I checked the box new address. As of yesterday, the CAF unit still has my old address. I called the EA line and they couldn't help nor could the PPS. No known numbers to contact the CAF unit. The action to take was to fax the information to the CAF unit asking them to update the address. I am not very positive this will work but we'll see. On another note, how can you find the status of a POA that was faxed? I did one yesterday online with the client and it still says pending on my end and no authorizations on the client end. In my experience, the quickest way to get the POA to the CAF is through the PPS. They don't really care for the wait time for the fax to arrive but all I can say is fix the system and make it better for all.

"The Internal Revenue Service is expected to soon restart mailing out the automated collection notices that it paused last year while it tried to catch up on its backlog of unprocessed tax returns." "An estimated 5 million to 8 million taxpayers will begin receiving notices that they owe money to the IRS around the end of May and the beginning of June." Surprise, Surprise

They're going to roll them out in batches, so as not to overwhelm their own phone systems. (And ours!)

FYI Addendum: My IT person took the computer home. He pried it open and removed the battery which had exploded. He took it outside on the concrete, plugged it in and the computer works perfectly. He was shocked that everything survived. I had already ordered a replacement and have gifted the survivor to him. Acer all the way. Sometimes a tragic event has a happy ending.