Sharing our perspective on the latest trends impacting talent acquisition in the accounting industry.
Market Trends: RTO Causing Tax Pros to Head for the Door; 2024 Busy Season Freelancer Trends
Tax Pros Fleeing RTO Firms
- Tax hiring season usually ends on December 31. So, we were surprised to see qualified tax candidates applying to Accountingfly in January and February 2024.
- One explanation: Some candidates were leaving firms that required them to return to the office for the busy season. As one candidate said, “I’m not dealing with a 3-hour daily commute on top of busy season hours.”
2024 Tax Busy Season Freelancers
- Market Trends
- More firms are looking for lower level/tax data entry personnel to replace offshore resources; the cost is higher, but less hassle than managing offshore and dealing with additional compliance
- Demand for reviewers is down this year; have firms staffed up at the Tax Manager level?
- Many smaller firms are seeking freelancers who can help with accounting work before tax prep; candidates with QBO/accounting experience + tax were “hot”
- Pay per return model is not popular with freelancers/contractors
- Software Trends
- Freelancers with Lacerte and Ultratax proficiency were the most requested; CCH Axcess candidates were difficult to find
- Candidate insight: Software proficiency is key to landing contract opportunities; be prepared to discuss the level of knowledge on the platforms you have used.
Salary News: Tax Freelancer Hourly Rates
Speaking of tax freelancers, here’s a snapshot of hourly rate data for freelancers placed by Accountingfly in 2024:
- Tax Review (and/or complex prep) with CPA: $75 – $90/hr
- Most with 20+ years of experience
- Review only or review + complex prep (flow-throughs, multiple S corps, HNWI, equity-based comp, etc.)
- Tax Prep/Review with EA: $40 – $60/hr
- 5 – 20 years experience
- Some experience with complex returns
- Tax Prep/Accounting (no EA/CPA): $25 – $40/hr
- Mostly individual returns
- Typically 5-7 years of experience
Meta-trend to Watch: Is May hiring the new normal?
- 3 years ago, most firms started their hiring processes in July – September.
- In 2023, the market shifted: more firms started searches with Accountingfly in May than in any other month. The result was that more searches were successfully concluded by August, and there were fewer November/December “last minute” searches.
- Earlier hiring = better candidates, less deadline pressure, better onboarding so new hires are trained and contributing by the fall, but 2-3 months of extra salary expense.
- Late hiring = 2-3 months of salary savings, but less time to hire and fewer candidates to choose from.
- Which way will the market go in 2024?
Working with Accountingfly
If you’re interested in a regular flow of pre-screened candidates with no hassle and no upfront cost, you can get more information and register for Always-On Recruiting on our website. We also offer dedicated searches and freelance/contractor placements and are generally a lot of fun to work with. Click here to schedule a call or get more information.
