What Keeps Accountants Awake at Night?

If you own your practice, even though business may be running smoothly it doesn’t guarantee a good night’s sleep. So what keeps accountants awake at night?

For most small firm owners, here's a list of the top 10 things (in no particular order) that keep them tossing and turning, often on a nightly basis: 

1. New Tax Legislation – The new tax act came up suddenly at the end of the year.  Clients expect us to digest everything, understand it and make recommendations for what they should do differently in 2018.  Usually we get guidance and analysis on how the new laws will be applied and interpreted in practice.  At this point, I’m on my own.  I don’t want one of my clients to be a test case for the new rules.

2. Disaster Recovery – We are seeing more severe storms and power outages today.  Houston, Florida and Puerto Rico all suffered devastating weather damage.  If a natural disaster hit our area, would my client data be safe?  Would I be able to continue business if my office was out of action?

3. Data Security – Clients trust me with their data.  They trusted credit reporting agencies, health care companies, banks and stores too.  Many have suffered data breaches.  Is my client data secure?  Do I have the right liability insurance if their data was compromised?