Insights
A CPA or EA can sign a return, represent a client before the IRS, and put a license behind a position. Neither AI nor an offshore preparer can do that, and it isn't a matter of firm preference.
Around three in ten US accounting firms now use offshore delivery. The layered model works, but it's taking the rung new accountants used to climb from.
What AI has actually taken from California tax teams isn't planning work. It's preparation, and that changes where you want to sit in your firm's workflow.
Across 20+ California tax conversations, the firms losing senior people weren't the ones with a particular ownership structure. They were the ones who never rebuilt the path when the structure changed.
Planning your tax career in public accounting? Understand realistic timelines, salary benchmarks, and what it takes to advance from staff tax accountant to tax partner.
Compensation matters, but it is rarely the primary reason experienced tax professionals change firms.
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