The big comeback: Tax pros look at returning to the office

It was supposed to have happened already (and for some workers in offices, it might have): full cubicles every workday, heads bobbing in the conference rooms, chats around the Keurig about the weekend.

The idea of a full return to the office now seems like a notion left behind in the Before Time.

“We continue to operate remotely. We originally planned to reopen our office after the Oct. 15 tax filing deadline. This has been postponed because of concerns over the Delta variant,” said James McGrory, a CPA and shareholder at Drucker & Scaccetti in Philadelphia. “In the meantime, we continue to have several professional and administrative personnel come to the office and serve as a response team if the need arises.”

“We’ve been coming in at least a few days a week since COVID hit. We have been careful with masking and social distancing. Once vaccines became available, everyone got them,” said Rob Seltzer, a CPA at Seltzer Business Management in Los Angeles. “There are only 10 people in our suite, so it’s not as complicated as it would be in a larger office.”

Complicated concerns

Late last summer, PricewaterhouseCoopers opted to postpone the return of its U.S. employees to its offices until November in light of the Delta variant of COVID-19. The Big Four firm also reported at the time that many of its clients were looking to delay their return to offices well into the fall while encouraging more employees to vaccinate. Then, in early October, it announced that it would allow approximately 40,000 of its employees to work remotely indefinitely.

Firms are also struggling to plan as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continue to pump out guidance for masking, social distancing, vaccinations and booster shots in office environments.

“Our office is a small boutique accounting firm with four staff and one office manager. Each of us much prefers to work in the office,” said Gail Rosen, a CPA in Martinsville, N.J. “We have safety protocols in place and respect each other’s concerns. Should the need arise,” she added, “we are set up to work remotely from home.”

While in the office, McGrory added, personnel must wear masks when not at their desk and only 25 people in total are permitted in the office at a time.

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Office space and pancakes

PwC’s Next in Work Pulse Survey found that both two-thirds of the 752 U.S. executives and two-thirds of the 1,007 employees polled are in favor of a vaccine mandate as a condition of returning in person to the office, while one-third of each group is opposed. In addition, 44% of executives said in the August survey that they will take a leadership role in encouraging employees to get vaccinated over the next 12 months.

The survey found that employees want the flexibility to work remotely, although executives remain wary about the challenges. Nearly one-fifth of all employees would like to be fully remote today even if the pandemic was no longer a concern. Most employees prefer a hybrid model with a variation of in-office and remote days of work.

That said, in Accounting Today’s Year Ahead survey, accounting firms reported that fully two-thirds of their staff were working full time in the office, and only 21% were taking advantage of a hybrid model.

Nonetheless, real estate is on the block: The AICPA 2021 Q1 Economic Outlook Survey showed that more than a fifth of CPAs and accounting executives polled said they anticipate some sort of office space reduction over the next year because of the pandemic. Another 8% said their organizations are now all-virtual, twice the number from before the pandemic.

“We have completely transitioned to a virtual model using U.S. mail, fax, email, secure portals, phone calls and Zoom sessions,” said Bill Nemeth, executive director and education chair of the Georgia Association of Enrolled Agents, adding that his “situation may be out of the ordinary since we’re winding down our practice as we transition into retirement.”

“We occasionally will meet with one of our troubled taxpayers in a safe setting,” Nemeth added. “Large restaurants like IHOP, social distancing, everyone is vaccinated, everyone wears masks. And I love pancakes.”

Big question

The looming, unprecedented return to the office can present a lot of pitfalls for management. Among them:

• Don’t assume all workers feel the same about working from an office. Surveys have shown that more than a third might choose instead to look for another job.

• Avoid creating an office-first mentality that makes some remote workers feel left behind.

• Don’t downplay the occasional need for teams to collaborate in person. Allowing team members to work remotely in jobs that require face time can also create failure.

• Don’t assume the entire team must be in the office on the same day. Stagger schedules.

Whether accounting leaders will accept widespread remote work after coronavirus — with offices either completely virtual or with part-time in-office schedules during the week — remains a key question for the profession.

“I had one staff this tax season and she was remote. Any additional staff I add will be remote as well for the future,” said Manasa Nadig, am EA and owner at MN Tax and Business Services and a partner at Harris Nadig in Canton, Michigan.

“I’ve given my employees flexibility in terms of when they come in and what days, and they appreciate that,” said Seltzer in Los Angeles. “As long as the work gets done, everyone is happy.”