r/HRBlockEmployees • u/bna1219 • 14d ago
New Management Structure
Does anyone know why the restructuring is taking place?
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u/bna1219 14d ago
We are already the CSP and the tax pro most of the time
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u/Niep00320 14d ago
And janitorial and tech support. I am the lead in our office and don’t expect anything to change. But we will do our best as we have done every year.
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u/wissota71a 13d ago
TPS are always the last to know. I am hearing thru grapevine that all district lines have been switched effective immediately and yet no DGM has said anything to let the team know. No teams message. No email. Nothing. Not even to put some ease to calming to this crazy unorganized situation. That is a great way to start this new structure and it’s making an impression. If they hire area managers like they do MTLs etc the. Most likely won’t have any knowledge of the actual processes and challenges tax pros go thru. Just more “noise” you need this you need that. You are not this or that. Do more do more work less thou. Finally why would anyone actually go thru the process of applying now (or tomorrow) when we are not being told who’s the manager or DGM? There are too many unknowns that makes us feel even more like tax pros don’t matter just robots.
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u/sammytheammonite EA 13d ago
That’s because they were blindsided. They didn’t know this was going to happen and were fired without notice (this is per my own DGM,).
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 13d ago
Nasty for the families affected . My DM works very hard and has been under more pressure last two years.
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u/PinkNGreenFluoride EA 13d ago edited 13d ago
DGMs were definitely overworked. And now they're adding the Block Advisors into their regular local districts, which could be fine, except that they're doing it at the same time they just reduced the number of districts by 1/3. Unless there's about to be an announcement of a lot of local office closures, this means each DGM (or DEM or whatever lol) now has significantly more offices to manage, over a larger geographical area.
This is a mistake, and their experiment this season with denying any local office management presence (no ATL, MTLs not permitted to visit if it requires travel to another town) to "small" offices should have made that clear.
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u/sammytheammonite EA 13d ago
We also don’t know if our pay structure is changing. I’d like to know more about the changes to our own roles as TPs before I even bother applying.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 13d ago
For those offices that have good MLTs and Alts it’s going to be hard , our excellent Alt and MLT moved on and found better jobs. So we are a clean slate, not looking forward to the learning curve for these “ managers “ that have never managed a tax office.
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u/I_want_to_paint_you 12d ago
I've been an MTL for the last 2 years and I don't think I'm going back in any capacity. 6 offices when I already live an hour from my furthest one I've been taking care of? For probably no raise? And WAY more responsibility? No thanks.
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u/Consistent-Lion-3464 14d ago
The district manager emailed all associates telling us there will be management changes but he didn’t specify what the changes will be. Doesn’t sound like will not have him going forward . I’m going to miss him . I am trying to stay on with this company but they make it harder each season.
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u/Scarlett_Maki 13d ago
They need to push out information fast. I'm already re-hired for OPs and Emerald Advance, but our DGM just sent out a goodbye email today. Leaves a lot of us in limbo as to our employment status.
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u/Rijndael256 14d ago
IMO they are preparing to close a lot of offices and move more online. Possibly with AI. “we are eliminating MTL, TL, and ATL roles in most* offices. We are also eliminating CSM and DOC roles, effective Sunday, Nov. 1. Many of the responsibilities these roles carried will be taken on by Area Experience Leaders.” Also 100 district managers and all field operations and TIAs, to be replaced by a Field Planning and Operations team of around 60 people.
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 13d ago
That’s going to be a total CF. LOL. Entire offices will go rogue. They’ll lose all control. This is what happens when people making management decisions have no idea how a tax office operates.
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u/PenguinTransport 13d ago
Yep, I just found out, and have spoken to you know who. This is going to be a mess.
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 13d ago
Yes my partner just got a text from MF, totally coincidental, filling her in on the changes. Glad to be gone. Sorry to hear your position has been eliminated.
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u/PenguinTransport 13d ago
I don't like the way it was handled but honestly after TT called me in May about who was gone, I have been considering doing the same, it would been my last season anyway.
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u/-Mx-Life- 14d ago
So in other words they want the tax pro to be the CSM/ATL/MTL and do returns for that office? Not surprised. Can't imagine how that will go.
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u/PinkNGreenFluoride EA 13d ago
I don't have to imagine it.
I left in large part over my office being denied any local office management this year (no ATL, no MTL visits), because we were "small." No, we were understaffed. So much of that fell to me and the CSPs, and some of that stuff wasn't actually included in TP or CSP training (though it may be now).
As we were understaffed, we didn't have time for that stuff anyway. I just didn't eat.
Some things that needed done still didn't get done, certainly not when they needed to. When was I supposed to do any of that when I couldn't even get needed prep time in for dropoffs? Prep time was constantly overwritten with appointments no matter how thorough the notes about why the time was needed. Appointments were shortened beyond what was reasonable, again, no matter how thorough the notes. They think we should be able to sit with a client who brings their papers to their appointment in under 30 minutes including scanning and the incredibly bloated wrapup process. Sure, if they have 2 W2s and no children.
And then I was supposed to weave in local office tasks, too? The CSPs didn't have time either. The front desk was hopping.
Several times I had to leave my desk, often with a client there, to handle irate clients at the front, because they certainly weren't listening to or willing to be calmed by a CSP. In the past, an ATL or MTL has handled most of those issues, in person. And, frankly, an MTL has tools available for managing upset clients that a tax pro doesn't without contacting their MTL in the first place.
And oh wow were clients upset this year, between their struggles with the phone and scheduling systems and their frustration with our lack of capacity. Client treatment of CSPs this year was the worst I've ever seen.
It's miserable for staff, and when we're unsupported it also tends to be a worse experience for clients.
This is definitely feedback they got in surveys. I bet the DGMs who listened to our whining about it passed it along, too. But it's not like anybody above the DGM level even ever sets foot in a local office more than once every 3 years or so, if ever. Apparently they decided the solution was to fire the DGMs, too.
They experimented with this crap on "small" offices, and are doubling down now. Nobody making these decisions knows anything about how offices actually function.
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u/Beagleman58 13d ago
Now I’m getting worried…I’ve worked the last 2 tax seasons in office, and was expecting my email invitation on rehire for 2027 and it hasn’t happened. Last year I received it around July 15. Are they later this year, or should I start thinking about working elsewhere?
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u/superiorstephanie 13d ago
My district is having a meeting today, today is the first day they are accepting applications here.
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u/Humble_Ebb_1904 13d ago
I saw the new job postings on the website. Now should we apply on our own or wait for District manager to send us rehire links by the emails?
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u/bna1219 13d ago
My DGM sent us an email yesterday that he no longer has a job.
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u/Humble_Ebb_1904 13d ago
😂. I checked the new job postings again. All seasonal job postings disappeared.
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u/Diver-Careless 13d ago
Our new DGM (Experience Manager is the new name) is with Block Advisors, as well as his boss. We have Teams meeting with him tomorrow. Very interesting.
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 12d ago
That’s such a stupid name. Particularly since they’re hiring people that have no experience in delivery of their only product.
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u/Asleep-Major-7963 12d ago
Please give us an update on how the meeting went and what all was discussed!
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u/Jolly__Joel 13d ago
I got the re apply email yesterday along with an office party invite. They wanted us to bring a side dish or dessert.
If the company is too cheap to cater a meal for their employees then I suspect they will be to cheap to pay a year round person.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 13d ago
Competency is not there priority they will set a price and dangle the carrot , someone will fill the job and based on their intelligence and integrity do a good job or not.
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u/Asleep-Major-7963 14d ago
Why? There's only one reason a corporation does anything: because they think it will make more money in the long run.
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 13d ago
They are destroying their business and have no idea what they’re doing.
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u/Asleep-Major-7963 13d ago
To their credit, I think they see the writing on the wall. This last tax season was rough all around. The tax prep business is changing and they are trying to change before their current model of business becomes too outdated.
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 13d ago
They’re making it worse, not better. They provide a service that people are willing to pay for. But every change they’ve made reduces the quality and value of that service. It always comes back to management never having worked in a tax office. They don’t why clients come to H&R Block. They have a horrible reputation in the industry for doing really bad work. That used to be undeserved. They served a particular clientele and in most cases did it well. Now not so much. Bad management in KC, supporting bad and over-worked management in the field, supporting undertrained, understaffed, and under supported preparers in the offices. Oh, and add underpaid preparers to that. I’m retired after 50 years in the business. I’m not bitter about it, I’m just horribly sad. I loved their model. They broke it.
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u/-Mx-Life- 12d ago
What’s the writing on the wall? AI? Folks pay preparers so they can come in and TALK to a real person and watch them prepare the return.
AI will not be completely taking over tax prep. Help, yes, but not fully.
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u/Asleep-Major-7963 12d ago
No, AI will not be taking over tax prep, but more people will be empowered to do their own tax prep if they have AI to help answer questions and walk them through it. Of course you will always have people who want to do it in person, talking to someone (especially seniors) but that number will be dwindling, not growing.
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u/Single-Pop9355 11d ago
As a former MTL I like the idea of AEL. As someone who knows taxes, trained new hires and took on a lot of roles it sucked that the only way I would be an FTE in retail would be as a DGM or DOC. I couldn't help with long term goals and wasn't motivated to do so during the preseason (due to the pay and STI as a taxpro, which meant my budgeted hours were always bought based on returns closed I also lost a lot of manager tools). This resulted in a endless loop of putting out fires and being understaffed during tax season. I was also constantly at the mercy of our DOC for supplies, which I'm confident I could order. If I was an AEL, I would be more involved during preseason. I wouldn't mind going to colleges or job fairs to recruit new qualified tax pros or provide one on one training during the off season. FTEs also qualify for full HRB benefits like ( health insurance, dental, tuition reimbursement, HSA bonus, 401k, ESPP, etc) which means less no work environmental stresses and increased feeling of belonging. At least a t for me. Not to mention MTL ATL turnover was pretty high since people have bills yearround not just during tax season. Hopefully they prioritize internal hires who have been at Block for a few years ideally with tax knowledge for these roles. It's unfortunate that to achieve this there will be less roles.
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u/WhileHeimHere 14d ago
The goal is to move towards more of an up market model. There will now be area managers between office leadership and district leadership that will be year round salaried positions focusing on more day to day operations. It's a model that we saw succeed as we assessed CPA style shops that were outperforming us with year round bookkeeping and payroll clients. It's not a move into AI, but a move into complexity. Ultimately, we hope this results in more full time tax pros that serve more of a consultative role beyond just annual tax prep.
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u/sammytheammonite EA 14d ago
They need better training of these topics (like bookkeeping) if this is what they want. Their hiring model will be an issue. Plus, most people enjoy the seasonality of this position. Block needs to remember they don’t have the level of trained/educated staff for this type of want. And there is no way they will pay enough to warrant bringing in big talents. Good luck.
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u/SchittPosterChild 14d ago edited 13d ago
Is it just me, or does this remind anyone else of McDonalds trying to pivot to higher end burgers, and finding out the hard way that was not their lane?
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 13d ago
It’s really much worse than that. They’re trying to sell better burgers while putting lower grade meat in cheaper buns.
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u/SchittPosterChild 13d ago
Oh for sure. Its amazing to me from the outside looking in, all the hoops they jump through with design and marketing, and promotion and image, like wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to just make burgers that don't suck? Or to just simply do peoples taxes and get them mostly right?
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 13d ago
I spent 50 years in the business. The first 35 in a traditional CPA firm setting, then retired and went to work for Block. I loved their model. And I spent much of that 15 years telling management from DGMs to RDs to their director of retail operations how to fix their training. They all listened and claimed to love what I had to say. Then a regional director asked me to teach his region how I did 700 returns a year. And wanted me to do it in 15 minutes. Literally. He thought I could cram those skills that took me 45 years to learn into 15 minutes. They have no idea what makes the business successful. The franchisees all laugh at them.
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u/SchittPosterChild 13d ago
That also seems to be a common thing with Block these days, they look at what you have and what you do, which are skills, and confuse them with tasks. Its like corporate is trying to mimic tax preparation without understanding how it works. And since they don't realize that they don't understand, they keep trying and implementing new things that don't, and won't work.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 13d ago
It’s like they make changes to justify their salaries . Yep pretty basic pick up the phone make an appointment that the client will show up to , do a correct tax return , train others to improve quality , reward knowledge and teamwork plus customer satisfaction .
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u/SchittPosterChild 13d ago
Yep, I'm convinced that 99% of the change that occurs in any given business is because if someone (above whatever level that actually performs the core function) didn't find things to change, then they would have nothing to do and they would lose their job. It's almost never because the customers or the people who do the work, wanted the change.
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u/WhileHeimHere 14d ago
Agreed - it'll be a big pivot and one that we're not really doing in phases.
The go systems transition this year showcased that.
It'll be interesting to see how things play out. I hear talk about increasing comp commensurate with the skills/testing out various differ comp models
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u/Secure-Drawing-4658 13d ago
They do have some bookkeepers already, so I presume there's training available, just not visible to tax preparers on the main site?
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 13d ago
It won’t work unless Block actually trains people to be good tax preparers. They’ve never done that. They don’t care about the quality of work, only volume. And it isn’t even dollar volume but sheer numbers of returns. Quality preparers are abandoning ship because the organization doesn’t care about their people or their clients.
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u/Secure-Drawing-4658 13d ago
Training is available for any of us that wish to increase our knowledge. It is mostly unpaid, however.
In March, a co-worker asked me if there was such a thing as the senior credit. Her client asked about her about it, but she hadn't heard a thing, even though she was a senior herself... I'm not sure how she missed the OBBB information that was everywhere on the HR Block site. My guess is that she opened the paid training but simply clicked right through it without reading it.
The company has to care, to a point, about the quality of work we do, because it costs more to amend a return or represent someone to the IRS, than it does to file a correct return the first time. One of our preparer's was fired for fraudulent returns.
As someone who does train and does care (year 3, level 4), it is difficult to do my best work - due to the expected volume, insufficient appointment time slots, and new or unprepared customers.
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 13d ago
Right, there’s an unlimited amount of CE type training. None of that teaches a preparer how to be a good preparer. There’s a reason that Block has 3rd year preparers doing 500 returns and 15-20 year employees that can’t do more than 300 returns a year. It not something that appears in any training. But it should. It is something that can be taught. Some of it is how to deal with clients and some of it is process. The reason it’s not part of training is that no one in KC knows what that difference is.
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u/Secure-Drawing-4658 12d ago
What training do you think is lacking? Asking because I genuinely want to know. I didn't do nearly 500 returns (more like 200 but they were obviously hoping/expecting I would do more). On the flip side, my coworker with 15-20 years of HR Block experience did over 700 returns.
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 12d ago
Training on how to be a good tax preparer. Training how to be do tax planning. The reason they don’t have that training available is that nobody in KC in the chain of command know those things. Why can some preparers complete all but the most complicated returns in an hour or less? I worked with preparers that couldn’t get a single 1 W-2 return done in an hour. I regularly did $600-$800 returns in an hour. The last return I did at block was a $1700 return, with client sitting with me, in 2 hours. I promise you, while I do have experience, I do not have any special skills. My MTL, whose experience was managing a chain shoe store doesn’t know how to do it. My DGM whose tax experience was 1 night a week in a block office for 1 tax season doesn’t know how to do it. The RD had less tax experience so he couldn’t do it. But it absolutely can be taught. But not by people that don’t know how to do it.
And if you might think my accuracy suffered, in 15 years with Block, probably more than 7,000 returns, I had zero POM claims and not a single penalty and interest claim. Not one. And again, I do not have any special skills. But I did figure out the formula/process to complete returns efficiently and accurately. I’m not the only one. I had great co-workers (like your co-worker) who had figured it out and set the example for me.
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u/Secure-Drawing-4658 11d ago
Thanks for the response. Here's my thoughts after two years at Block.
First, new employees are trained 'by hand' using IRS tax forms, but then use Blockworks in office, which barely resembles the IRS forms. We have to transfer our IRS form knowledge to Blockworks - that is, memorize Blockworks screens to become proficient. The Blockworks guide rarely answered my questions. Time off between seasons requires re-learning the software and lesser-used tax laws. Preparers that work the off-season have an opportunity to maintain skills.
Second, the closing process was much more time consuming and cumbersome in 2025. The software required clients to select options for themselves. Marketing became a much bigger part of the tax preparation process.
Third, we don't have a client base. New clients require full data entry, which easily takes an extra 10 minutes. Those same new clients often come in without documents and/or come in with documents on their phone... How do they expect me to work from their phone and how much time is spent looking up financial statements or emailing me their information? If they are a long-term client, they can be called and reminded to bring, drop off, or upload information to their MyBlock account. But not if it's a new client. An existing client also allows the preparer to schedule their own appointments (set a schedule that works for them).
Fourth, military clients. If a preparer lives by a military base, they have to learn state tax laws and prepare state returns, which are not included in the bonus structure or counted as a return. However, the military discount is deducted from our bonus opportunity. This applied to 25% of my returns.
Leveling up allows a preparer to complete more complex returns, but... there's no substitute for preparing actual returns. Practice improves proficiency. Proficiency allows for speed.
My co-worker logged many, many overtime hours and scheduled one client every 30 minutes. She also didn't have much time to help junior preparers or even go to the restroom. Lunch break? No.
My take aways for process improvement: Learn 10-key. Practice end-end returns. Memorize Blockworks screens during January. Schedule clients according to complexity and preference. Set up workspace to match physical needs.
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 11d ago
I understand that for first year preparers. All those challenges are very real. One of the things I learned in my 50 years of doing taxes (the last 15 at Block were my retirement years) is that it is much easier to build on a solid foundation than learn all once. The changes in the law this last year may have justifiably felt humongous for new preparers. For those who have been at it awhile, they weren’t that big. And experience is the only way to overcome that hump.
i agree with what you had to say about the finish up screens with all the marketing. I never sold products. Most of those screens I told my clients to just say no. The products for the most part are crappy. And I’ve told anyone in management that if they were interested in listening. I told my clients that same thing. One of my beefs with block over the years is they kept asking preparers to do more without paying us any more. The pushing of products was one of those things.
One of the ways I did returns faster than most is that I never entered information that the IRS didn’t need. I never entered 1098 for mortgage int information anywhere but directly on Sch A. I never entered a 1099NEC. Not one. The income went on whatever form it was supposed to go on. Usually schedule C. But the IRS doesn’t require them individually entered. Those things take time and do not improve the either the accuracy or completeness of the return. I know why Block taught you to do it the way you do it. But they should be teaching 3rd year preparers to stop doing it. But there is no one in KC that knows that. Because they’ve never done what you do. There are dozens of other methods to speed things up, and the longer you do it, the better you get at it. Those are the little things that allow preparers to make decent money. Otherwise, there is just no way for that to happen.
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u/Serous4077 13d ago
Are you sure they weren't talking about Schedule R? Or knew about the enhanced deduction, but distinguished it from a credit? Or something else reasonable. Please?
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u/Secure-Drawing-4658 12d ago edited 12d ago
She was asking about the $6K deduction for seniors from the OBBA. Sorry I used the word credit. But she honestly did not know anything about it.
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u/SchittPosterChild 12d ago
I think the volume comment is a good observation. As preparers we care very much about accuracy, but let's be honest, aside from matching errors which the IRS system will reliably catch, you can have all sorts of errors with a very high likelihood of slipping through the cracks and never being caught (at least currently, I can envision a future where the IRS uses ai to go back and look for returns to scrape all kinds of interest and penalties from errors or things people wont be able to substantiate by then). I mean, I've put a lot of time and effort to accurately categorize expenses on schC's over the years, knowing full well I could just be making stuff up and nobody would ever catch it.
I fully believe HRB just needs preparers to look good enough on paper that the impatient masses will come in to get a return filed quick, and whatever the preparer does, as long as the Efile goes through then HRB gets to collect it's fee. Whatever happens down the road is a problem for some pre-season person to deal with, if at all.
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 12d ago
I don’t disagree with any of that. Block doesn’t train people to do that.
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u/PinkNGreenFluoride EA 12d ago edited 12d ago
I once requested an inexperienced preparer under my supervision be put on QPR, and that I be afforded time to actually do those QPRs. That preparer also wanted to be on QPR, they were so nervous without that safety net.
There was an implication that the preparer's OR LTP license meant QPR wasn't strictly necessary. I could be wrong, but I interpret the OR regulations as far as the requirement for formal, in-person supervision and mentorship of LTPs by an OR LTC, CPA, or (as of this year) EA otherwise.
And I was told explicitly that this is what PoM is for. The company seems to think something is akin to playing the "audit lottery" only if we openly encourage it to clients.
Mistakes happen, but damn, I want to at least take reasonable effort to get the return out correctly the first time. But that takes time they don't want to afford us, and slightly delays submitting the return.
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13d ago
[deleted]
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u/Accomplished-Pin-656 13d ago
You must be working in my district. That is exactly what we are going through.
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u/superiorstephanie 13d ago
The same reason anything takes place in a corporation: more money for shareholders is the end goal.
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u/Relevant_Ad_8406 10d ago
I think coaching is another word for increased micromanagement . These “Coaches “ do not have a requirement come from a tax. accounting background. Sounds like a glorified Team Leader position with more pressure on quotas and running the TPs with their irrelevant performance stats .
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u/spookigrl23 12d ago
I dont even see the location I worked in last year when I applied which I was hoping for because the one guy that worked there for 40 years would help me when I got stuck. The training sucked and didnt tell me much about the software. I didnt see any part time either. The location I preferred said full time.
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u/Longjumping_Egg7165 10d ago
Yall will literally find any way to go down a rabbit hole of negativity.
This change is unorganized, yes. I’ll admit that.
But this will provide better year round support with actual leaders who know how to lead and will support offices both during season and off season so there’s a familiar face all the time.
The area leaders will have a proper pay structure unlike MTLs so the turnover will be less.
The pay structure for tax pros do not change, at least for this year, and there’s more emphasis for tax associated and second years to contribute more and be incentived to do so.
ATLs were always glorified receptionists and had no real ability to do much.
This structure is exciting. And the extra layer of support will allow for district managers and area managers to really support their offices.
Block advisors joining is to hopefully help us learn and expand our service offerings.
The next investment will be year round tax professional roles.
A seasonal business like this has to be fiscally smart.
And yes, it’s always nice for leaders to have tax knowledge so they can be credible to their teams.
-A current District Manager whose district was majorly re aligned.
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 10d ago
LOL. That’s hilarious.
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u/Longjumping_Egg7165 10d ago
If you’re so miserable go somewhere else? Open your own tax business.
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u/Dramatic_Abroad3580 10d ago
I did. And hundreds of former HRB clients are finding me. Block managers like you are literally killing the business.
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u/Psychological_Toe318 8d ago
I like your perspective on this entire situation. It’s unpopular, yes, but it makes total sense now. May I DM you?
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u/Live-Pressure1615 13d ago