Dear Tax Practitioner, We would appreciate your cooperation in completing this questionnaire. It should take approximately 30 minutes of your time. In most cases, you simply tick a box or circle a number. The information you provide will help the ATO understand your key needs and concerns, as a tax practitioner, who has registered relatively recently. This in turn will help the ATO and the professional associations develop better policies, products and services for newer tax agents. We are seeking to understand how widely various concerns and issues are felt in the industry, and whether there are any other emerging issues for newer tax practitioners. This questionnaire The issues covered by the questionnaire have been identified following a number of focus groups and visits to tax practices. Please read all the questions carefully and follow the instructions in capitals after each question. Please ignore the numbers in brackets on the right hand side of the page, they are for our use only. NFO Donovan Research is bound by the strict Code of Ethics of the Market Research Society of Australia and National Privacy Principles. Your individual responses will be strictly confidential and only group data will be reported to our client. PLEASE RETURN THIS QUESTIONNAIRE TO NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH USING THE REPLY PAID ENVELOPE PROVIDED BY XX OCTOBER 2003 THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION, IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED! NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 03148 -2- Section Overall Q1 1: The Tax Profession We would like to get an idea of how you feel about the future of the tax profession in Australia. Taking all things into account, how optimistic or pessimistic do you feel about the future of the profession? Please circle the number on the scale that best represents your opinion. Very Pessimistic Very Optimistic 1 .................... 2 .................... 3 .....................4 ....................... 5 .....................6 .................. 7 Q2a Approximately how long in total have you been working in the tax profession? Please tick one box. 1-3 years ................................... 4-5 years ................................... 6-10 years ................................. 11-15 years .............................. Over 15 years .......................... Less than 1 year...................... 1 2 Go to Q2b 3 4 5 Go to Q3 6 Q2b (If you have been in tax profession for less than 5 years) Why did you enter the tax profession ? What attracted you to the tax industry ? Please write below, providing as much detail as you can about what attracted you to the tax profession. _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ Q3 Which of these two categories do you fit into? Please tick one box Nominee ................................... Registered tax agent ............ 1 2 NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 03148 -3- Q4a When did you register as a tax agent / nominee? If you can't remember exactly, then please give your best estimation. Month: ________________________ Year: __________________________ Q4b Why did you become a registered tax agent / nominee ? Please write below the reasons that you took registration. _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ Q5 What were you doing in the 12 months or so prior to becoming a registered tax practitioner? Which of the following best describes your situation? Please tick all boxes that apply. • • • • • • • Working for a small tax practice (less than 8 staff) ................................................ Working for a mid sized tax practice (8 or more staff) ......................................... Working for a large tax practice (Big 4 or 2nd Tier firm) ..................................... Working in a corporate or management accounting position .......................... Working in a tax practice overseas .............................................................................. Working in a different profession (ie. not tax or accounting) ............................ Completing my university / tertiary studies ............................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (please write in) _______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Other (please write in) ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 03148 -4- Section Work Q6 2: Your Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your job as a tax practitioner? We realise there are probably some things about your job you are satisfied with, and others you are dissatisfied with. On balance, taking all things into account, which of the statements below best represents your feelings about your job. Please tick the appropriate box • • • • • Q7 Generally fairly satisfied...................................................................................................... Generally neutral ................................................................................................................... Generally fairly dissatisfied ................................................................................................ Generally very dissatisfied ................................................................................................. Generally very satisfied ....................................................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 What are the most rewarding things about being a tax practitioner in 2003? In our preliminary research, the following things were suggested by other tax agents. Please assign a number from 0 to 10 to indicate the extent to which that aspect of the job is something you find rewarding, or motivating. Less motivating Moderately motivating Extremely motivating 0 ..........1 .......... 2 .......... 3 ............ 4 .............5 ............. 6 .......... 7 ............ 8 ............ 9 .........10 Please write a number between 0 to 10 in the box next to each item. (93-101) Score out of 10 • • • • The mental challenge of solving complex problems ........................................................... Contributing to clients’ business success / growth .............................................................. Helping clients with good quality advice ................................................................................. 02 03 Working with interesting people (clients; colleagues; other Helping clients solve problems and cope with change ...................................................... Building long term relationships with clients.......................................................................... Financial rewards / income ............................................................................................................ Being regarded as a 'tax expert' .................................................................................................. professionals)...................................................................................................................................... • • • • 01 NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 04 05 06 07 08 03148 -5- Long term / secure employment ................................................................................................. Being appreciated and respected by clients ........................................................................... The variety, diversity of the work ................................................................................................ The increasing importance of tax issues to business ........................................................... • • • • • Constantly learning new skills ...................................................................................................... Q8 And what things about being a tax practitioner in 2003 do you find most demotivating? What are the greatest problems in your job? 09 10 11 12 13 Again, the following things have been mentioned in preliminary research. For each one, please give it a score out of 10 to indicate the extent to which it is a problem for you. You can use any number between 0 to 10, where 0 indicates it is not really an issue for you, and 10 indicates it is a major de-motivating factor for you (21-31) Score out of 10 Keeping up-to-date with legislation ............................................................................................ Keeping up-to-date with new procedures................................................................................. Meeting specific lodgment and other deadlines..................................................................... Finding time to learn new skills ..................................................................................................... Educating, training clients................................................................................................................ Juggling compliance work and relationship building with clients .................................... Keeping up to date with new technology .................................................................................. Keeping the balance between work and family ....................................................................... Working with Centrelink ................................................................................................................... Finding good staff .............................................................................................................................. Threat of litigation by clients .......................................................................................................... Threat of penalties from the ATO ................................................................................................. Concern over quality of technical advice provided by the ATO ........................................ Administrative issues when dealing with the ATO.................................................................. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Excessive workload / work pressures ........................................................................................... Q9a We realise that the number of hours you work may vary from week to week, but on average across the past year how many hours did you work per week? 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 Please write in _____________ hours per week Q9b And how do you feel about the number of hours you work? Do you feel it is….? NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 03148 -6- Somewhat excessive ............................ Very excessive......................................... 1 2 ....................................................................................................... About right .............................................. NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 3 03148 -7- Q10a Which of the following are part of your personal plans over the next 2-3 years? Please tick all that apply. • • • • • • • • • • Establish your own tax practice ......................................................................................... Establish a broader consultancy offering business advice ...................................... Amalgamate your practice with another practice(s) .................................................. Become a partner in your present practice ................................................................... Join a larger practice ............................................................................................................. Join a smaller practice........................................................................................................... Use tax work as a transition to becoming a business adviser................................ Set up a niche tax practice .................................................................................................. Leave the tax profession within the next 2-3 years ................................................. . Continue to run your own tax practice .......................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (why do you plan to leave?) _____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ • Other (please write in) __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Q10b If you plan to set up a niche tax practice, please describe the niche market you intend to service __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Q11 Which of the following best describes your position within the practice? Please tick one box only. Partner / manager...................................................................................................................... Professional staff – mid to senior ......................................................................................... Professional staff - junior ........................................................................................................ Special adviser ............................................................................................................................. Sole Practitioner ......................................................................................................................... Other (please specify) _______________________________________________________________________________ NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 03148 -8- Section 3: The which you work Practice in Q12a We are interested in the number of people who exercise different roles in your practice. Please write the appropriate number of staff in each box. Partners / management ........................................................................................................... Professional staff – mid to senior ......................................................................................... Professional staff - junior ........................................................................................................ Support staff – ie. clerical / admin ....................................................................................... Bookkeepers ............................................................................................................................... Special advisers ........................................................................................................................... Sole Practitioner ......................................................................................................................... Other staff (please specify) _______________________________________________________________________________ . TOTAL STAFF................................................................................................................................ _______________________________________________________________________________ . Q12b Who does different types of tax-related work within your practice? For each of the four types of work listed below, please indicate approximately what percentage of that type of work is performed by different staff members in your practice. Preparing BAS & other forms • • • • • • Actual lodgment of info Enquiries on procedure/ compliance Preparing / checking client info Partners (inc sole practitioner) _________ % _________ % _________ % _________ % Senior professionals _________ % _________ % _________ % _________ % Junior professionals _________ % _________ % _________ % _________ % Administration staff _________ % _________ % _________ % _________ % Sub-contract staff _________ % _________ % _________ % _________ % Other (please specify) NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 03148 -9- ____________________________ _________ % _________ % _________ % _________ % ____________________________ _________ % _________ % _________ % _________ % 100% 100% 100% Total Q13 100% Has your practice formally planned a business strategy in relation to things like practice structure, client management, technology management, etc? For each of the areas listed below, has your practice engaged in formal planning over the past couple of years? Please tick the appropriate box for each area. Yes • • • • Q14 ..................... Practice structure / staffing .................................................................... ..................... Client management .................................................................................. ..................... Technology management....................................................................... ..................... Overall business strategy ........................................................................ 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 Does your practice have a client selection policy? Eg. Has your practice shed any existing clients, or refused to accept new clients if they don’t fit certain criteria? No, there is no formal client selection policy............. Yes, there is a formal client selection policy ............... Q15 No 1 2 In terms of technological capacity and usage (including computer hardware and software; internet capability; computer networking; etc), how would you describe your practice? Please tick one box Fairly high tech................................................ Mid tech ............................................................ Low tech ............................................................ Very high tech ................................................. 1 2 3 4 Q16 In your practice, approximately what percentage of time is spent on tax-related work, and what percentage of time is spent on non-tax work (such as providing business advice / financial advice, etc) to your clients? Please complete the left column below under ”Actual” NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 03148 - 10 - And, in your view what would be the ideal breakdown of tax-related versus non-tax related work for your practice? Please complete the right column under “Ideal” Actual Tax-related work : __________ % ____________ % Non tax-related work : __________ % ____________ % Total: Q17 Ideal 100% 100% Please tick if your practice has professional affiliations (shared staffing, infrastructure and/or accommodation) with other tax practices? No.......................................... Yes ......................................... 1 2 Q18 Which of the following represents the main client group for your practice's tax business? If your practice serves more than one client group, please tick the primary group (in terms of contribution to billings / gross fees received) under Column 'A', and any other groups under Column 'B'. A Primary Client Group (Tick one only) A. B Other Client Groups (Tick all that apply) Non-business individuals (i.e. salary and wage earners, pensioners and people in receipt of non-business income such as dividends and interest). Only individual taxpayers, partnerships and trusts with no business income or business deduction are included in this category ........................................................... B. ................................. .................. 1 1 Small Business (i.e. business taxpayers with under $10 million turnover). All taxpayer types are included in this category ..................... NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 ................................. .................. 2 2 03148 - 11 - C. Medium ($10m to $50m turnover) business All taxpayer types are included in ................................. .................. Other (please specify) _______________ .................... ................................. .................. _______________________________________ .................... ................................. .................. this category .................................................................................. D. (19-20) (24-25) NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 3 3 4 4 5 5 03148 - 12 - Section 4: Development Q19 Training and Professional Have you attended any seminars / courses / workshops conducted by the ATO since January 2002? No ............................................................... Don't know / not sure ......................... Yes .............................................................. 1 2 3 Q20 And have you attended any courses / seminars / workshops conducted by any of the Professional Associations since January 2002? Please tick all that apply. CPA ..................................................................... ICAA ................................................................... NIA ...................................................................... NTAA.................................................................. TIA ....................................................................... No Professional Assoc courses................. ATMA ................................................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Q21 And how useful did you find the courses you attended? Please write the appropriate number from the scale below next to each one that you have attended. Not Very Moderately Extremely know Useful Useful Useful 1 .......... 2 .......... 3 .......... 4 .......... 5 .......... 6.......... 7 Don’t 9 ATMA courses / seminars................... CPA courses / seminars....................... ICAA courses / seminars ..................... NIA courses / seminars ....................... NTAA courses / seminars ................... ATO courses / seminars ...................... 1 2 3 4 5 6 NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 03148 - 13 - TIA courses / seminars ........................ Q22 7 Here is a list of skill areas mentioned by other tax agents as things they thought were important requirements of being an effective tax practitioner in 2003. Using the scale below, please indicate how important you consider each of these areas. Less Moderately Extremely Important Important Important 0 ..........1 .......... 2 .......... 3 ............ 4 .............5 ............. 6 .......... 7 ............ 8 ............ 9 .........10 Please write a number between 0 to 10 in each box. • • • • • • • • • Technology / IT skills......................................................................................................... Adaptability / ability to adapt to change .................................................................. Communication skills ........................................................................................................ Continual learning ethos / approach .......................................................................... Marketing skills ................................................................................................................... Professional ethics / integrity ........................................................................................ Problem resolution skills ................................................................................................. Information search skills .................................................................................................. Technical expertise / knowledge of the tax legislation ........................................ NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 03148 - 14 - Q23 In the next question, we're interested in how you have developed your skills across each of these areas. The same skill areas are listed again, and across the top we list various sources of training / development. For each skill area, please tick all the ways, you have received training or development in that area. Courses / seminars run by… ATO Professional Associations • • • • • • • • • Webb Martin Product Supplier Specialist Your employer/ No training the firm you formal Provider worked for training (eg. AIM) ........... ............... .............. .............. ................ ................ Technology / IT skills ..................................................................... ........... ............... .............. .............. ................ ................ Adaptability / ability to adapt to change ............................... ........... ............... .............. .............. ................ ................ Communication skills..................................................................... ........... ............... .............. .............. ................ ................ Continual learning ethos / approach ....................................... ........... ............... .............. .............. ................ ................ Marketing skills ................................................................................ ........... ............... .............. .............. ................ ................ Professional ethics / integrity ..................................................... ........... ............... .............. .............. ................ ................ Problem resolution skills .............................................................. ........... ............... .............. .............. ................ ................ Information access / search skills .............................................. ........... ............... .............. .............. ................ ................ Technical expertise / knowledge of the tax legislation ..... NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 03148 - 15 - Section 5: ATO Q24 Interaction with the Taking into account all your contacts with the ATO over the past 6 months, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the overall service you have received from the ATO? Please tick one box only Satisfied .............................................................................. Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied .............................. Somewhat Dissatisfied .................................................. Very Dissatisfied .............................................................. Don't know / no opinion.............................................. Very Satisfied .................................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 9 Q25 And do you think the overall service from the ATO has changed over the last 6 months? Please tick one box only Small positive change ................................................... No change ......................................................................... Small negative change .................................................. Significant negative change........................................ Significant positive change ......................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Q26a Are you aware that there is an Induction Package for newer tax agents on the ATO Website? No / not sure .................. Yes ...................................... 1 Go to Q26b 2 Go to Q27 Q26b (If yes), Have you accessed and used the Induction Package? No / not sure ..................... Yes ......................................... 1 2 Q26c (If yes), How useful did you find the Induction Package for newer tax agents? NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 03148 - 16 - Fairly useful ........................ Not very useful ................. Very useful.......................... 1 2 3 Q27 How useful do you think it would be for newly registered agents to have each of the following types of information provided as part of an Induction process? PLEASE WRITE THE APPROPRIATE NUMBER FROM THE SCALE BELOW NEXT TO EACH PRODUCT / SERVICE. Not Very Moderately Extremely know Useful Useful Useful 1 .......... 2 .......... 3 .......... 4 .......... 5 .......... 6.......... 7 • • • • • • • • • 9 Advice on management of practice structure and workflows ............................... Advice on client management strategies ...................................................................... Information about the ATO's lodgment program ...................................................... Advice on utilising IT / technology in a tax practice ................................................. Information about how to make procedural enquiries at the ATO...................... Information about how to make technical enquiries at the ATO ......................... Ethical guidelines for tax agents / tax practices .......................................................... Details of the ATO's internal structure (eg. an organisational chart) ................. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Information about a tax agents rights and responsibilities to clients ........................................................................................... • Don’t 9 ........................................................................... Other (please write in) ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 03148 - 17 - Section 6: Professional Associations This section relates to your personal membership of any Professional Associations, as well as corporate or practice memberships (or subscriptions to information or advice services) of any Professional Association. Q28 Which Professional Association(s): (a)Are you personally a member of? (b)Is the practice a member of / subscriber to? Please tick all that apply Personal Member Practice Member/ Subscriber .................................... ATMA................................................................................................... .................................... CPA .................................................................................................... .................................... ICAA .................................................................................................... .................................... NIA .................................................................................................... .................................... NTAA ................................................................................................... .................................... TIA .................................................................................................... .................................... Other (please specify) ___________________________________ .................................... Not a member / subscriber ......................................................... Q29 How would you rate each of the following aspects of the Professional Associations of which you are a member? Using the following scale, please write a number between 1 to 5 in the boxes provided next to each item. Very Poor Fair Good Very Don’t know/ poor good doesn't apply 1 ................ 2 ................... 3 ................... 4 ................. 5 9 ATMA • Acknowledgment and / or marketing of my professional status...... • Professional support / CPA ICAA NIA NTAA TIA .................... ........................ ......... advice .................... ........................ ......... Access to information / literature ............................... ........................ ......... Legal advice or support if required ............................ ........................ ......... offered ............................................................... • • NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 03148 - 18 - • Representation of tax agents at highest levels of ATO / Gov't .................... • Representation of small / mid sized practices ........................................................... .................... ........................ ......... .................... ........................ ......... • ATMA • Providing information / advice to newly registered agents.............................. • Influencing future directions of the profession ........................................................ Section 7: about YOU CPA ICAA NIA NTAA TIA .................... ........................ ......... .................... ........................ ......... Background Information And now to finish off, we just need some background information about you. Q30 Which of these statements best describes your personal work plans for the next 2-3 years? Please tick the box next to the statement that best describes you • You will probably retire in the next 2-3 years ........................................................... • You will most likely leave the tax profession in the next 2-3 1 • You will remain in the tax profession and hope for the best ............................... • You will remain in the tax profession and expect to grow and years, and work in another field or capacity ............................................................... 3 prosper ..................................................................................................................................... • 2 4 Other (please specify) _______________________________________________________________________________ Q31a In this question, we are seeking details of your academic qualifications. Please fill in the details below for the highest degree or academic qualification that you hold. Name of degree/diploma: _____________________ Major: ______________________________ University / Institution: ________________________ Year obtained: ______________________ NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 03148 - 19 - Q31b Have you received any other professional qualifications apart from the qualification you specified in Q30a above? Please write in name of qualification(s) and where obtained _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ Q32 Which age category are you in? 25-29 years .............................................. 30-34 years .............................................. 35-39 years .............................................. 40-44 years .............................................. 45-49 years .............................................. 50-54 years .............................................. 55 years or older.................................... 20-24 years .............................................. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Q33 What is your country of birth? Australia .................................... Other (please write in) ____________________________ Q34 Go to Q36 Go to Q34 1 2 Approximately how long have you been in Australia? 1-3 years ................................................... 4-5 years ................................................... 6-10 years ................................................ 11-15 years .............................................. Over 15 years .......................................... Less than 1 year ..................................... 1 2 3 4 5 6 Q35 Which language do you mainly speak at home? English ............................................ NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 1 03148 - 20 - Other (please write in) ______________________________ Q36 Please record your gender? 2 Female ................................. Male ...................................... 1 2 Q37 In the space provided below, please write in the postcode relating to your office location. If your practice has more than one office location, please answer this question in relation to the location where you work. Q38 Which of these descriptions best fits the location of your practice's office? If your practice has more than one office location, please answer this question in relation to the location where you work. Please tick appropriate box • • • • • The suburban area of a capital city.................................................................... A major regional centre (ie. population of at least 100,000) .................... A smaller regional town or rural location ........................................................ A remote location .................................................................................................... The central or inner region of a capital city .................................................... 1 2 3 4 5 Could you please provide an estimate of the time taken to complete this form Include The time actually spent reading the instructions, working on the questions and obtaining the information. (mins) The time spent by all employees in collecting and providing this information. (mins) PLEASE RETURN THIS QUESTIONNAIRE TO NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH USING THE REPLY PAID ENVELOPE PROVIDED BY OCTOBER XXth 2003 NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 03148 - 21 - THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION, IT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED! “Commonwealth Government Statistical Clearing House Approval Number xxxx-xx”. NFO DONOVAN RESEARCH –NEW TAX AGENTS SURVEY 2003 03148