Call it the case of the dueling surveys. Cloud accounting company Xero says that its survey shows that 55 percent the accountants responding plan to offer cloud accounting services to clients. That comes on the heels of another survey that shows 70.5 percent of firms responding do not use any cloud accounting applications.

Jackson Hewitt Tax Service has named David Prokupek, the former CEO of Smashburger, as its new president and CEO. The company's release on the subject made no mention of his predecessor, Harry Buckley, who took over the job in 2009. Prokupek stepped down from the Smashburger job in September after holding that position since 2010.

The improving economy may cause CPAs to be overconfident about their ability to retain clients. In the 2011 PCPS CPA Firm Top Issues Survey, retention of current clients showed up on every segment's top five list, while it only made two groups' top five in 2013 (sole practitioners, and firms with 11 to 20 professionals).

We would all agree that there is no such thing as an easy tax season. Every tax season brings its highs and lows, but forces outside of our control, like government shut-downs and this winter's unpredictable weather, really put a damper on things. Over the course of more than 30 tax seasons, in public accounting and supporting my consulting clients, I have seen the benefits that come from establishing your own tax season "sanity" system.