TAX PLANNING · RESEARCH & INSIGHTBLS reports a May 2025 median of $83,680 for the broad accountants-and-auditors occupation and projects 5% employment growth for 2025–2035, with about 115,300 annual openings including replacement needs. Those figures describe an occupation, not premium owner-managed tax advisory. BLS — Accountants and auditors: May 2025 pay and 2025–2035 outlook
Do not compare a firm’s annual retainer directly with a worker’s base pay as if both buy the same capacity. An employee’s cost includes benefits, employer costs, equipment, supervision and recruitment; a firm engagement may include several specialists but limited access to each. Build a specific workload comparison instead of asserting a universal saving from outsourcing.
Salary evidence also does not reveal the supplier’s engagement margins or willingness to discount. A senior role may serve many clients. Ask for expected involvement, response times and review ownership rather than attempting to reverse-engineer a fee from a job advert.