A by-its-own-admission unscientific popularity poll among the vendors who advertise in it.
What it's really for An ad-supported accounting-tech trade outlet; the awards are a reader popularity poll.
What our grade covers The grade on this page is about its software reviews and 'Readers' Choice' poll, not everything the site does.
High Scoring Confidence Checked against primary sources. We are confident in the facts and the grade here.
The Advertise page invites accounting/tax software vendors to buy placement that sits "alongside highly sought after product reviews," and those same vendors (Drake, Intuit, Thomson Reuters, Wolters Kluwer/CCH, etc.) are the publication's webinar sponsors and review subjects, so the parties being ranked and reviewed are the ones paying the bills.
Source →- Operating since
- 1991 (35 years) · source
- What it costs you
- Free to read The reviews are free to read.
- How they make money
- An advertising-supported trade publication: it makes money from vendor advertising, sponsored webinars/CPE, e-blasts, and custom research sold to the same accounting/tax software companies it covers.
- What they do
- It publishes staff-written star "product reviews" of accounting and tax software plus the annual "Readers' Choice Awards," an online reader poll naming favorite products across 25+ technology categories.
- What to watch for
- You are not getting a controlled, hands-on lab test or a vendor-neutral buyer's guide: the headline awards are a self-described "by no means scientific" popularity poll that vendors openly campaign to win, and the publication's advertisers are the very products it reviews, so a high ranking does not prove a product is objectively best for you.
- Composite score
- 1.30 / 5.00 → grade D
How the grade was reached
Does the site take money from the very entities it ranks? Pay-for-placement, vendor-funded data, and affiliate commissions all pull this down. The less the ranking can be bought, the higher the score.
What is the ranking actually built on? Hands-on testing scores highest, then verified first-hand reviews, then opinion or popularity surveys and self-reported figures, then pay-to-rank, which scores lowest.
Is the methodology published, specific, and reproducible? Can a reader see how a given rank was reached, or is it a black box?
Are commercial relationships, sponsorships, and affiliate arrangements disclosed clearly and near the rankings themselves, rather than buried?
How hard is it to game? Controls against fake reviews, solicited reviews, and vendor gaming raise this; an open box anyone can stuff lowers it.
Evidence
- CPA Practice Advisor was 'founded in 1991 as The CPA Software News, was renamed CPA Technology Advisor in 2004, and was subsequently renamed CPA Practice Advisor in February 2011.' It is a print and online technology media outlet for public accountants and tax professionals. Source: Wikipedia - CPA Practice Advisor →
- The Readers' Choice Awards are explicitly described as 'by no means, a formal scientific survey' and merely 'reflective of the enthusiasm of professionals'; results total over 100% because voters can pick multiple products, and no eligibility, anti-vote-stuffing, or conflict-of-interest methodology is published. Drake notes it has won the poll 15 years straight, and vendors like TaxDome publicize sweeping multi-category wins, indicating vendor-driven vote solicitation. Source: CPA Practice Advisor - 2025 Readers' Choice Awards →
- The Advertise page solicits vendors to 'reach the decision makers at small, mid-size and large public tax and accounting practices' and position their message 'alongside highly sought after product reviews and articles practitioners rely on' to 'build awareness, engagement and sales leads' - i.e., the reviewed/ranked vendors are the paying advertisers and webinar sponsors. Source: CPA Practice Advisor - Advertise →
- Ownership chain: 'Rootworks, a part of Right Networks since mid-2020, has acquired CPA Practice Advisor from Endeavor Business Media LLC' (Aug 2021). The current site copyright lists Firmworks, LLC as the operating entity. Source: CPA Trendlines - Rootworks Acquires CPA Practice Advisor →