Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/309054
18 May 2014 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com TECHNOLOGY IN PRACTICE By Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA.CITP LEAN up your Firm's Tax Season Debriefng Te summer months provide time to ex plore solutions by rev iew ing accou nt i ng vendor opt ion s, net- w o r k i n g w i t h p e e r f i r m s , a n d atending conferences where these solutions are discussed, but these eforts should be made with a con- cise, prioritized plan focused on the key areas where the frm wants to improve. I n add it ion to t he t r ad it ion a l e x plor at or y pro c e s s of w a l k i n g through each ta x production step, we suggest you take into account the additional Lean Si x Sigma tact of ask i ng , " W hy t he process step is actually being done and how does it add value from the client 's perspec- tive?" Focusing on those areas where the client's experience is improved ofen provides the greatest return on any proposed change, particularly as many digital processes actually reduce direct client interactions. A reas where there is no obvious value added or reasons for a step to be done open up the discussion for pursing alternative processes and solutions. Below we def ine seven a reas where you shou ld quest ion you r proc e s se s a nd w here te c h- nology and taking a LEA N approach can improve your frm processes, as well as your client interactions this extension season. SOURCE DOCUMENT ACCUMULATION W hat is the frm's process to get all of a client's data accumulated in one place and is it the most convenient method for the client? With today's portals and secured email solutions, frms should be educating clients on how they can deliver scanned docu- ment s elec t ron ica l ly a nd a l most instantaneously instead of tak ing the time to drive to the frm or place the documents in the ma i l. Most busi ness cl ients have access to a scanner within their ofce and are fnding the use of PDFs and digital delivery more convenient to them as well. Many of today's entrepreneurial clients and the children of existing business owners (who may someday become clients) prefer to do all work digitally on their tablets or smart- phones, so the frm should be proac- tively promoting digital solutions, particularly those that are integrated into the frm's tax processing, docu- m e n t m a n a g e m e n t , a n d p o r t a l applications. For clients that physi- cally deliver documents, centralized scanners for production scanning a nd de s k top s c a n ne r a c c e s s f or preparers are a must. STANDARD CLIENT FILE ORGANI- ZATION/ANNOTATION Most clients don't care how their source documents are organized, so the f irm should ask, "W hat is the most efective way to organize data for frm production?" Te obvious answer is to have all f rm ta x f les organized in the exact same "frm standard " format so that ever yone can organize and append fles, and so everyone knows where to look at the source documents onscreen, as they have all been trained on it. Te automated tools such as CCH F x S c a n , T R S o u r c e D o c u m e n t Scanning , Copanion Gr untWor x, and SurePrep, not only force this standardized organization, but they can import the information from the most commonly recognized client tax forms directly into the frm's tax program. Tis saves time in both the prepa rat ion a nd rev iew process . Standardized annotation tools such a s CC H PDF l y e r, Tic k Tie a nd Calculate, XCM Toolbar, and Adobe Acrobat also add efciency to the tax process as personnel can work and review at their convenience as long as they have digital access to a fle. T h i s open s t he oppor t u n it y for remote review and secure review on devices such as a home computer or tablets. DUE DATE TRACKING W hen clients call in to ask the status of their returns, how easy is it to give them that infor mation? Uti lizing individual spreadsheets and stand- alone tools creates redundant data being tracked and doesn't a lways provide everyone access to the most current information, so the response to t he cl ient c a n be a n outdated a ns wer or even delayed u nt i l t he employee ha s access to t hat l ist . Utilizing a work f low tool (XCM, CCH Workstream, TR Firm Flow) or projects in practice management allows the employee access to that d at a i m me d i at e l y on h i s or he r c omputer sc re en , i nc lud i n g t he status and providing notifcations of approaching deadlines with warn- ings so they can't be missed. With the right infrastructure, this infor- mation can be viewed on a tablet or smartphone so updating clients can be done at their convenience. RETURN PREPARATION Ofen, clients have no idea who is preparing their return so it is more important that the return be strati- fed by complexity, managed efec- tively with other returns in process, and routed to the appropriate level per son . T h i s c a n be done more efectively with any of the work fow/ project tools mentioned previously t h a n w i t h i nd i v i d u a l m a nu a l l y updated spreadsheets. By utilizing frm standard organization/annota- tion tools and having an appropriate nu m ber of mon itor s to v ie w a l l necessar y data, personnel can be trained to optimally prepare a return onscreen to a single frm standard. 18 May 2014 t www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA.CITP and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt is Director of Consulting for Xcentric, LLC and works exclusively with accounting frms to optimize their internal production workfows within their tax, audit, client services and administrative areas. His Quantum of Paperless Guide ( Amazon.com ) has been updated for 2014 with the latest AAA paperless benchmark statistics and outlines 32 digital best practices all accounting frm partners need to understand today. roman.kepczyk@ cpapracticeadvisor.com A nother busy season is under our belts and one of the most productive things a frm can do in the next few weeks is to take time to formally debrief the past few months, acknowledging what worked well and identifying where there were bottlenecks that could be improved upon. cpa_18-19_Kepczyk.indd 18 5/7/14 8:58 AM