WORKFLOW
in between those identifi ed in step 1 that are critical to be identifi ed and measured. Make sure the milestones identifi ed in step 2 are high level and that they do not create a burden upon the professional to identify. For example, in the tax process, at a minimum you would identify: • Source Documents In House • Return Awaiting Additional Information • Return in Preparation • Return in Review • Return in for Processing • Return Processing Review • Return in for Signature • Return Delivered In the accounting and auditing process, (for a compilation) at a minimum you would identify: • Engagement Information Received • Workpapers in Preparation • Report in Preparation • Engagement in for Review • Report in for Processing • Processing Being Reviewed • Awaiting Release Approval • Report Delivered • Engagement Closed Down T e common theme above, regardless of tax or accounting, is
that the tracking process does not go too deep. In other words, it's not necessary to identify specifi c workpaper types of workpapers. Such requirement for identifi cation would simply serve to increase time on the engagement and bring down realization.
Get Buy-in When going through the process of scoping out the steps to be identifi ed, be sure to get all interested parties to buy-into the identifi ed steps. Form a task force made up of all interested parties. Get decision makers for each area to be part
VENDOR PRODUCTS Autonomy Inc.
FirmFlow
CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business ProSystem fx Workstream Offi ce Tools Professional Thomson Reuters XCM Solutions
Acct1st Technology Group Bill.com
Cabinet NG, Inc. CapSys
CCH Small Firm Services
Computhink, Inc. ConArc, Inc. Concur
Copanion cPaperless
Doc.It Corp. Intuit
NewRiver Innovation NMGI
Offi ce Tools Professional Personable Inc.
Bill.com
CNG-Safe/CNG-Books CapSys Capture
ATX Scan&Fill;, TaxWise Scan&Fill;
CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business Prosystem fx Document, ProSystem fx Scan, ProSystem fx Portal & PDFlyer
ViewWise iChannel
Concur Breeze
GruntWorx Populate, GruntWorx Trades, GruntWorx Gather & GruntWorx Organize
CPA SafeMail & Tic, Tie & Calculate Doc.It DM
Fujitsu ScanSnap Intuit
Intuit Document eSort
Lacerte DMS, ProSeries DMS & Tax Import Beyond415
nPEN secure email
Offi ce Tools Professional Practice Management Workfl ow DMS & SourceLink
Remote Accounting Solutions, Inc. Remote Accounting Solutions ShareFile
ShareFile for Accountants
SendThisFile SendThisFile SmartVault Corporation SpeedyScan Company SurePrep, LLC
SmartVault
Speedy Organizer 1040SCAN
Thomson Reuters
of the task force. From an accounting and auditing perspective, get those that live in this space within your fi rm to participate in the process. From a tax perspec- tive, do the same. If the decision on the identifi able steps comes out of the task force, you'll increase the likelihood of success versus having steps identifi ed by those not 100% involved in that specifi c area.
Re-Evaluate the Process Give the workfl ow tool time to fi nd its place within the fi rm. Aſt er a period of deployment, usually six months, re-group with the task force and evaluate what is working and what is not.
Don't be afraid to change the steps (adding more or
less) that are necessary to be identifi ed within the workfl ow product. Also keep in mind that the deployment of other technology within the fi rm could also impact the identifi able steps. For example, the deployment of a tax scan and populate technology may add an additional step or two to identify where the workproduct may stand as it goes through this process.
Look for Integration As workfl ow products continue to mature, those that integrate with other applications, such as document management and portals will help to create greater effi ciencies within your fi rm.
GoFileRoom, FileCabinet CS, Source Document Processing & Practice CS
COMPREHENSIVE WORKFLOW PROVIDERS iManage Workfl ow Manager Offi ce Tools Professional 2011 XCM, XCM Essentials
URL
accounting.interwoven.com tax.cchgroup.com offi cetoolspro.com
cs.thomsonreuters.com xcmsolutions.com
ADDITIONAL TASK-SPECIFIC WORKFLOW TOOL PROVIDERS EDRMS
acct1st.com bill.com
cabinetng.com capsystech.com
atxinc.com, taxwise.com tax.cchgroup.com
computhink.com conarc.com concur.com
companion.com cpaperless.com doc-it.net
scanners.fcpa.fujitsu.com
accountant.intuit.com/ documentesort
lacerte.intuit.com, proseries. intuit.com
beyond415.com NMGI.com
offi cetoolspro.com personable.com
remoteaccounting.com sharefi lecpa.com sendthisfi le.com smartvault.com speedyscan.biz 1040SCAN.com
CS.ThomsonReuters.com Continue to examine and evaluate enhancements and
changes that vendors may make in their workfl ow solutions and be open to considering the advantages to integration into other fi rm applications and off erings.
T e above mentioned steps are no way all-inclusive, however they would
defi nitely be considered some best practices in the automated workfl ow process. When considering deployment of a workfl ow solution, also keep in mind that although most tax and accounting fi rms off er similar services, many go about the production process diff erently. T ere is no one "canned" application that will meet all of the needs of your practice. Shop around for a vendor willing to listen to your process and one that has an off ering robust enough to meet a majority of your concerns.
By Jim Bourke
Jim Bourke is a Partner at WithumSmith+Brown (www.withum.com) where he is Director of Firm Technology. He is a past president of the New Jersey Society of CPA's and currently serves on the AICPA Board of Directors and the Past-Chair of the AICPA CITP Credential Committee. He has been named by "Accounting Today" as one of the Top 100 Most Infl uential People in the Profession and by "CPA Practice Advisor" as one of the Top 25 Thought Leaders in Public Accounting Technology. Jim can be reached at jbourke@withum.com.
February 2012 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 23
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