A well-organized post-busy season debrief meeting can help generate ideas for improving the firm’s processes through this critical period.
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Practice Management & Professional Standards
A road map for tax function automation
This article discusses methods and strategies for how a corporate tax department can move forward in its quest for tax function automation.
Anticipate the rush of panicked potential clients
Last-minute requests during the rush of tax season can turn into an opportunity to court new clients.
Turn to e-Services for secure access to taxpayer information, key tools
The IRS’s updated e-Services platform is intended to facilitate more efficient and cost-effective communications with practitioners.
IRS spotlights requirement to have a written information security plan
The IRS launches fresh efforts to promote awareness of data security issues.
A new year, a better firm
Practitioners should consider resolutions on security, technology, and client service to prepare for the coming year.
AICPA task force works to update Statements on Standards for Tax Services
The Tax Practice Responsibilities Committee is reviewing the AICPA’s Statements on Standards for Tax Services to make clarifications where necessary and ensure they are relevant to current practice.
2019 tax software survey
This annual survey shows how CPAs rate the tax preparation software they used during last tax season and how it handled the recent tax law changes.
Implementing tax automation and digital workflow
Firms can “wow” their clients by embracing tech tools that streamline many processes, including
creating seamless onboarding, using e-signatures for engagement letters, and automating procedures for filling out annual checklists.
Ethical considerations of e-business for practitioners
Social media and cloud computing create more challenges for CPAs to protect client information from unauthorized disclosures and to avoid making false or misleading claims about their services —
violations that could even be buried in webpage metadata.
A preparer-client decision: Whether to rely on the Sec. 199A proposed or final regulations
Taxpayers can rely on either the proposed or final
Sec. 199A regulations for 2018, and CPAs must evaluate which would be most beneficial for each
client.
Reflect, reboot, reengage: Emerging from busy season smarter and wiser
By using the summer to go through the process of reflecting, rebooting, and reengaging, CPAs can find ways to better serve clients, especially with a year of experience in the TCJA’s tax reforms under their belts.
Times have changed; professional standards should, too
The AICPA is revising its Statements on Standards for Tax Services and wants your help.
Embracing a tax staff mentoring program
A formal mentoring program can play a key role in the development of future leaders.
Times have changed; professional standards should, too
The AICPA is revising its Statements on Standards for Tax Services and wants your help.
A substantial-authority scorecard and example for excluding Sec. 1202 gain for a carried partnership interest
Keeping a “scorecard” of the weight of authorities on a particular position can be helpful to determine the objective merits of a tax position.
The TCJA: A disruptive factor for the 2019 tax filing season
CPAs can reassure an unsettled client base by confidently providing coherent explanations and advice relating to the many changes brought about by last year’s tax reform legislation.
The importance of engagement letters for small firms
A well-drafted engagement letter can prevent a
misunderstanding with a client over the scope of services from turning into an expensive liability claim.
Preparing clients for tax surprises: How to handle tax bills that clients cannot pay
CPAs can advise clients about several IRS programs for paying past-due taxes.
Third-party verification requests
When CPAs are asked to provide comfort letters,
they must be clear about facts they are affirming,
giving careful consideration to client confidentiality and other liabilities that could arise from a lender’s reliance on those facts.
TAX PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
2025 tax software survey
AICPA members in tax practice assess how their return preparation software performed during tax season and offer insights into their procedures.
