WAYS TO GET AHEAD OF THE BUSY SEASON GAME

Michael Elliott, CPA

• Manager/Principal-in-Transition, Dittrick & Associates, Inc.

• Michael Elliott is a graduate of Franklin University, majoring in accounting and business administration. He has been in public practice since 2007 and is currently serving as the manager/principal-in-transition at the firm Dittrick & Associates, Inc.

Jason Deshayes, CPA

• Vice President/Shareholder, Butler and Company CPAs PC • Jason has been serving clients since 2003, providing tax, accounting and consulting advice to individuals and closely-held businesses, with a focus on professional services, medical and veterinary practices, individual taxation and business start-ups. • Honored in 2011 as one of New Mexico’s “40 Under Forty” by NM Business Weekly

Today’s Top 10

• Set The Tone • Update Your Skills • Evaluate Staffing • Review Hardware • Test Your Software • Smooth Out the Work • Document Your Processes • Be In Your Happy Place • Think Long Term • Be Proactive

Set the Tone

• With Staff • Establish a rough timeline of what needs to be done for year-end and busy season • Meet in early January to get everyone on the same page • Brief on new processes for the year and any potential pitfalls you are aware of • With Clients • • Send a letter with your organizers Create an extension deadline – “Get in by xxx or we’re extending” • Have their bill ready with the return • Communicate situations you are aware of with your clients

Update Your Skills

• Skill assessment • • What did your staff do well in the prior year?

Are there obvious areas where the firm needs improvement – i.e. an audit situation, peer review flaws, etc..

• Wasted research time on basic issues • Year-end technical updates • • Tax staff should receive a full tax update each year – always changes!

A&A updates are important as time is often wasted “learning” rules during crunch time • Updates should be completed before year end to allow for updates to be properly disseminated to clients for planning

Evaluate Staffing

• More Time to do the Same Work • Need to reassess if your staffing is appropriate still • • Hire now and have them trained before it gets nuts Seeing across the board – more staff needed to keep client service up to “snuff” • Alternative Staffing • • • Interns – they want the experience and can do a lot of the grunt work that takes up a lot of your time Part-Time Seasonal – there are a lot of stay-at-home parents looking to keep sharp, but not commit to full-time Remote Staff – if you have a technological system that accommodates this, take advantage!

Review Hardware

• Update/create a master list of all hardware • • Think about computers, monitors, printers, scanners, backups, etc.

List should include each computer’s configuration, printer and scanners capabilities, age, etc… • Review with staff who use the equipment if the equipment is appropriate for them to complete their tasks • Check internet speeds!

• Review system requirements for all software – each year!

• Download system requirement listings • • Check the master list to ensure each piece of hardware will support any software updates or changes – for each computer!

All hardware should be not only “above” minimum requirements but should meet all “recommended” requirements.

Test Your Software

• Review each piece of software – every year!

• Ensure that tech support is what we hoped • Completed the tasks that are required • Price is appropriate for firm • New staff need time to learn software • Train new staff using easy “dummy” returns from the prior year • Staff need to be comfortable with ALL pieces of software and how each piece of software does/does not integrate • Experienced staff need to conduct training sessions with new staff to ensure that “tips and tricks” of the software are passed on • Experienced staff need to update skills • Experienced staff should complete a complex “dummy” return to ensure calculations and information flow and correct • Test electronic filing capability (most vendors have this option)

Smooth Out the Work

• Take advantage of year-end tax planning • • Have your clients’ books 98% “completed” in December Know ahead of time what your clients’ situations will look like (so no surprises during tax season!) • Like to extend? You will already know what needs to be paid!

• Talk to clients about extending before they HAVE to extend

Document Your Processes

• Uniformity is important • Firms should always put out quality work • All staff should understand importance of processes • Documentation in case of emergency • Do you have plans in place in case of loss of staff?

• Could someone come in and run your firm by looking at your process documentation?

• Are you covering yourself from a liability perspective by having everyone on the same quality control page?

• Documentation resolves conflicts • Staff can at time differ in work product quality • Different administrators process work differently • Peer reviewers like to see work paper uniformity

Be In Your Happy Place

• “Happy Staff, Happy Busy Season” • Stock up the office fridge with healthy snacks, caffeine, waters, etc… • Three Day Weekend • Saturday – Monday or Friday – Sunday • Order out food for lunch or breakfasts • Chair massages • Regular weekly staff meetings • • • Can be short and sweet Keep staff on alert of upcoming work and client needs More frequent communication will save work and time later!

• Post Tax Season Debrief • Easy to forget; but really important to understand areas for improvement.

Think Long Term

• Do you have a succession plan in place?

• Think about internal versus external transition • • What is your time frame for transition?

What type of firm do you have – tax heavy?

• Currently have a plan in place?

• AICPA JOA says that it takes 3 5 “touches” to successfully transition a client • We may only see our clients once a year • Using busy season contacts to introduce new staff/successors • Not billable time, but worth it in the long run • Build transition time into client meetings for tax-only clients

Be Proactive

• Form 2848 – Power of Attorney • Have each client sign one along with their e-file paperwork • 3 years out; 3 years back • You will be completely in the loop with your clients and proactively respond to IRS “stuff” • Helps with transcripts for those pesky extended returns and senior citizens • Advance Scheduling • Figure out what clients like to be on the calendar and schedule them in advance (call in January)

Questions? Feel free to contact us!

• Michael Elliott, CPA [email protected]

440-834-9686 • Jason Deshayes, CPA [email protected]

505-821-0893