2014 Tax Season Considerations Head to Head: Traditional Tax Workflow vs. Digital Tax Workflow Hosted by: Accounting Web Date: November 21, 2013

2014 Tax Season Considerations Our World Government entities in the United States expect to: Collect $1.9 trillion from income taxes in 2013 Process 240 million tax returns Preparing these returns correctly is very difficult In 1913 an individual tax return (Form 1040) Was 3 pages long And had one page of instructions

2014 Tax Season Considerations Our World

2014 Tax Season Considerations Our World Government entities in the United States expect to: Collect $1.9 trillion from income taxes in 2013 Process 240 million tax returns Preparing these returns correctly is very difficult In 1913 an individual tax return (Form 1040) Was 3 pages long And had one page of instructions 100 years later, an individual tax return Can be hundreds of pages long And refer to 3.7 million words of instructions 7.6 billion hours per year are spent complying 60% use a tax professional due to complexity

2014 Tax Season Considerations History CCH was founded in 1913 to serve income tax preparers Original focus was income tax publishing products Branched out in 1970s to tax preparation service bureaus In the 1980s entered the tax software business Other software offerings over last 15 years Financial statement compliance software Firm management software Document management Client collaboration Paperless solutions

2014 Tax Season Considerations Current Challenges of the Profession Economic conditions have put downward pressure on fees Clients are only willing to pay for perceived value Which places a premium on efficiency Shortage of skilled labor 75% of CPAs will be retirement age by 2018 There is significant competition for talent We live in a litigious society Firms must not only make profit but must protect it Regulations are strict - clients are intolerant Client expectations are high Digital clients expect digital firms Highly responsive Who take advantage of the best technology

2014 Tax Season Considerations Engagement Letter Post letter to Portal. Client receives notification. Client signs, scans, returns. Tax Organizer Post to Portal. Client completes & returns with source docs. Stored in Doc. Organize Source Docs ProSystem fx Scan identifies, bookmarks, & extracts 1040 information. Prepare Tax Return Import 1040 data. Complete 1040 onscreen using custom digital tools. Review Tax Return Use powerful Tax digital review tools. Obtain addl info via Portal. Deliver Review Copy Digitally create return & attachments Generate 8879 & post to Portal. eFile 1040 Receive 8879 via Portal. eFile Client & Firm receive eFile notifications. Deliver Finished 1040 Deliver 1040, workpapers, & invoice via Portal. Real-time status update. Digital Firms Utilize Digital Workflows

2014 Tax Season Considerations Polling Question #1 Which step of the 1040 workflow do you feel your firm is struggling with the most? 1)Obtaining & Organizing Source Documents 2)1040 preparation 3)Obtaining answers to outstanding questions 4)1040 review, delivery & e-file 5)Storing documents & finding them later

2014 Tax Season Considerations Workflow Video

2014 Tax Season Considerations Polling Question #2 After watching the video, which area of your practice would most benefit from the solution shown? 1)Obtaining & Organizing Source Documents 2)1040 preparation 3)Obtaining answers to outstanding questions 4)1040 review, return delivery & e-file 5)Storing documents & finding them later

2014 Tax Season Considerations Polling Question #3 What primary method do you use to obtain answers and additional source documents from clients? 1)Telephone or client visit 2)US Mail / FedEx / UPS 3) 4)Portals 5)Other

2014 Tax Season Considerations Polling Question #4 What is your primary pain point around reviewing returns? 1)The endless circle to & from the preparer 2)Being able to charge for review time spent 3)Level of preparer knowledge 4)All of the above 5)None of the above

2014 Tax Season Considerations Recap Challenge - Economic conditions have put downward pressure on fees Are you using available technology to be as efficient as possible? Challenge - Shortage of skilled labor Are you leveraging technology to use your most valued resource most effectively? Challenge - We live in a litigious society Are we taking advantage of technology to minimize risk? Challenge - Client expectations are high Do our clients perceive us as up-to-date?

2014 Tax Season Considerations QUESTIONS?

2014 Tax Season Considerations Mark Ryburn, C.P.A. Product Line Manager – Tax Software CCH Tax & Accounting North America CCHGroup.com/Axcess Thank You

2014 Tax Season Considerations