stop non-tax season service requests
“i know you’re busy, but …”
by frank stitely
the relentless cpa
tax season
cybersecurity exemptions for orgs with less than 5,000 clients
you may be off the hook, but not out of the woods.
by donny shimamoto
management consulting company aon described an exemption for some of the ftc requirements for firms that handle the personal identifiable information (pii) of less than 5,000 consumers.[i]
the safeguards rule provides an exception from certain requirements if the covered financial institution maintains customer information concerning fewer than 5,000 consumers. a consumer is defined in section 314.2(b)(1) of the safeguards rule as “an individual who obtains or has obtained a financial product or service from the financial institution that is used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, or that individual’s legal representative.”
more: how hacker-proof is your firm? | unleashing the power of technology: transforming accountants into trusted advisors | future firm growth requires a mindshift | ai, ocr, nlp & cpas: oh my! | accounting nerds, unlock your super powers | early adopters gain an edge in audit | dustin wheeler: for serious cas success, hire tech teams | csr for cpas: the missing ingredient | donny shimamoto explains how ‘agile’ applies to cpa firms | staff retention for remote workers | why the future is in risk advisory | ready for non-cpa “cpa” firms?
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essentially if you handle less than 5,000 social security numbers, then it would appear that you can take advantage of this exemption. aon went on to report that if you fall under this exemption, then you do not need to address the following requirements:
congress: tax prep companies shared private data with google, meta for years
former ftc chief says this data breach is a “five-alarm fire.”
by rick richardson
technology this week
a seven-month congressional investigation found that three of the biggest tax preparation firms in the country may have shared americans’ private financial information with google and meta for years in a possible violation of federal law. the information, in some cases, was used for targeted advertising.
more tech this week: the first police officer on the scene might be a drone | electronic skin that can sense touch will transform robotics | chatgpt passes cpa exam on second try | stanford scientists 3d-print heart tissue | four of today’s new technologies that will be tomorrow’s ‘norm’ | cyber insurance costs rise in health care as attacks soar
the investigation’s findings reveal a “five-alarm fire” for taxpayer privacy that, according to legal experts, could result in public and private lawsuits, criminal penalties or even a “mortal blow” for some major industry players like taxslayer, h&r block and taxact.
“on a scale from one to 10, this is a 15 … this is as great as any privacy breach that i’ve seen other than exploiting kids. this is a five-alarm fire if what we know about this so far is true.”
control your time: avoid ambush meetings and calls
how much time do you lose to pop-ins and unscheduled phone calls? get it back.
by frank stitely
the relentless cpa
ambush meetings and phone calls are unscheduled events. clients just walk in with a tax document and want to say, “hello.”
more: get clients to bring tax docs early…yes, early |you train your clients, whether you mean to or not | train your clients before they train you | why time tracking still matters | business owners face one of three exits | don’t let clients dictate tax workflow | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity | how small firms can win the talent wars | easy ways to avoid ‘done but’ tax returns | six ways to create a millennial-friendly firm | do you know your turnaround time?
this morphs into, “quick question while i’m here. …” fifteen productive minutes escape your life, which is really 30 minutes when you consider the mental time you need to switch back to the task that was interrupted.
read more →
four simple game-changers to modernize your practice
focus on the client experience.
by blake oliver
with david leary
my mom is in her 70s and still gets the taxes organized for her household. she’s been using the same 10-partner firm for the past 30 years. like many small firms, hers had no succession plan, so it recently merged with a big firm – top 25. as you may imagine, her recent tax season experience was disappointing. she submitted all her documents on time and then didn’t hear anything from her new accountant for weeks. finally, she received a return to review and was shocked to see herself marked down as blind. my mom is not blind. there were other errors in her return, including a missing real estate transaction. clearly, it had not gone through a proper review process.
more: nine ways to measure client experience | how the pandemic changed firm mindsets | twelve clues it’s time to outsource or offshore | yes, you have the staffing for cas | why firms shy away from cas | hook your firm on cas | can you identify real cas prospects? | 8 ways to create your cas practice | do you value your cas value?
my mind exploded, wondering how such a large, well-known firm didn’t have a better quality control process in place. i’m guessing they didn’t even have a workflow management solution. after sharing this story with several cpas at other large firms, i learned that my mom’s situation was not all that unusual.
how tax practitioners became cybersecurity risks
tax professionals are a hacker’s dream. 
by donny shimamoto, cpa, citp, cgma
on cybersecurity for accountants
center for accounting transformation
in 2015 the u.s. internal revenue service (irs) held its first security summit[i]. by creating a public-private partnership via the summit, the irs is seeking to protect more taxpayers and more tax dollars from tax-related identity theft.
more: how hacker-proof is your firm? | donny shimamoto: future firm growth requires a mindshift | ai, ocr, nlp & cpas: oh my! | accounting nerds, unlock your super powers | early adopters gain an edge in audit | dustin wheeler: for serious cas success, hire tech teams | csr for cpas: the missing ingredient | donny shimamoto explains how ‘agile’ applies to cpa firms | staff retention for remote workers | why the future is in risk advisory | ready for non-cpa “cpa” firms?
partners in the summit included the irs, state tax agencies and the private sector tax industry—for example, financial institutions, cybersecurity practitioners and tax practitioners.
the summit brought together people from the full value chain of tax compliance. taxpayers submit information to tax practitioners, who prepare the returns and submit them to the tax authorities.
top tax vendors caught red-handed selling private taxpayer data
taxslayer, h&r block and taxact have been passing on sensitive personal and financial data to meta, google and other big tech companies.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
q: since when did private tax returns become public information?
a: since some of the nation’s biggest tax preparers decided to share it.
more cybersecurity: jon baron: why the u.s. must act now to protect our online privacy |top tax vendors caught red-handed selling private taxpayer data | how hacker-proof is your firm? | it takes a village to stop cybercrime | one-third of cyber attacks involve small businesses | cyber insurance costs rise in health care as attacks soar | the why, what and how of cybersecurity for accountants | when cyber-crime hits close to home | cybersecurity for tax professionals |
more tax: irs embracing stakeholders | coming soon: new ways to pay the irs | irs sets milestones for radically new service | irs promises 12 customer service initiatives | should tax preparers be certified competent? | irs has big plans for its $80 billion | can’t irs tax pro accounts do more? | taxpayer assistance centers need upgrade
for all your concerns about protecting client information, it seems that taxslayer, h&r block and taxact have been passing on sensitive personal and financial data to meta, google and other big tech companies.
read more →
how hacker-proof is your firm?
thieves always build a better mousetrap, so stay vigilant.
by donny shimamoto, cpa, citp, cgma
on cybersecurity for accountants
in 2018, fraudsters posed as tax authorities and state accounting and tax professional associations. these were simple phishing attacks trying to get tax practitioners’ email usernames and passwords, allowing fraudsters to obtain client contact information and perform email-based password resets for other systems.
more: future firm growth requires a mindshift | ai, ocr, nlp & cpas: oh my! | accounting nerds, unlock your super powers | early adopters gain an edge in audit | dustin wheeler: for serious cas success, hire tech teams | csr for cpas: the missing ingredient | donny shimamoto explains how ‘agile’ applies to cpa firms | staff retention for remote workers | why the future is in risk advisory | ready for non-cpa “cpa” firms?
the irs reported seeing threats specifically targeting preparers in illinois, iowa, new jersey and north carolina. additionally, the irs received reports tied to a canadian accounting association.[i]
seven principles to work less and achieve more
bid farewell to late nights at the office and weekend “catch-ups.”
by w. michael hsu
in accounting, where being constantly busy is the norm, working less while achieving more seems like a distant dream. but is it?
more w. michael hsu: how do firm leaders learn? | why your approach to cas and cfo services is wrong | when it comes to pricing, it’s about ‘can’t afford not to’ | your client base is global |
what if i told you there’s a method that can help you strike the perfect balance between productivity and rest? it’s called the measure x hack method. in this article, we’ll dive into the seven principles of this method, showing you how to achieve more with less effort.
get clients to bring tax docs early … yes, early
the secret? humor, sarcasm and shame.
by frank stitely
the relentless cpa
there are easy ways to get clients to do what we need them to do. in our office, we call the process “training” clients. one of our biggest headaches is the late delivery of tax materials. so, we train our clients to bring their tax documents in early.
more: you train your clients, whether you mean to or not | train your clients before they train you | why time tracking still matters | business owners face one of three exits | don’t let clients dictate tax workflow | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity | how small firms can win the talent wars | easy ways to avoid ‘done but’ tax returns | six ways to create a millennial-friendly firm | do you know your turnaround time?
we accomplish this through a series of e-blasts explaining our deadlines. the e-blasts start in december, and we call them “countdown to tax season.” they cover much more than our deadlines for clients to provide business and personal income tax returns documents.
you train your clients, whether you mean to or not
if you schedule it, they will come. so … stop that now.
by frank stitely
the relentless cpa
as we all know, there is a definite cost involved in not training clients. let’s look at the training that’s occurring, whether you know it or not. it actually all boils down to timing.
more: train your clients before they train you | why time tracking still matters | business owners face one of three exits | make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity | how small firms can win the talent wars | six ways to create a millennial-friendly firm | do you know your turnaround time?
here is an example of my stupidity.
i met with a client who was a software company executive. he had been a client for a dozen years, and people don’t get much smarter than he is. he drove from alexandria, virginia, to chantilly, virginia, every year. the drive is 20 miles and might seem like a 30-minute trip, but in northern virginia, it’s more like an hour.
read more →
train your clients before they train you
taking unscheduled phone calls and meetings wrecks your bottom line and theirs.
by frank stitely
the relentless cpa
many of the behaviors you rationalize as good client service are just desperate measures to avoid losing bad clients.
more: why time tracking still matters | business owners face one of three exits | how small firms can win the talent wars | six ways to create a millennial-friendly firm | do you know your turnaround time?
however, clients are trainable – at least as trainable as jack russell terriers. that is to say they’re somewhat trainable. however, like jack russell terriers, you train clients or they’ll train you. somebody’s getting trained. here’s an example of how that works.
read more →
survey: tax pros try new solutions to old problems
some of them might work for you.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research