artificial intelligence

what clients want from tech advisors

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the top ten ‘soft’ factors small business owners are looking for before they buy.

by laurie mccabe
smb group

the best small- and medium-size business know that strong financial planning is essential for survival and growth – especially these days when they’re looking for ways to automate financials, streamline planning and budgeting operations, and provide the visibility they need to steer their businesses through changing market conditions.

more on tech: covid-19 sparks creative new business models and strategies | how to add visuals to a message in ms teams  | how your new car could double as a doctor  | composing text messages in ms teams | house oks $100 billion for rural broadband | when covid ‘got real’ | the covid outlook: a long, slow climb back to recovery | composing chats and posts in ms teams | free service makes better passwords |

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the good news for accounting firms is that smbs are increasingly turning to cloud-based financial solutions that can give them robust capabilities without the hassles of deploying and managing hardware, software, and infrastructure in house. cloud solutions provide continual access to real-time, consistent information, frequent updates, and continuous innovation. while erp cloud adoption has trailed in other areas, it’s poised to catch up quickly as businesses get more comfortable with the cloud model.

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avalara launches a.i. tool to streamline tax classifications

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simplifies product classification and taxability determinations.

seattle-based avalara inc., a leading provider of cloud-based tax compliance automation for businesses of all sizes, is rolling out an artificial intelligence-based tax classification tool, designed to cut the time spent by avalara avatax users classifying products and taxability.

“the accurate classification of products and services has always been a bottleneck for customers in their tax compliance journey,” said sanjay parthasarathy, chief product officer at avalara. “by harnessing the power of ai and machine learning, we have not only accelerated the classification process by providing a solution that helps users arrive at the right tax classification quickly and efficiently without being a tax expert, but we have also made it more accurate.” read more →

covid crisis separates the winners from losers

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bill reeb, 2019-20 aicpa chairman, explains how today’s coronavirus crisis is transforming the profession – and the world – forever.


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by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

today’s coronavirus cataclysm is changing the ways cpas in both the public and the private sectors do business, revamping in a few traumatic days what would have taken five years, says bill reeb, the 2019-20 aicpa chair, in a video interview with 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 is providing free access to our latest coronavirus crisis updates: start here for a guide to all our free coverage.

“it has already had an amazing effect,” reeb says. “we have fast-forwarded the technology by at least five years. the use of technology has skyrocketed. and people are starting to say, okay, we got to get people working at home, and we’ve found ways to communicate with each other during the day.” read more →

tax season is hacker season

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checklist: five things to do today to protect your firm and your clients.

the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 busy season barometer:
new year, new strategies
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by jess coburn
applied innovations

businesses of all sizes are targets from what has become the most vicious, innovative, and lucrative criminal endeavors we’ve ever witnessed. and tax practitioners are particularly easy targets.

more on busy season 2020: irs urged to form tax preparer strategy |  5 small leaks that can sink a tax season |  data points down as tax season opens |  the fight for new tax clients |  5 tax review keys |  tax pros forecast a better 2020 |  see all tax season 2020 coverage here

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the financial services industry is perhaps the most targeted because of the value of data it possesses. and the most frequently targeted are cpas and those who prepare tax returns.

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2020 outlook: data import on the rise

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microsoft power bi likely to become the visualization standard.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

security continues to be a significant and increasing threat, but many firm owners continue to assume it is being managed by their it team. we find traditional firm it does a good job on the internal components they control, but there are consistent shortfalls in the use of multifactor authentication, intrusion detection/prevention and staff training.

more: 2020 outlook: becoming the most valuable advisor | top three tips for 2020 success | 2020 outlook: where do you want to be? | 2020 outlook: dicey disruptions | 2020 outlook: upstream mergers | 2020 outlook: staffing gets creative
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with cloud providers having significantly better security and disaster recovery resources than on-premise networks, we expect this will be another reason that the majority of firms give up managing their own networks (with the uber-large firms having their own it/security consulting being the exception). however, all firms need to be training personnel on safe computing when remote, on being suspicious of unexpected emails (phishing), as well as social engineering attacks that could expose their login/password as well as put the firm at risk of ransomware.
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top three tips for 2020 success

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as talent wars drive tech strategies.

by sarah dobek

heading into the new year, firms are diversifying their services to strengthen their position in the market and gain the ability to go deeper with clients.

more: 2020 outlook: where do you want to be? | 2020 outlook: dicey disruptions | 2020 outlook: upstream mergers | 2020 outlook: staffing gets creative
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the most popular new offerings are wealth management, client accounting services and some version of consulting.

however, the majority of firms are struggling to define and build out their consulting practice. there is still a lot of confusion between consulting and advisory services.
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are you ready for the great disruption?

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businessman in an umbrella sails in storm in the nightwelcome to profession 3.0.

by marc rosenberg
the rosenberg practice management library

many firms today seem to believe they can simply buy their way to growth. in other words, if they just figure out what the “right” marketing strategy or the “right” business development initiative is, they can simply write a check to fund those programs and growth will happen in and of itself.

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unfortunately, this does not work in the real world, including cpa firms.

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debunking the demise of the cpa firm

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ai and blockchain aren’t replacing us.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

industry pundits subject us to a nonstop barrage of predictions that cpa firms will cease to exist very shortly. you know how much i love our industry pundits, who have never worked a day in a cpa firm. i dislike the ones who have not worked in cpa firms in the last 20 years only slightly less. their predictions are total and utter nonsense.

more: how to thrive as a 21st-century firm | 7 steps to effective project management | wip-ing clients into shape | managing people: the heart of effective project management | beware the leeches and consultants
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i see two main types of doomsday predictions from our pundit buddies. first, they tell us that artificial intelligence will replace us. next, if ai doesn’t get us, blockchain will.
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how to thrive as a 21st-century firm

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computer monitors morph into chain links“professional staff without higher-level skills will be out of the business.”

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

if you believe accounting industry pundits, artificial intelligence and blockchain will decimate accounting firms the way an asteroid killed off the dinosaurs. but paleontologists don’t think dinosaurs really went extinct. they survived as today’s birds. in the next 10 years, or sooner, accounting and tax firms will evolve from offices full of employees dutifully typing data into workstations to organizers of terabytes of accounting data for our clients.

more: 7 steps to effective project management | how many tax preparers do you need? | how the annual tax meeting died | how to be the chief communicator | 4 steps to take before next tax season
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the pundits are wrong about our extinction. effective project management will prepare your firm to thrive in the 21st century. i’ll take you there in a bit of a roundabout way via the coming of blockchain to the irs.
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how many tax preparers do you need?

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stacks of papers on the corner of a deskalso: why error tracking is vital.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

we’ve discussed planning for tax season in terms of how many full- and part-time preparers you need. now, let’s discuss this in terms of capacity and turnaround time. let’s ask why we should ever hire additional tax preparers at all, because hiring additional people only costs more money.

more: farm-aid for accountants? | wip-ing clients into shape | maximize your role as visionary | the land mines in tax returns | give your people the resources they need
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we’ll start with a really ridiculous example and then get realistic.
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how manufacturers can use the r&d tax credit

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bottles of sunflower oil on an assembly linethere’s a 4-part test.

by barry j. friedman, cpa
industrynewsletters

many manufacturing companies fail to take advantage of the generous research and development (r&d) tax credit simply because they don’t have staff working in a lab. the internal revenue service’s (irs) definition of r&d is codified at internal revenue code section 41 and its related regulations – and it may not be exactly what you think it is.

more: padding your tax deductions? the consequences are serious | alternative minimum tax: what’s it like today? | 6 key facts about excise taxes | gifts to charity: 6 facts about written acknowledgments | yes, home equity loans may still be deductible
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from 2018 to 2027, the estimated value of r&d tax credits to be claimed by u.s. companies is estimated at $163 billion, with $148 billion of that going to corporations.
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