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

michael@dittrickcpa.com440-834-9686

• Jason Deshayes, CPAjason@butlercpa.com505-821-0893