tax

‘quick and dirty’ tax review

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… in 17 steps.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

everything i suggest in my handbook is recommended and works well. each firm will use and adopt what they want and what fits into their practice.

more: when returns should be submitted for review | 10 errors that ‘smart’ scanners make | tax: the procedural checklists your firm needs | the best way to review a tax return | why you can’t skip checklists | how to turn tax returns into new business
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many times, i am asked for a quick down and dirty suggested review method, so i put the following together. this should not be a substitute for reading the handbook and considering all my recommendations. reviewing is a process, not a thing to do.
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only 39% of tax returns filed by pros

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data tablerefund amounts are down 14%.

by beth bellor
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the second week of tax season brought more double-digit increases over 2022’s pace for the same period.

more: tax season opens with refunds up 85%
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according to the latest data, the internal revenue service has received 28.8 million individual income tax returns, up 9.1 percent. it has processed 26.6 million returns, up 13.6 percent.

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tax season opens with refunds up 85%

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data tablenearly two-thirds of returns have been self-prepared.

by beth bellor

the latest tax season is off to a roar, with refunds up 85 percent and processing up 29 percent above last year at this time.

more on tax season: more: marchternity: just say ‘no’ | marchternity: the solution is community | why the irs is still doing data entry by hand | news on irs is maybe sort of a little bit good | why we all hate the tax code | how bullish are you this tax season? | accountants’ top problems for tax season 2023 | tax season 2023: better or worse?

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as of feb. 3, the end of the first week of collections, the irs had received 19 million individual income tax returns, up 13.5 percent from the same week in 2022. it had processed 16.8 million returns, up 29.1 percent.
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when returns should be submitted for review

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three times it’s appropriate.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

the workflow of returns submitted to reviewers needs to be managed, otherwise the reviewer could become overloaded with incomplete or partially completed returns waiting on additional information. this adds nonproductive work to the reviewer that can best be delegated to the preparer, who is actually delegating it to the reviewer, i.e., upward delegation, which makes no sense, or have it assigned to an administrative person for follow-up. for efficiency i suggest that the preparer is the best person to follow up and maintain control of the incomplete return.

more: 10 errors that ‘smart’ scanners make | three ways to improve tax returns | don’t use eyes, use brain | three types of tax return reviews | tax review procedures are your quality control | seven types of tax return reviews | how to turn tax returns into new business
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the firm mindset must be to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of the reviewer. (i keep repeating this. this must be a top goal if you want to get the best that the reviewers can offer to you.)
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10 errors that ‘smart’ scanners make

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man staring at computer screen in shockdon’t have one? ask another firm for a demo.

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

for those who haven’t tried them yet, smart scanners are a fabulous tool, which, if used correctly can save time and cost. the one thing they don’t do is check their work.

more: three ways to improve tax returns | tax follow-up worksheets can mean more revenue | stop tax return review shortcuts | routine is key to reviewing tax returns | seven types of tax return reviews
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however, smart scanners do not need lunch or dinner brought into the office, don’t take coffee or smoke breaks and you don’t have to listen to how their weekend was. but they do organize the digital work papers on your internal filing system. nothing is perfect but many things are good enough and you just need to determine your tradeoffs.
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marchternity: just say ‘no’

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whether marchternity continues depends entirely upon you.

more on marchternity:
the solution is community, by liz farr

by seth fineberg
at large

after nearly three years of what many tax pros consider one of the longest tax seasons on record –- a.k.a. ‘marchternity’ –- one would think this season would be different.

more fineberg: what bogs down accountants | your classic business model won’t allow growth

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to be sure, plenty of tax practitioners in late 2022 did indeed call the end of marchternity and look forward to some sense of normalcy, as much of what caused the extended tax season in the first place appears to have subsided. so, do tax pros expect this season to be different?

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don’t let clients dictate tax workflow

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//www.g005e.com/2014/02/02/marcus-metrics/ask the right questions and stick to your processes.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

who makes the errors in your firm? staff obviously, but that’s half of the answer. clients are a major source of tax return errors. clients cause errors in three ways:

  1. errors of omission
  2. errors of commission
  3. errors in attitude

more: 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?
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every tax season, we finalize and deliver returns only to hear from the client, “i think i might have forgotten to tell you that we had a baby last year.” does this happen to you? this is a client error of omission. unintentionally, clients withhold important information.
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marchternity: the solution is community

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before another grueling tax season, find your tribe.

more on marchternity:
just say ‘no,’ by seth fineberg

by liz farr

the last several years have been rough on accountants, to say the least.

i left public accounting at the end of 2017, so i have been spared the never-ending chaos of the last five years, starting with the last-minute sweeping changes of the tcja, and continuing on through the pandemic. however, thanks to social media groups like #taxtwitter and accounting firm influencers on facebook, i’ve had an idea of the misery, confusion, exhaustion, and sheer frustration of tax pros trying to maintain sanity in the face of complete insanity.

more liz farr: donny shimamoto: future firm growth requires a mindshift | jennifer wilson: empower young workers to build the firm everyone loves | mike whitmire: re-think your hiring and training practices | hector garcia: success strategies of a quickbooks youtube superstar | blake oliver: why tax work yearns to be free| private equity explodes in u.k. | brannon poe: the status quo must go  | accounting nerds, unlock your super powers  | disruptor: jason statts shakes up the status quo | think small to think big with matt wilkinson | when financial statements go extinct with corey schmidt | can geraldine carter save accountants from themselves? | re-inventing accounting with tyler anderson

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in 2020, adam markowitz, a razor-sharp ea and active member of the #taxtwitter community, coined the term marchternity, for the month of the 2020 tax season that never seemed to end. ultimately, thanks to the mad coding skills of chris hervochon, the marchternity bot was born, providing “daily updates on what day of marchternity it is because march 2020 will never end.”

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why the irs is still doing data entry by hand

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young businessman sleeping on the keyboard in the officefive recommendations are offered to improve processing. start with scanners.

want to know the top trends and issues this year?
join the survey. get the answers.
start here.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

here’s something you’d better explain to your tax clients, lest you get blamed:

more: news on irs is maybe sort of a little bit good | why we all hate the tax code | how bullish are you this tax season? | accountants’ top problems for tax season 2023 | tax season 2023: better or worse?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

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three ways to improve tax returns

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think “quality control,” not “review.”

by ed mendlowitz
how to review tax returns: the field-tested update

it occurs to me that there is a difference in the quality between the returns someone does for himself or herself and the returns they do for their clients.

more: tax follow-up worksheets can mean more revenue | tax: the procedural checklists your firm needs | don’t use eyes, use brain | stop tax return review shortcuts | the best way to review a tax return | three types of tax return reviews | routine is key to reviewing tax returns | why you can’t skip checklists | tax review procedures are your quality control | seven types of tax return reviews | how to turn tax returns into new business
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

an informal survey by me showed that the percentage of returns with errors of sole practitioners and partners in cpa firms is less than 2 percent, while the percentage of errors by their staff ranges from a low of 25 percent to a high of 95 percent! why the difference? note that preparer errors are measured by the completed returns they submit for review. and sole practitioner and partner errors are measured by whether a notice was sent by a tax agency or an error is discovered when the following year’s return is being prepared.
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make fewer mistakes, increase revenue and capacity

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businessman horrified by what he sees on computer screentackle the four error categories.

by frank stitely
the relentless cpa

determining the workflow harm that errors cause should be second nature now. errors cause rework. rework adds to work in progress (wip) and, thus, increases turnaround time.

this happens in two ways: as wip increases, capacity decreases. it’s a double whammy.

more: 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?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

when a reviewer spots errors on a tax return and sends it back to the preparer, the preparer wastes at least 15 minutes, and probably more like 30 minutes, fixing the errors. the return then goes back to the reviewer, who spends another 15 minutes re-reviewing the return. we have added 30 to 45 minutes to the wip for this tax return. we know that adding to our wip numerator increases turnaround time.

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news on irs is maybe sort of a little bit good

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number 10but. there’s always a but.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

every year, national taxpayer advocate erin m. collins submits to congress a report on the 10 most serious problems taxpayers face in dealing with the internal revenue service.

more: why we all hate the tax code | how bullish are you this tax season? | accountants’ top problems for tax season 2023 | tax season 2023: better or worse?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

this year, reporting on the frustrations of 2022, the nta had no shortage of bad news, but collins did note a glimmer of hope. “we have begun to see light at the end of the tunnel,” she wrote. “i am just not sure how much further we need to travel before we see sunlight.”
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why we all hate the tax code

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angry businessman with document shouting at somebodybut fixes are possible.

what are the top trends and issues this year?
join the survey. get the answers.
start here.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

here’s something that almost all americans can agree on: the internal revenue code is too complex. worse: it’s becoming irrelevant.

more tax: how bullish are you this tax season? | accountants’ top problems for tax season 2023 | tax season 2023: better or worse? | tax: the procedural checklists your firm needs  |  stop tax return review shortcuts  |  offers in compromise aren’t for everyone  |  trump’s tax returns: read the originals here  |  survey: tax software favorite keeps crown

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how complex?

  • the code contains 9,834 sections.
  • many of the sections have detailed subsections.
  • on top of the code is a six-volume set of corresponding regulation.
  • many of the sections, drafted decades ago, are irrelevant to today’s world.

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