2011 Review of BNA, Inc. — BNA Tax and Accounting Center

BNA, Inc. - BNA Tax & Accounting Software
800-372-1033
www.bna.com 

Best Fit:
Tax, accounting and legal professionals who want the practitioner view as well an an editorial view of tax law.

Strengths:

• Research portfolios authored by respected practitioners & educators
• Clean, easy-to-use interface
• High level of program & newsletter customization

Potential Limitations:

• No native integration with third-party tax preparation products

From the December 2011 Review of Tax & Accounting Research Systems

BNA Tax and Accounting Center is the tax and accounting research offering from BNA. While much of the content is also available in print and on DVD, the online version is the focus of this review. In August 2011, BNA rebranded the logo and various color schemes for the online edition. Most changes were made due to customer feedback, and content was not altered in any way.

BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS - 5 Stars
Among other ways of accessing content, BNA Tax and Accounting Center can be navigated through a tabbed based system, with each tab representing a predefined research interest area. The initial landing page for each tab section is uniform in structure and design, creating a unified navigation experience by displaying research interest areas in the same location within each respective tab. Links to primary sources and other resources specific to an interest area are displayed on the left part of the screen. Daily news applicable to the tab section is displayed on the right-hand side and is updated throughout the day. Any tab may be setup as the default screen view to display upon login. This allows those that focus on state, international or payroll tax areas to default to those respective screens as their homepage instead of the default federal tax screen.

Searching within the product is easy and may be accomplished many different ways. The broadest and most obvious is through the designated search box at the top of each screen. When searching through this box, users are taken to a screen that details the categories that contain the search term. In addition, users may go directly to specific code sections, revenue rulings, portfolio analysis sections or a host of other options by using the Go To link, also provided at the top of each screen. Searches may also be narrowed through the use of advanced search or guided search options. These searches typically result in more targeted results and may be of use to those with more research experience. Once inside a search, users may easily navigate between all areas of the research software through the provided links.

CONTENT - 5 Stars
BNA Tax and Accounting Center has direct links to a variety of primary sources. The most notable, of course, is the Internal Revenue Code. Other sources include current and proposed legislation changes and court cases dating back nearly a century. The dominant part of the BNA system is the BNA Portfolios. These Portfolios are the backbone of the research and provide a topical look at specific tax subjects. All portfolios are authored by active practitioners and educators and not by the staff of BNA, although BNA’s professional editorial staff assist authors in maintaining the currency of the Portfolios. This generally translates to practical and intended use of the tax code. Many authors also create and share workpapers they have developed along with practical examples. In May 2011, BNA introduced a Fast Answers feature for the federal tax section of its research. Fast Answers focuses on quick answers for day-to-day scenarios and provides direct links to appropriate code sections and analysis for further research.