December 2016 - CPA Practice Advisor

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In this issue

Firm Management

In Firm: 2017 IT Predictions and 2016 Results

With another year end (and tax season) rapidly approaching, it’s time to once again dust off the magic crystal ball and cobble together our 2017 CPA Firm Technology and Production predictions. This listing will hopefully provide you with fresh insight ...

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Payroll

What Drives Workplace Happiness?

Happiness at work is something nearly everyone wants, but it varies by an employee's age, gender and field, among other factors. This is one of the findings of a new comprehensive study of more than 12,000 U.S. and Canadian workers by Robert Half, in ...

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Payroll

Apps We Love: To-Do Lists

We like lists. It goes with the territory of keeping track of numbers and transactions and all the moving pieces of our and our clients’ businesses. As we approach the end of the year, resolutions to be more efficient and organized are often on our minds.

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Small Business

For a Definition of Value, Just Ask Your Employees

The first step is specifying value from the standpoint of the customer. Accounting firms have multiple customers. The easiest to identify are, of course, the clients who pay you. But as you begin to understand the core of Lean, you need to identify ...

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Small Business

Bill.com and QuickBooks Online Make Bill Payment Painless

Companies partner for a deeper integration to offer seamless online bill pay

Accounting

CCH Axcess has Streamlined Sachetta & Callahan’s Tax Practice

It was not so long ago that the administrative work accompanying the annual tax preparation process was arduous at best. Most tax accountants except the very youngest among us can remember the file cabinets, the piles of papers and workpaper folders ...

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Firm Management

2016 Review of Time and Billing Systems

Rather than being seen as a micro-management tool, time and billing systems provide your employees with the tools they need to track individual tasks, as well as help with project management and work flow; particularly when several employees are ...

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Payroll

Judge Overturns New Overtime Pay Law – What Comes Next?

Under the final overtime rule, certain salary thresholds would have increased, resulting in millions of more Americans becoming eligible for overtime pay. For now, the status quo applies. The DOL is expected to appeal the decision, but President-elect ...

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Firm Management

The Lure of Technology

There was also the luxury of moving at a leisurely pace. I was studying computer science, learning programming languages, solving problems too complex for paper and pencil and (non-handheld) calculators, but I had days and even weeks to solve a ...

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Firm Management

The Human Element of Change

Process improvement requires a change of routines and habits that have been formed over time. While it is important to appeal to logic, feelings and emotions ultimately influence the decision to comply or resist. However, we often overlook or ...

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2016 Review of Tax Research Systems

While most tax systems have the capability to handle standard returns for clients, the way people earn and invest their money has changed dramatically in recent years. While there are numerous clients who receive a standard W-2 at the end of the year ...

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The 5 Best State Sales Tax Websites

The sad truth is that for the majority of state sales tax sites, it isn’t easy to get the essential information that you need. Many of them are riddled with outdated design, perplexing navigation and unclear wording that can turn finding simple ...

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Florida Case Could Change U.S. Online Sales Tax Laws

Courts to date have disagreed on this matter. An administrative law judgment initially upheld the department’s audit findings in March 2013. The Fourth District Court of Appeals then found the state to have “impermissibly burdened interstate commerce ...

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Advisory

Is Your Technology Meeting Client Expectations?

Too many firms are stuck in the paper age; continuing to do things the way they always have. Beyond the aversion to change is the deep-rooted belief that if they don’t send out a tangible stack of paper, the client will question the value they ...

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Firm Management

Where Does Time Go?

It’s hard to believe another year has come and gone. The old adage that time flies when you’re having fun has certainly applied to our family with the addition of three new grandchildren this year! While we often track time in our lives by birthdays ...

Payroll

How to Speed Up the Hiring Process

If you’re having trouble landing highly skilled candidates, you may need to make your hiring process faster and more efficient. Here’s how:

Technology

2016 Review of Tax Document Automation Systems

While tax document automation software can automatically populate relevant information on tax returns, the products also offer digital PDF workpapers, allowing users to easily create binders for each client following a specific order, so all binders ...

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Accounting

Accountants Want To Eliminate Paper Checks

Additionally, the survey exposed concerns about bill payment efficiency and security. Respondents that relied on handwritten checks or computer-printed checks often spend more time on bill payment, and 66% of all respondents worry that clients do not ...