New CCH AnswerConnect Offers Streamlined Tax Research

Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting has launched CCH® AnswerConnect, an answer-oriented, tax information service developed for both practitioners and corporate tax professionals who rely on quality tax content to advise their clients. CCH AnswerConnect represents a major step forward in how Wolters Kluwer leverages its industry-leading tax information, replacing traditional search and retrieve with a transformed question-and-answer model.

Covering a full spectrum of tax topics and written by Wolters Kluwer and industry experts, CCH AnswerConnect content delivers comprehensive, usable information in a practical format. Focusing on speed to answer, CCH AnswerConnect supports users with intelligent search capabilities, a broad selection of tools and practice aids, and an innovative and intuitive design that puts all relevant information together. These features span the full range of Wolters Kluwer tax content, not a limited set of topics or regulations.

“I see this changing the face of research,” said CCH AnswerConnect client Mitch Clark, Senior Tax Manager, Little-Morris LLP. “It is much more user friendly than other products I’ve tried and would cut our research time.”

The new, comprehensive federal and state tax resource instantly serves up everything a professional needs in one place – expert analysis, tools, support materials, examples, cautions, compliance help, learning tips, etc. Researchers looking for a quick answer will find one in seconds right from the search bar, and those who need more comprehensive information can rely on an extensive collection of expert content accessible with a single search.

Wolters Kluwer worked closely with accountants and CPAs to deliver CCH AnswerConnect, spending hundreds of hours observing tax and accounting professionals and how they found answers. This critical insight helped to shape some of the key aspects of CCH AnswerConnect:

It needed to be intuitive, practical and improve efficiency and productivity
Information needed to be topic based, so that users could see the full range of information and insight available on any given topic in one place
It needed to work in the same manner that customers use technology in their everyday lives

“I am an experienced researcher and still get overwhelmed. CCH AnswerConnect was very intuitive and gave the results in a format that was easy to either read the summary or dig deeper for more details. I love that the guidance and explanations are grouped with results, which makes it easier to follow when you don’t have multiple monitors and extra viewing space,” said CCH AnswerConnect client Shelly Butterfield, Senior Tax Manager, Monogram Foods Solutions LLC.

Unlike traditional tax research products that require users to search through various publications and documents to find what they are looking for, CCH AnswerConnect offers users an option to access answers along with expert guidance to help them quickly, easily and confidently complete their work. The platform was built so that both new and experienced tax researchers could dive right in using the same natural language and search functionality they use in their everyday lives.

“We know our clients need access to expertise and productivity solutions that integrate seamlessly into their daily activities and workflow, and they can’t risk productivity loss,” said Josh Braunstein, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, Research & Learning US. “Now, they can use CCH AnswerConnect to get immediate access to accurate fast answers as well as in-depth information needed for decision-making and planning, all in one place. It’s our most intuitive tax research platform yet that actually helps users do less research.”

CCH AnswerConnect covers all areas of federal and state tax law, with international content in development for future release. In the Federal Tax Code Section, users will have access to the entire Internal Revenue Code in a new 360 degree view that includes full text of the law, history, regulations, newly-written explanations, related cases, forms, tools and more. Each federal tax topic contains an overview that brings together the analysis, practical applications of the law, news, examples, gray areas, infographics and videos. The State Tax Topics provide broad coverage on an issue with links to specific treatments in each state, as well as access to CCH State Tax SmartCharts – a high-level snapshot of tax treatment across states, with access to more details as needed.

To learn more about CCH AnswerConnect, click here.

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