TAX2613. How To Align Your Bookkeeper and Tax Accountant for Financial Success

It’s no secret that the relationship between bookkeepers and CPAs is often tense – but does it need to be that way?

Instead of throwing the financial statements "over the wall”, let’s create common ground by collaborating throughout the year. We’ll learn to leverage technology and build systems to share information at the time it’s most actionable – rather than only at tax-time, when the pressure’s on and it’s too late to address certain types of issues. Highly-skilled and educated bookkeepers can go a long way toward solving the pipeline crisis as well as closing the tax gap.

Be inspired to establish a workflow that effectively communicates a) who is responsible for what; b) whether or not a task is complete; and c) where the source documents can be found. This process (whether internally at a CAS practice or between firms) can replace the proverbial wall between practitioners with a workflow accessible to everyone.

Who wins when we tear down the wall? CPAs, Bookkeepers, and most of all – our clients.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify common pain points between bookkeepers and tax professionals that contribute to recurring accounting and tax issues.
• Recognize effective workflow, process, and communication practices that support collaboration between bookkeepers and tax professionals.
• Identify strategies for involving clients appropriately as participants in the accounting and tax process.
• Recognize how leveraging bookkeepers and CAS practitioners can help address the CPA pipeline challenge and reduce workload pressure for tax professionals.