GBJ File Photo
By Maureen Werther
With the dust temporarily settled for accounting firms scrambling to be in compliance with the new tax legislation, accountants only had a moment to breathe before jumping right into tax season.
What has helped is that accountants have embraced technology in varying degrees, with some diving in with both feet, relying on social media as well as sophisticated integrated software programs and cloud storage technology. Others continue to be happy with software technology while staying away from the social media component and even the cloud.
Rick Fuller of Richard W. Fuller CPAs in Glens Falls has been a practicing accountant for 38 years and opened his firm five years ago. For him, using social media as a marketing tool is something he said his company really doesn’t need. Accounting has historically been one of those industries that has done very well in amassing a book of business largely through word of mouth. Fuller said that continues to work well.
As far as utilizing electronic systems to generate paperless documents, Fuller said he is very close to being completely paperless.
“I only have two screens, not the usual four,” said Fuller, referring to the now common practice of using multiple computer screens, where one is used to view scanned client documents and the others are used display tax and other programs, integrating the information into one complete document.
Fuller said he and his staff have been using advanced software programs for several years, with different tax programs for individuals, corporations, LLCs, trusts and estates. He recently started using a newer technological advance in his other business—Just Right Payroll Solutions. The current payroll programs he utilizes allow him to run payroll for every state in the country and it also allows employees secure access to view their paystubs, direct deposits, and W-2 forms.
Fuller also takes advantage of a suite of software products that allow him to record billable hours, which can be reviewed daily. It also tracks non-billable hours, such as time spent on the phone with prospective clients.
Another program Fuller and his staff use extensively is the File Cabinet document management system, which operates like a virtual file cabinet and allows for instant access to all types of documents and emails in a secure environment. According to Fuller, the program allow staff to print directly from the programs into a virtual file cabinet, and it automatically knows what client’s folder it goes to. Depreciation Solution is another favorite program, which compiles all types of depreciation, earnings and profits for different states.
Despite the heavy reliance on software systems, Fuller said that he is not involved with the cloud.
“I’m concerned about the cloud, and all my data is local. If I want access to it, I’ve got it right on my server and I’m not dependent upon the Internet for it,” he said. “This thing with the cloud is a control thing and you can get into a big debate about it. Of course, you can get hacked anywhere, but if the Internet goes down, I can still retrieve my clients’ data.”
Lynn Chase, senior staff accountant with Gore and Laney CPAs PLLC in Hudson Falls, said accounting-based technology tools are definitely helpful. Programs that streamline the accounting process have both greatly reduced the time to complete tasks and increased efficiencies, freeing staff to do other kinds of work for clients.
In addition to tax preparation, Gore and Laney also prepare financial statements, offer payroll services, and work with clients to set up new businesses. The firm, which is at full capacity, has approximately 1,800 individual clients and 400 small businesses.
Chase, who has been an accountant for 36 years, said some younger staffers rely too heavily on the computer and have a tendency to miss things. “When we were first learning, we did it all manually and got a much better feel of where things flowed. The downfall with software is that it’s all input. Unless you know the mechanics and have the knowledge, the end product may be flawed.”
Chase compared it with the well-known consumer product, TurboTax.
“People can sit down at home and do Turbo Tax, but it doesn’t mean they’re putting the numbers in the right place and getting the correct result. It’s still a very complicated thing,” she said.
Nevertheless, Chase said software systems have been a godsend, many of which can perform extremely complicated calculations with ease.
“Everything is triple password protected and, while we used to just have to log in once, now, for every 20 minutes of inactivity, you have log back in. There are so many levels of password protections and passwords must be changed frequently. The systems also know if you’ve used a password before. I’m on password overload at times,” she said.
Chase said that there are no systems yet that utilize voice recognition but she doesn’t think it is far off. “Some of the younger staff use their fingerprints to log into their computers.