The Firm Administrator's Playbook for a Frictionless Tax Season

Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Time: 03:00 PM ET / 02:00 PM CT / 01:00 PM MT / 12:00 PM PT [Prevailing Time]
Presenter: Mark Pickett and Steven Lyon, Truss
Moderator:
Objective(s):
1. Identify the operational bottlenecks that most commonly slow down tax season workflow, including client intake delays, document disorganization, and status visibility gaps.
2. Describe the core stages of an end-to-end tax workflow — intake, workpaper preparation, production, and delivery — and how each stage affects staff capacity and client experience.
3. Evaluate whether a firm's current process and technology stack is creating unnecessary manual work for tax staff.
Field of Study: Information Technology
Program Level: Intermediate
CPE Credit: 1 Credit Hour
Delivery Method: Group Internet-based

No advanced preparation or prerequisites are required for this course.

Course Description

This session is designed for firm administrators, COOs, practice managers, and partners who own tax season operations but may not touch tax software directly. Every tax season, the same bottlenecks resurface: staff chasing clients for missing documents, status buried across email and spreadsheets, and delivery steps that eat hours per return. We'll walk through what an end-to-end tax workflow actually looks like — from client intake through final delivery — and where most firms are quietly losing time and staff capacity along the way. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for auditing their own firm's workflow gaps and a set of concrete, low-lift changes they can plan for before next tax season, without needing to rip out their existing tax software.

Presenter and Moderator Bios

Presenter: Mark Pickett and Steven Lyon, Truss

Mark Pickett is an Account Executive and Director of Alliances at Truss, specializing in tax and accounting technology. With nearly 30 years in the industry – including over a decade as Regional Solution Consultant at Wolters Kluwer – Mark brings deep, hands-on expertise in tax and accounting workflows and a practitioner’s view of how firms modernize their technology. He’s a recognized thought leader in the space, regularly hosting CPE-accredited sessions and moderating speaker panels at national tradeshows, and has built lasting alliance partnerships with accounting associations across the country.

Steven Lyon is a Solutions Consultant at Truss with more than 13 years of experience helping businesses solve technology and workflow challenges. He began his career at SafeSend, where he built and led support operations before moving into Sales Engineering, Learning & Development, Product Marketing, and Sales. His experience working across these areas has given him a unique perspective on technology, customer experience, and the challenges businesses face every day.

Known for his practical, client-focused approach, Steven enjoys working directly with customers to understand their needs, solve complex problems, and turn technology into solutions that deliver real results.

Cost
$40.00 for CPAFMA Members / $80.00 for Non-Members / Free for PAFMs

  Online Registration

Delivery System

• All programs are delivered using the Zoom platform.
• Confirmations will include log-in instructions.
• Participants are able to participate using any device with an Internet connect (if the device does not have speakers, the participant can also dial-in) or they can participate with audio only by dialing in.
• All registrants will receive a link to the webinar’s recording by email within 48 business hours of event’s conclusion.
• There will be assistance available to help with technical and connectivity issues up to 10 minutes prior to the start of the presentation.

Registration

All registration is done on-line with the names and email addresses of each individual guest. Log-in details will be emailed to all registrants approximately 1-2 days prior to each session.

Refund Policy

CPAFMA will not issue refunds for webinars. If a registrant is unable to participate in the webinar and sends written notice to info@cpafma.org 48 hours prior to the session, a credit will be provided for a future webinar. Alert the CPAFMA staff member monitoring the webinar if technical difficulties are encountered and technical support will be provided to eliminate problems with future webinars.

Additional Information

Live participation is required for CPE credit and polling questions must be answered to show active participation. All registrants will receive an email following the session with links to the slides and/or handouts, and a link to the webinar recording (unless otherwise stated). If you are unable to participate in the live session, you can still watch the recorded session, but you will not be eligible for CPE credits.

For more information regarding CPAFMA webinars or administrative policies such as complaint and refund, contact the CPAFMA Headquarters at 937-222-0030, or info@cpafma.org.