Tax Season Debrief

Right now is the time to start thinking about analyzing what went right and what went wrong this tax season and the answers will be found within your tax department. As a professional in firm management, you are uniquely positioned to help in this area because you are not bound by history. You will be able to look at the process from start to finish and make unbiased determinations of what is working and what needs work. Whether you choose to undertake and lead the process yourself or hire an independent third party to come and in and work with you is the first step and may be dependent on your existing firm culture. If your culture is open and collaborative, it might make sense for you to lead the effort. If your office tends to be more restrictive, you may feel a third party would make management more receptive to proposals.

The best time to get the information you need is while it is still fresh on everyone’s mind. You will need to allow your tax professionals time to decompress and relax after tax season, so do not start this process until at least May 1. This will give you time to prepare and give them time to quit drooling on themselves and develop the ability to again form coherent sentences. You want to have an insightful, thoughtful discussion that produces results and change before you hit the September and October deadlines.

It is important that every point in your firm’s tax return process is examined. To get the best results, you will need to hear from everyone from the receptionist to the partner in charge of the tax department. It will be up to you to compile the feedback, both positive and negative, and decide how to organize and use the information. Again, your firm culture will come into play in this decision. Our firm has had success with using a committee but that might not be the best answer for your firm.

The goal is not to create the “perfect” process because there will always be adjustments and modifications. You want to create the best process for your firm so that efficiency is improved and, maybe just maybe, tax season becomes a little more manageable for your people.