The technical competence of your staff is the bedrock of a successful tax practise. While you can build a modern organisation with automated procedures and a wide range of services, if your team isn’t up to date on the latest tax law changes, your clients will leave.
Keeping informed is, of course, easier said than done. Tax rules are continuously changing, and the changes aren’t always easy to understand. Your tax and accounting staff, more than ever, requires a solid system or framework that takes advantage of technology in order to stay up with regulatory changes in a timely manner.
Current knowledge is the foundation of excellent client service.
Top CPA companies have long recognised the importance of transitioning their workforce from tax preparers to tax counsellors. While a preparer is focused on preparing tax returns, an advisor attempts to assess the larger consequences of tax code changes by considering the following factors:
- What recent tax law changes should my clients be aware of?
- What are the ramifications for business?
- When do new tax laws go into effect?
- Should clients change their business practises when new rules are implemented?
- Are there any prospects for tax savings or tax planning, or other ways I may contribute value?
Tax advisors can take advantage of their current knowledge by taking advantage of possibilities to improve their clients’ tax strategy. They can provide assistance to clients who are dealing with complicated transformations, earning reputation, client trust, and new revenue streams for their businesses.
Protecting your firm’s reputation
It’s not just about demonstrating value over do-it-yourself compliance tools and online preparation platforms to keep your team highly skilled in the current tax landscape. Finance leaders require expert adviser support to modify their tax strategy in anticipation of future tax hikes, given the growing public expectation that businesses pay their “fair share” of tax, as well as economic pressure from an unpredictable economic environment.
Simultaneously, tax authorities are increasingly relying on advanced technology to perform forensic investigations, resulting in an increase in the number of firm tax audits. There is a significant risk of offering inaccurate or inadequate advice if you do not have a thorough understanding of the current law. Errors can cause financial harm to your clients, especially if they’re discovered during an audit, and your organisation could be held legally liable. With your company’s reputation on the line, it’s critical to take every precaution to ensure that your employees are well-equipped to provide the greatest and most accurate advice.
Encouraging learning with a mix of resources
You may assist team members in keeping their tax knowledge up to date by offering a variety of learning opportunities:
- Industry-leading conferences and seminars, such as Synergy and Gear Up, provide an interactive opportunity for employees to learn about the latest tax law developments and concerns affecting today’s organisations.
- Networking. Workshops for tax teams might be held to share their expertise and experience in a certain tax topic.
- Subscriptions. Staff can learn about the practical effects of regulatory changes by reading newsletters from professional associations and LinkedIn posts from industry leaders.
- Courses for continuing education. Thomson Reuters’ Checkpoint Learning offers a wide choice of high-quality self-study courses to enable your employees expand their knowledge and learn in the method that works best for them.
While these are all excellent options for professional growth, what if your tax staff requires more assistance in their day-to-day client work?
Accounting research technology is the assisting hand you’ve been looking for to get fast and correct results.
When your clients have a query, they want fast, accurate replies. Clients will seek them elsewhere if you are unable to supply them. The basic truth is that no one knows all of the answers. Although conducting research takes time, client expectations for speed and accuracy from their firms continue to climb.
The good news is that technology is easily available to assist businesses in quickly obtaining the information they want in order to confidently respond to any client enquiry.
There are solutions on the market that incorporate even the most current tax law changes, whether the customer is a multinational corporation searching for the newest advances in transfer pricing laws or a manufacturer trying to claim R&D tax relief under new amortisation criteria. Today’s technology enables you to provide your clients with the greatest possible assistance and service.
Having access to a comprehensive research tool that keeps workers up to date on tax law changes will assist your team in working confidently and quickly to obtain the proper solutions for clients.
Learn more: The Impact of Individual Income Tax Changes on Economic Growth