Posted in DocumentManagementforAccountants2Go on November 21st, 2008

DMA2Go Episode 10 - DMS in the Audit Engagement

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Host: John Higgins, CPA.CITP of CPA Crossings
www.CPACrossings.comCCH ProSystemFx Engagement - www.tax.cchgroup.com/Engagement
Thomson Reuters Engagement CS - www.cs.thomsonreuters.com/engagement
Caseware Working Papers - www.caseware.com

Next recording date: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 9:30am EST

Thanks to our Corporate Sponsor: ADP

 
Posted in DocumentManagementforAccountants2Go on October 15th, 2008

DMA2Go - Episode 9 - Integrating DMS into the Tax Practice

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Host: John Higgins, CPA.CITP www.CPACrossings.comCall to leave messages: 1-800-456-0864 ext# 2106Next recording – Episode # 10 on Friday, November 21, 2008 at 11:30am EasternTopic 1 – Milestones in the tax prep. processData gathering & organization
Tax preparation & review
Document distribution & archiving

Topic 2 – DMS tools and best practices for each milestone

Data gathering –

  • Try to procure info electronically to minimize scanning
    1. PDF, e-mail, Word, Excel, remote entry (on-line organizer)
  • Scanning process
    1. Consider scan & organize tools (see CPATA Sep 08 – Scan & Organize)
      1. ProFx Scan, ATX/TaxWise Scan & Fill, GruntWorx, SurePrep – 1040 scan, Thomson GFR taxsort, Thomson FCS. [Intuit rumored to be announcing a product soon.]
    2. Procure the appropriate scanner. Emphasize centralized scanning. Do a walkthrough of your scanning workflow and communicate throughout office. Gain efficiency through a standardized process.
    3. Decide whether to use front end scanning (paperless preparation), mid point scanning (paperless review) or after the fact scanning (paperless archiving). Most important decision.
  • Preparation process
    1. Develop a document / file organization model
      1. Windows Explorer file structure
      2. DMS solution (CPATA June / August)
        1. Get all prior year files and documents into system and organized
        2. Develop document annotation and tick marking standards / policy.
          1. Learn how to use Adobe for annotation
          2. Determine methodology for review note tracking and processing
            1. Workflow software
            2. Word / Excel
            3. Adobe
            4. Tax software
            5. E-mail
            6. Paper
          3. Decide which versions of tax return to print to PDF; Accountant, Client, Government
        3. Walkthrough workflow procedures, document and communicate to all staff
  • Document Distribution & archiving
    1. Print all forms & returns to PDF and then determine which ones to print to paper, if any!
    2. Print Accountant and taxpayer copy to PDF (more efficient in the long run)
    3. Emphasize distributing final taxpayer copy via PDF e-mail attachment (portal preferred)
    4. Discourage paper or CD distribution due to unnecessary cost and security risk.
    5. Develop password protection policy for all PDFs going outside the firm
      1. Develop pw model based on a standard that results in a unique password for each client.
      2. Structure the policy so that anyone who has access to client info can determine the pw.
    6. Investigate the use of a portal, recommend this decision made in conjunction with, or after procurement of DMS.

Final thoughts – don’t bite off more than you can chew, but go far enough to challenge your team to make significant progress to leveraging technology to maximize efficiency.

Thanks to our Corporate Sponsor: ADP

 
Posted in DocumentManagementforAccountants2Go on September 25th, 2008

DMA2Go Episode 8: PDF Tools

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Recorded live on September 19, 2008
Voice mail for questions / comments / etc: 800-456-0864 ext 2106Moderator: Greg LaFollette
Regular Guests: John HigginsPDF ToolsCCH Scan — http://tax.cchgroup.com/Scan/Default.htm?cookie%5Ftest=1
SurePrep — http://www.sureprep.com/
Copanion — http://www.copanion.com/
Thomson GoFileRoom TaxSort — http://es.thomsonreuters.com/gofileroom/modules.aspx
PDFlyer — http://tax.cchgroup.com/Scan/default
Adobe Acrobat — http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/

Next recording of DMA2Go:Episode # 9 — Tuesday, October 14st, 11:00AM EDT on www.TalkShoe.com

Thanks to our Corporate Sponsor: ADP

 
Posted in DocumentManagementforAccountants2Go on August 15th, 2008

DMA2Go - Episode 7 - A Case Study – “How Does it All Work?”

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Recorded on August 14, 2008
Voice mail for questions / comments / etc: 800-456-0864 ext 2106Regular Guests: John Higgins – www.cpacrossings.com
Special Guest: Andrew Bates — www.Softrak.comProduct name: Adagio FX — www.softrak.com/products/adagio/fx.php

Next recording of SBC2Go (Episode # 12) will be September 19, 2008 at 11:00am PDT on www.TalkShoe.com

Thanks to our Corporate Sponsor: ADP

 
Posted in DocumentManagementforAccountants2Go on August 6th, 2008

DMA2Go - Portals

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Thanks to our Corporate Sponsor: ADP ADP - Automatic Data Processing, Inc.

John Higgins, CPA.CITP of CPA Crossings, LLC — www.cpacrossings.com

Send This File — www.sendthisfile.com

eMoney Advisor — www.emoneyadvisor.com

Thomson portals – www.cs.thomson.com/portals/

CCH ProFx Document portals – www.tax.cchgroup.com/Document/

Microsoft Sharepoint — www.microsoft.com/Sharepoint/

Next recording: Episode # 7 – August 14th 9:30am EDT

 
Posted in DocumentManagementforAccountants2Go on June 27th, 2008

DMA2Go Workflow

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Gregory L. Lafollette
Gregory L. LaFollette CPA.CITP		 John Higgins
John Higgins CPA.CITP

DMA2Go Workflow Show NotesEpisode 5
Recorded June 24, 2008
Duration: 0:39:44 38.2 MB

Regular Guest: John Higgins, CPA.CITP, Principal at www.CPACrossings.com

Episode # 6 will record live on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 11:00am EDT at www.TalkShoe.com.  Topic will be “Portals”.

History of workflow:

  • Ability to print to PDF file
  • Dual monitors
  • PDF annotation tools
    • PDFlyer from CCH
    • Tic, Tie & Calculate from Acct1st
    • Doc-It
  • Firms then eliminated paper files
  • Then the discovered the need for workflow

Concept of workflow

  • in analog world the floor was the inbox & the credenza the outbox, or perhaps vice-versa
  • notes were verbal
  • relied on paper routing sheets

Software needs to evolve further — they are not as mature as many document management systems. Does workflow belong in tax, practice management, document management system, or stand-alone?

Tax status systems work well IF everything is a tax return! But it’s NOT! Is workflow sold by the quart, the pound, or the mile? What about document centric workflow. Some practice management systems have some workflow built in already.

  • Thomson Practice CS
  • Adobe Acrobat used to replicate paper routing forms
  • Microsoft SharePoint
  • XCM is the only stand-alone workflow system available today

Workflow systems like Thomson GoFileRoom attempt to duplicate the concept of a Redrope client file and add automatic routing, review notes, resolution, etc. Some firms want to track time, too — but workflow shouldn’t duplicate the time & billing component of a practice management system. Workflow is not necessarily scheduling programs like www.StaffTrack.com. Small firms might like Office Tools Pro or TimeMatters/Billing Matters from Lexis-Nexis.

 
Posted in DocumentManagementforAccountants2Go on May 15th, 2008

DMA2Go - Episode 4

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Document Management for Accountants 2 Go

Episode # 4 – “Scanners”

Recorded live at www.TalkShoe.com — running time 50:28

Featuring John Higgins of CPA Crossings, LLC (www.cpacrossings.com)

          a. Scanning devices
                 i. Types of scanners - Flatbed / Sheet-fed scanners / Hand-held / 
                    Portable / MFP
                ii. Evaluation criteria
               iii. Popular models
          b. Scanning software
          c. Scanning best practices

www.CDW.com or www.NewEgg.com
Resolution / Speed / Duty Cycle / included software
www.Canon.com | www.Fujitsu.com | www.Ricoh.com

VRS from www.Kofax.com
FineReader from www.Abbyy.com
AcrobatPro from www.Adobe.com
OmniPage from www.Nuance.com

There are benefits in buying 2 “mid-range” scanners rather than 1 “high-end” scanner — redundancy / lower cost.

Next episode will be recorded on June 19, 2008 05:00 PM EDT

Voice mail at 800-456-0864 ext 2106

 
Posted in DocumentManagementforAccountants2Go on March 24th, 2008

DMA2GO Episode 3

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Gregory L. Lafollette
Gregory L. LaFollette CPA.CITP		 John Higgins
John Higgins CPA.CITP

DMA2Go Show Notes
Episode 3
Recorded March 20, 2008
Duration: 0:55:04 50.4 MB

Featuring John Higgins of CPA Crossings, LLC
The CPA Technology Advisor’s Document Management System Product Selector

Components of review for DMS
1. Usability
2. Scanning
3. Integration
4. Workflow
5. Portal
6. Technology

Kofax VRS
Abbyy FineReader

Next recording on www.Talkshoe.com on May 7th, 2008 at 3:30pm CDT
Intersection Live
VM box for questions and comments: 800-456-0864 ext. 2106

 
Posted in DocumentManagementforAccountants2Go on March 14th, 2008

DMA2Go Episode 2

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Gregory L. Lafollette
Gregory L. LaFollette CPA.CITP		 John Higgins
John Higgins CPA.CITP

DMA2Go Show Notes
Episode 2
Recorded February 15, 2008
Duration: 0:39:44 37.2 MB

We’ve had many, many questions in the DMS (Document Management System) area and consequently thought it wise to dedicate a podcast series specifically to that area. We’ll discuss the role of
DMS, evaluation factors, various solutions, scanning options, workflow, portals, Adobe, etc.

Michigan Summer Management Information Show
June 25-26, 2008
Novi, MI
www.michcpa.org/Content/16601.aspx

AICPA TECH+
June 8-11th in Las Vegas at the Bellagio
Conference website:www.cpa2biz.com/

Logical divisions for electronic document systems are “storage vs. management” and “vertical vs. horizontal”.

Next recording date: March 20, 2008 11:00am EST

Topics: Evaluation factors / Productivity Survey®

 
Posted in DocumentManagementforAccountants2Go on January 18th, 2008

DMA2Go - Episode 1

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DMA2Go Show Notes
Episode 1
Recorded January 11, 2008

Today’s show is an introduction of both John Higgins and the series as a whole. We’ve had
many, many questions in the DMS (Document Management System) area and consequently thought
it wise to dedicate a podcast series specifically to that area. We’ll discuss the role of
DMS, evaluation factors, various solutions, scanning options, workflow, portals, Adobe, etc.

Gregory L. Lafollette
Gregory L. LaFollette CPA.CITP

John Higgins
John Higgins CPA.CITP


John Higgins, CPA.CITP

Document Management Selector

Question from reader in South Carolina about file and folder naming conventions

Question from listener (live) regarding scanner selection.

Next recording date: February 15, 2008 9:30am CST Topic: Document MANAGEMENT vs. Document STORAGE / Vertical vs. Horizontal solutions