june2022 - 11

TECHNOLOGY IN PRACTICE
■ What technologies or applications hindered the
process and why?
■ What should we do better or differently this
extension season?
■ In what areas did we have staffing shortfalls or
need additional training?
■ What team member went " above and beyond "
or did something special?
■ What client returns were awesome this year
and why?
■ What client engagements were difficult and why?
IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES: One
situation that can completely
derail a debrief meeting is when a
dominant personality interjects at
the beginning of a discussion and
effectively shuts down everyone
else from participating. Having
each person first write down their responses to
the questions either via the survey or individually
on " sticky notes " during the meeting will allow
everyone to get his or her thoughts captured.
We then ask the " newest " meeting participant to
share his or her response and then go around the
room to get multiple insights before the dominant
person would have a chance to respond. Grouping
sticky notes with common themes helps to
add depth to the myriad of opportunities being
identified.
PRIORITIZE OPPORTUNITIES:
We often see five to ten opportunities
come together during a
debrief meeting and have found
it helpful to group them into four
categories: (A) those items that
overall have a high impact on
firm production with a low level of " touch or
technology " to implement, (B1) those that have
a low impact with low touch/technology (B2)
those items that have a high impact with high
touch/technology, and (C) those that have a low
impact but high touch/technology. Most often
the (A) items would be prioritized first and the
(C) items shelved. Amongst the (B) items, we
normally compare them based on expected
ROI and shorter timeframe for evaluation and
successful implementation (often based on other
peer's successes).
CREATE SMART PROJECTS: We
suggest firms select only a few
projects out of the prioritized
items and make sure that
adequate resources (staffing
and budget) are allocated so they
can be successfully completed.
To best ensure success, we recommend firms
write " SMART " project charters so everyone
thoroughly understands what the goal/outcome
of the project is. SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable,
Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
For instance, " beginning July 1, administration
will scan in/merge all physical and digital 1040
source documents and utilize a firm-standard
bookmarking application and OCR'd into the tax
program which will be QC-reviewed to a firm
standard for onscreen preparation " is more comprehensive
than " utilizing up-front scanning. "
UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS:
Once a project opportunity is
targeted, we have found it is
extremely helpful to flowchart the
current process on a whiteboard
so everyone understands visually
what is currently occurring
(including warts and bottlenecks in the process)
and to then to compare solutions that positively
transform the process, streamline steps, or
eliminate those bottlenecks. To ensure that
everything is captured, we have firms compare
it to any firm written procedure document and
even physically walk through the production
process when there is significant input from
different firm members.
RESEARCH SOLUTIONS: May
through July provide great
opportunities to inquire peers, do
web-based product evaluations
and to attend industry conferences.
Professional Associations
such as the AICPA and CPA Firm
Management Association conduct tax technology
surveys and hold conferences where attendees
can evaluate these solutions first-hand, as well
as discuss successful implementation with peers.
We have found that identifying the top two or
three products utilized by similar firms (via
the surveys) and obtaining unbiased references
Getting everyone's input and
successfully implementing a
new solution on which they
had input also helps to build a
culture of teamwork and firm
improvement.
from peer members is the most effective way to
identify the optimum solution before acquiring
the application. Peer firms that are a couple years
into their implementation can often provide their
do's and don'ts to further streamline the firm's
adoption of a new solution.
PILOT SOLUTIONS: When piloting
a new application or process it
is important to include a crossfunctional
team that will evaluate
the solution not only from a firm
perspective but also evaluating
the impact for any clients or
outside users. The process should be thoroughly
documented and flowcharted so that it is clear
as to what is being done.
IMPLEMENT/EDUCATE:
After a successful
pilot program,
the process should be
rolled out including
providing education
on why the change was
made and the benefits expected to the firm and
clients. In my experience, this is often where
firms under allocate resources and can significantly
hinder the introduction of a new solution.
Whatever you believe you need in training, we
suggest you double it and ensure that everyone
is effective at utilizing the tool/process.
Conducting an annual tax debrief meeting
will provide an opportunity to not only acknowledge
the successes of the previous few months
but also launch enhancements in the firm's tax
production processes. Getting everyone's input
and successfully implementing a new solution
on which they had input also helps to build a
culture of teamwork and firm improvement. ■
JUNE 2022 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
11
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june2022

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