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Virtually all firms have a basic document retention policy that outlines what physical files are saved, how long they are kept and when they should be disposed of. However, many firms have not taken into account all the facets of transitioning to a digital environment, particularly today when files can be stored in a multitude of electronic formats.
The good news is that for firms that have traditionally had a good physical document retention policy and have educated users on its requirements, the transition to include digital files in the mix is fairly straightforward as long as policies are reviewed and updated annually. Firms that have not done so well may be facing a momentous cleanup of old physical and newer digital files to comply with a digital document retention policy, but this transition should be a business requirement in today’s litigious environment. (more…)
Laptop computers have proven to be effective business tools, allowing firm members to work in the office, at client sites or any location they choose at any time that is convenient to them. This accessibility comes, however, with the responsibility of protecting the device and, more importantly, the information that is available through it. Countless firms have experienced a laptop theft, many of which could have been prevented and the impact minimized through proactive education and security tools.
Most firms have done a good job of using paperless tools to streamline audit and tax production, and integrated workflow tools are doing an amazing job of managing our clients’ digital files once they are in the firm’s systems. But is your firm taking advantage of all of today’s digital capture technology? Regardless of what format information takes when it enters your firm, there are tools that can capture it in an electronic format so it can be fast-tracked into your paperless workflows, particularly in your administrative department, which is often behind when it comes to paperless technology. This article will look at a number of tools and processes to optimize your firm’s digital capture.
The majority of firms today have not written a disaster recovery plan and those that have seem to have a very difficult time keeping them current. Much of this difficulty can be attributed to the expectations of the traditional written plan that details every piece of equipment, system settings and configuration, and communications, all of which are in a constant state of flux. Every time the IT team takes a look at the written document, they are reminded that more changes are on the way and it becomes harder and harder to commit to updating it. For the small percentage of firms that have found a way to keep a current disaster plan updated, we applaud you! For the rest, we recommend that you take a proactive step in the direction of protecting your firm by developing an Immediate Response Document (IRD). Please note that while this document is not a substitution for a disaster plan or intended to be an all–inclusive list, it will take your firm a lot further faster in responding when things go really bad. 
A lot of people are confused about “cloud” computing, as it is a buzzword used to describe a variety of tools and remote access situations which can encompass a fairly broad spectrum of technologies. In its truest form, cloud computing is a completely outsourced solution (Saas-Software as a service) where the firm pays a vendor a usage fee to access applications and information that the vendor manages in an Internet accessible facility.
The busy season is upon us and the majority of tax personnel are keeping their heads down in the trenches and focusing on getting the work out, while most firm administrators are overseeing the overall workflow to make sure it goes smoothly. The Firm Administrator position presents a unique opportunity to observe production from a firmwide level and suggest opportunities for improvements. With that in mind we list seven IT Trends to watch out for in the next few months.
The fact today is that with the transition to a “less paper” environment, accountants rely on computers and the digital data stored on them more than ever for producing the majority of their work. The loss of one file by accidental deletion, overwriting, or the loss of the entire computer by a hard disk crash or theft can create a disaster scenario that in the worst case could lead to the loss of that accountant’s entire business, which is why offsite backups are a critical component for business continuity for business owners today. Most users backup their data locally onto other media such as tapes, CD/DVDs, USB flash drives and USB storage disks, but these backups are susceptible to theft, fire, or other disaster if not adequately stored in a secure offsite location. While many accountants move their backup media offsite, they seldom think about the cost and time to do this and the impact if that media is stolen, or more likely if they forget to take the latest version offsite and then are hit with a disaster. The solution to this scenario is to augment the firm’s backup processes with secured automatic online backups to the Internet, so that the data the firm’s data is protected in the event of a total disaster. 
One of the primary tools utilized by firms to transition to a “less paper” environment is scanning technology which captures paper source documents into electronic formats to be utilized for archival, onscreen preparation, and digital review. Users that have successfully transitioned to digital documents or assisted others in doing so have offered the three following critical tips to help your firm optimize your scanning processes from the very beginning.