The American Institute of CPAs has introduced a set of Interactive Tax Checklists to help practitioners prepare clients’ returns.
The new checklists allow CPAs and the firm’s staff to work online collaboratively within the same document instead of needing to track multiple emailed versions among team members. The checklists can be accessed through a secure login anytime via an Internet connection.
For the 2011 tax year, interactive checklists are available for Form 1040 individual income tax returns and 1120 corporate tax returns. More forms will be added in the next release.
The checklists include questionnaires built around the AICPA’s Tax Practice Guides and Checklists. CPAs always have access to the most updated version of a checklist because firm members work together on the same virtual document. Staff members can collaboratively track reviews, comments, and signoffs. Dashboards show which checklist items are still open and what steps remain to close out a client’s return.
The data is kept secure through enterprise-level encryption. PDF versions of documents are available for offline use and archiving.
The checklists are free for the members of the AICPA Tax Section, with preferred pricing available for other members of the firm. AICPA members who are not members of the Tax Section pay a reduced fee of $160 for the interactive checklists. The rate for nonmembers is $200.
For Tax Section members, more information is available in a
