Just how big a change does it take to meet the needs of tax researchers as technology evolves?  One answer was suggested last year when CCH introduced IntelliConnect to replace its Tax Research Network. There have been indications the transition has been rougher than CCH would like and the company has put out three quick enhancements, starting in the fall.

Passion, and the biochemical release it facilitates in the brain, reduces stress and is shown to improve your overall health. Amazingly, it has a similar effect on those who cross your path. Now put the words Passionate and Accountant together in the same sentence and you have a formula for healthier people, businesses, firms, and the economy. Bottom line: if you are not passionate about what you do, if you don’t spring out of bed with enthusiasm for the day ahead, you have to ask yourself, “what ‘s missing?”

In the second year of using the workflow system from XCM Solutions, the Red Bank, N.J.-based accounting firm WithumSmith+Brown has taken a system that was used in firm-wide test during the last tax season and has implemented it throughout the firm, wherever there are documents and processes to track. "Every job a staff person puts in is the system," notes partner Jim Bourke. "We mandated that all jobs, financial statements, tax returns, whatever the work product is going through XCM so we can track workflow." Read more...

For those of us in the tax and accounting profession, the days between now and April 15 are usually the most stressful of the year. They’re also the time when the media suddenly take an interest in what we do with increased coverage on tax season and money matters. Most of us are too busy to realize that this is a great opportunity to get generate some very valuable publicity.