As the tax and accounting profession continues its transition to SaaS (Software as a Service), client data continues its move outside the walls of firms and into the “cloud.” All firms should be concerned about data security and compliance regarding their client’s data. Even though the power, convenience, and cost-effectiveness of SaaS applications is widely accepted, professional standards call for healthy skepticism when it comes to safeguarding client data.

This is nothing new as data security has been a long-time concern within the tax and accounting profession—oftentimes slowing the adoption of SaaS among less well-informed firms. The reality is that data security is reliant not only on the application itself, but also on the vendor’s internal controls for handling the data. Fully aware of the profession’s concerns, many leading SaaS vendors have taken significant steps to ensure security of client data and help firms comply with rapidly changing ethical, legislative, and regulatory mandates.

Streamlining workflow is a constantly neglected to-do item for many CPA firms, especially as client demands increase and new regulations continue to come down the pike. With all that is involved, the complexity of the average firm’s tax workflow can seem overwhelming. Throw in the ongoing shortage of professional staff with the pressures of tax season deadlines and it’s easy to understand why firms continue to prepare returns using the“old ways” that have worked for them in the past. However, in the tax and accounting industry time is money, which is why accountants are always searching for ways to improve efficiency in their firms. These Six Best Practices are the key steps that will ease the transition to a paperless tax workflow.