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The Power of the Portal

Darren Root, CPA, CITP, CGMA

Jun. 13, 2009

Congrats go to Thomson Reuters for the significant milestone it hit in the most recent tax season: UltraTax CS™ customers preparing 2008 returns created more than 100,000 portals to serve their clients.

This is important to our profession for several reasons.

First, it demonstrates how the accounting profession is using technology not only to speed processing, but to save its clients time and resources they would have spent by physically bringing files to our offices in person. Second, using portals helps position us as thought-leaders by using technology to get the job done.

However, portals are just one piece of technology in an entire cadre of tools.

When I meet our colleagues at conferences and speak to groups, I’m amazed how many are still behind the curve. Although most everyone is using some kind of accounting software program to process returns, financial statements and more, firms are not using technology to its full potential.

Now is the time to learn to explore your options. Check with your software provider for guidance. Chances are you can improve your integration for even more efficiency.