Independent verification of your tax software’s results saves time and reduces errors

Independent verification is the process of quickly re-creating a truncated version of a 1040 tax return with a separate tool to instantly compare the results and verify that totals are correct and/or identify errors.

The classic 1040 review

Most firms have processes in place for managers and/or partners to review tax returns by double checking inputs using tick marks and tieing out calculations. Every 1040 must be checked thoroughly before being filed. Simply, it has to be right to avoid costly tax notices and lost clients. Not only is this process mind numbing, cumbersome, and not error proof – it’s time consuming. But, it’s the way tax returns have been reviewed since the dawn of tax time.

The problem? We don’t live in the dawn of tax time any more. We have to move faster- and be assured of accuracy at the same time.

With advances in technology that have streamlined the actual preparation of the return, shouldn’t there be a better way to check the results for accuracy?

When I was a kid… 

We’ve all heard this from our parents, and perhaps have said it a time or three. So, bear with me on this perfect analogy. 

Do you remember back in grade school when you took a test or completed homework and the teacher reminded you to check your work? That was fun, wasn’t it? Not really. You’d hand in your test or assignment and get it back with a grade. The teacher checked it against an answer key- the independent verification of the work.

Now, imagine if you had a way to create an answer key for every single 1040 in your office. 

You do. It’s called TaxExact, and it’s much faster and more accurate than double-checking the inputs in your tax software. It’s also a very truncated version of a return- focused on totals and allowing you to cut through the noise and identify the ‘story’ inside of a return instead of the tick marks on it. And if you no longer have to tediously double-check every input inside a return for errors, think of what you could do with that time. What kind of a difference could you make for your clients- and your firm’s business- if you had more time to proactively advise them?