Your clients may have questions. The following FAQs should give you the answers you need. What is outsourcing? "Outsourcing" refers to the use of third party service providers to assist in the delivery of services such as payroll, human resources and information technology. One area in which accounting firms have utilized third party service providers for decades is in the preparation of income tax returns. By using the offsite computer systems and data entry personnel of third party service providers to perform basic tasks within the preparation process, accounting firms can provide services more efficiently and effectively. Why do you use third party service providers? Our firm continually strives to provide our clients with the highest quality and most cost effective services possible. This is accomplished in part through the use of technology and technology enabled services including the use of third party service providers. The added assistance in the preparation of your tax returns allow us to focus more on your needs rather than the mundane tasks of data entry and file organization. These business practices allow us to deliver more efficient and cost effective services to you. Is my personal information secure? The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct requires us to take all the necessary precautions to ensure that the use of third party service providers does not result in the release of confidential information. These precautions include data encryption techniques, non-disclosure agreements, and restricted access to personal information.(e.g. no ability to download, print, scan, or copy client financial data). We have assured that our third party service providers have taken the necessary precautions to secure your data. Where is my tax return being prepared? Your tax return is being prepared in our offices. Our professional staff reviews your tax information, formulates your tax strategy, supervises the preparation process, assembles and signs your final return all from within our offices. For some returns we use offshore service providers to help perform basic tasks such as data entry and document organization more efficiently. Our firm takes full responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of all services provided. Who is preparing my tax returns? Your tax return is being prepared by our firm. Our professional staff reviews your tax information, formulates your tax strategy, supervises the preparation process, assembles and signs your final return. Our tax preparation service provider helps us perform the initial organization and data entry for some tax returns. This allows our professional staff to focus on other valued added services such as tax planning and analysis. The result of this process is an accurately prepared and high quality tax return. Our firm has ultimate responsibility for the final product. How does outsourcing affect white-collar American jobs? According to The Wall Street Journal, other countries outsource far more white-collar jobs to the U.S. than American companies send abroad. This free exchange of services enabled the U.S. to post a $53.64 billion surplus in trade in private services with the rest of the world in 2003. Since 1995 this surplus has increased by over $20 billion. Therefore, outsourcing has substantially increased the number of white-collar American jobs. Will using a tax processing service provider affect my tax preparation fees? Using a tax processing service provider allows us to contain our costs and keep our fees competitive. Click here to download a PDF of the Taxpayer FAQs.
	faq: tax payer: accountant