AICPA Tax Division Annual CD

Co-Editors:
Steven F. Holub, CPA
Aidman, Piser & Co.
Tampa, FL

T. Chris Muirhead, CPA
Porter, Muirhead, Cornia & Howard
Casper, WY

Editor's note: Mr. Holub is the former chair of the AICPA Tax Divisions Tax Practice Management Committee. Mr. Muirhead is the Chair of the AICPA Tax Divisions Member Tax Practice Improvement Committee; Ms. Puckett is a member of that Committee.

For more information about this column, contact Mr. Holub at (813) 222-8555 or stevenh@apcpa.com, Mr. Muirhead at (307) 265-4311 or tcmuirhead@pmch.com or Ms. Puckett at (270) 781-0111 or apuckett@bkd.com.

Each year, members of the AICPA Tax Divisions Member Tax Practice Improvement Committee help compile information for a CD-ROM (CD) that contains a wide variety of useful information for tax practitioners. The CD can be a quick resource for numerous items tax advisers use in managing their practices. Many practitionerseven those who may use the CD regularly to obtain copies of checklists, organizers, etc.are likely not familiar with the array of information it contains.

Background

The CD began several years ago as an additional way to distribute the annual Tax Practice Guides and Checklists.  However, over the years, the CD has evolved to include other items. For 2003, the CD is divided into three main sections: Checklists and Practice Guides, The Tax Adviser Archives and Other Tax Section Materials.

Checklists and Practice Guides: This section contains organizers that can be printed for use in preparing different types of returns, including those for estate tax, gift tax, tax-exempt organizations, individuals, fiduciaries, partnerships, corporations and qualified retirement plans. The organizers can be given to clients to guide them in gathering needed information to complete a return. These organizers are available in both Adobe Acrobat^TM and Word^TM formats; the latter allows for customizing the organizers and/or emailing them directly to a client.

Several samples of practice management forms are available on the CD, such as a new client welcome letter, tax permanent-file contents, engagement letters, carryforward schedules, transmittal letters and filing instructions. These are also available in both Adobe Acrobat^TM and Word^TM formats.

This section also includes tax form preparation guides, on topics such as employee use of company vehicles, comparison of business entities, generation-skipping transfer tax, S corporation shareholder basis schedule, passive activity checklist and Sec. 704(b) practice guide. These guides contain worksheets, checklists, tables and other important information.

The last segment in this section contains preparation and review checklists. Tax advisers can customize items on these checklists to meet their specific practice needs. The checklists are easy to edit and customize when opened in Word^TM format. There are checklists for a variety of returns, including estate tax, gift tax, exempt organizations, individual, fiduciary, partnership, S and C corporations and employee benefit plans.

There are also a number of miscellaneous practice guides on the CD; topics include:

• Oil and gas practice guide.

• IRS examination guide.

• State and Local Tax Technical Resource Panel (TRP) practice guides.

• S Corporation Taxation TRP practice guides.

• Confidentiality privileges for taxpayer communications.

Additionally, several new practice guides will address many of the issues practitioners face; these new guides include: (1) practice management; (2) managing busy-season product flow and quality control; (3) accrual-to-cash planning; (4) conversion to paperless filing; (5) tax planning for divorce; (6) electronic filing; and (7) community property tax planning issues.

All of the information listed above will also be available online at www.cpa2biz.com/ResourceCenters/Tax/AICPA+Tax+Section/
default.htm. Tax Section members will be informed how to obtain password-secured access to these valuable products as the items become available.

The Tax Adviser Archives: New on the CD this year is archived editions of The Tax Adviser; the full text is available for the January 2003December 2003 issues. This is a bonus for AICPA Tax Division members that will allow them to print any item from an issue in a more legible format than simply photocopying. This is a more professional way to send an article to a client or referral source who might have an interest in a particular topic and an excellent way to reference past issues without having to store hard copies. In the future, the Tax Division hopes to include more than one year of issues, so that practitioners have greater access to older articles.

Other Tax Section Materials: The final section includes articles, reports and tables on topics such as (1) simple employee plans and simple plan law changes; (2) rate and withholding changes caused by the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003; (3) practice guide on total compensation packages; (4) e-commerce tax brochure; (5) Internet taxation for exempt organizations; (6) designing benefit plans to attract and retain employees; and (7) IRA law changes.

This edition of the CD contains the following new items:

• New laws offering relief to terrorist attack victims.

• Significant recent developments in estate planning.

• Difficult questions on private foundations.

• Sec. 401(k) practice plan guide.

Conclusion

Overall, the new CD contains a wide variety of useful information. It is an excellent source for forms, checklists, preparation guides and research. It contains guidance on many items tax advisers encounter at various times during the year, all in one convenient place. Exhibit 1 presents an adapted version of the CDs Frequently Asked Questions.

From Ann Moore Puckett, CPA, BKD LLP, Bowling Green, KY