Paperless tax workflow technology provider Copanion Inc.has added seamless and secure electronic transfer of client tax data from theclient to the tax practitioner to its family of products.
The product, known as GruntWorx Gather, was revealed hereat the AICPA Practitioners Symposium & Tech+ Information TechnologyConference.
"Firms are always seeking ways to improve theefficiency of their tax process. In a recent survey, 72 percent ofprofessionals said that the biggest obstacle in their tax workflow is waitingfor clients to deliver documentation," said Copanion chief executive EdJennings. "We took this common issue and worked to create a solution.GruntWorx Gather eliminates the bottleneck by allowing the practitioner todrive the process from the beginning."
GruntWorx Gather automatically retrieves posted 1099consolidated brokerage statements as they become available and delivers themdirectly to the firm's GruntWorx account for processing.
Jennings stressed that a key factor in the Gather productis that it offers a portal-like Web interface where clients can connect withleading financial institutions and brokerage houses. Clients enter logincredentials to their online accounts, enabling automatic delivery of data totax professionals.
In addition, the interface allows clients to uploadscanned copies of source documents or digital copies provided by issuers notsupported with Gather integration. With both automatic retrieval frominstitutions and client-initiated document upload capabilities, Gather providesa complete solution for efficient client data collection.
"The value of GruntWorx Gather cannot beunderstated," said Jennings. "By automating the delivery of clienttax data, firms will realize immense time savings by collecting data early inthe season and eliminating late-arriving amended documents. Clients see valuebecause they no longer have to hassle with mailing, faxing, or e-mailing sourcedata."
Copanion is one of several CPA2Biz Trusted BusinessAdvisor Solutions program members. CPA2Biz is the marketing arm of the AICPA'sproducts and services.
