Practice management

How well do you manage the client management process?It's a question I often ask clients I work with. While most firms pay attention to various aspects of the process, many firms fail to understand that it is an interrelated process, and hence fail to properly manage the entire process. I strongly believe that the ultimate success of your firm is determined by how well you manage the client management process.

IRS REQUESTS $10.6B BUDGET FOR 2007: The Internal Revenue Service requested a budget of $10.6 billion for the 2007 fiscal year, an increase of 1.4 percent from the current year's budget. Nearly $10.6 billion would come from direct appropriations through the Treasury Department. An additional $135 million would come from the IRS's new user fee revenue, for a total operating level of $10.7 billion.Among the IRS operations receiving more funding would be enforcement activities and taxpayer services. Enforcement has proposed funding at nearly $7 billion, a 2 percent increase from the 2006 enacted levels; taxpayer services has proposed funding at more than $3.5 billion, a 1.4 percent increase from 2006.

There's a new area of controversy at the Internal Revenue Service, and it surrounds the recently released 2005 annual report from the Taxpayer Advocate Service -the independent organization within the IRS designated as the liaison between the IRS and taxpayers with problems.While the Taxpayer Advocate is required to identify at least 20 serious problems in her annual report, particular attention has been given to one topic in this year's report: the IRS's Criminal Investigation Questionable Refund Program.

While the Roth 401(k) plan option was enacted back in 2001 and has been available since January 1 of this year, advice over whether to jump on the Roth 401(k) bandwagon remains hard to give.Detailed rules on contributions, operations and distributions for Roth 401(k) plans have been slow in coming. Proposed reliance regulations on contributions weren't released until this past December; reliance regs on distributions weren't out until January.

Oracle, a high-volume provider of business software, based here, has validated the integration between compliance software Taxware Enterprise Version 4.3 and Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise Version 8.9.Taxware's software, a sales and use tax and value-added tax calculation application, now integrates with Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial Management, including payables, and Supply Chain Management components, including order management, billing and purchasing.

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Mark Everson said that lawmakers should consider making corporate tax returns part of the public record in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington.

About 10 percent of General Service Administration contractors owed roughly $1.4 billion in unpaid taxes between the years 2004-05,according to an investigation conducted by the Government Accountability Office.

The Internal Revenue Service awarded contracts to a trio of firms to participate in the first phase of its private debt collection initiative.

Professional preparation of a non-itemized Form 1040 will cost a taxpayer about $110, while an itemized 1040 with Schedule A will run about $201, according to a survey from the National Society of Accountants.

Taxpayers doesn't seem to be returning to pencil and paper after the Internal Revenue Service discontinued its TeleFile service.

American taxpayer support for overall tax compliance has reached an all-time high, according to an annual survey commissioned by the IRS Oversight Board.

Business taxpayers and associations have until March 31 to seek resolution of problematic tax issues through the Internal Revenue Service's Industry Issue Resolution Program.

The Ohio Department of Taxation has collected approximately $63 million in delinquent taxes previously owed to the state, which is more than six times the initial goal set.

Even if the turnaround for written legal advice is quick, a court has ruled that the Internal Revenue Service must release all legal advice issued by its chief counsel attorneys.

Domestic partners in California must file their federal tax returns separately, despite a 2003 law that extended equal legal rights to registered same-sex couples in the state.

BNA has appointed David Schulbaum as its new director of marketing for the company's Tax Management Inc. subsidiary.

The Tax Foundation has released the third edition of a s tudy breaking down business-friendly tax systems, from first to worst.

Internal Revenue Service officials released a report on the agency's examination of political activity by tax-exempt organizations during the 2004 election campaign.

H&R Block Inc. said that a miscalculation of its own state taxes will cost the company about $32 million in back taxes.

CERTAIN TAX RETURNS WILL HEAD TO DIFFERENT CENTERS: As taxpayers begin to prepare their tax returns, the Internal Revenue Service noted that some may be sending their returns to a different service center than last year. Those who received a tax instruction booklet from the IRS in the mail and use the labels included with the booklet can be assured that their tax returns will go to the correct address. Taxpayers who e-file are not affected by these changes.For tax year 2005, the mailing changes affect returns, with or without payments, from the District of Columbia and 11 states - Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia.